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    Working for UN Women: Insider tips on landing a role

    Recruitment specialists from UN Women share their tips for standing out as an applicant.

    By Emma Smith // 19 February 2021
    Established just over 10 years ago, UN Women remains smaller than many of its sister agencies. Still, it was one of the top employers on Devex’s job board in 2019 and recruits for a range of positions, including policy specialists, office heads, and consultants with expertise in gender, communication, information technology, or monitoring and evaluation. Unlike some bigger organizations, which have large networks to tap into, UN Women posts all of its consulting opportunities externally, said Prasun Chakraborty, head of human resources with the agency. His colleague Maria de la Luna, an HR specialist, added that there are often opportunities for experts to support the field offices. The agency is looking for people who can demonstrate a commitment to its mandate and an understanding of why its work is relevant, Chakraborty stressed. This doesn’t mean his team only hires professionals with experience in the gender equality and women’s empowerment space, he said, but this makes it all the more important for candidates to tailor their CVs to a specific position and highlight relevant experience, whether that’s school projects or volunteer work. Devex finds out what else candidates can do to stand out and where there are opportunities for career transitioners. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. What technical skills are in demand at UN Women? ML: We always have these standard positions that head up our offices in our field [and need support there] — about 80% [of the agency’s workers] are in the field offices. We don't [hire] for as many positions as our larger sister organizations, but the ones that we do [hire for] require strong management skills, fluency in different languages, and then more specifically we are looking for those with technical expertise in our thematic area, so experience in gender, women’s rights. Then we also have the functional streams that deal with operations like [recruitment], human resources, and operations. “Especially working for the United Nations, respect for diversity is a key skill.” --— Maria de la Luna, HR specialist, UN Women Where are there opportunities for professionals from other sectors? PC: There is a big program and policy side of what [UN Women] do, and then there are things which are related to external relations, partnerships, traditional operations like HR, IT, finance. These are some functions where you can transition from one industry to the other more easily and the skills are more transferable. There are definitely areas where [professionals] from the private sectors or other entities could come and find opportunities. … I know U.N. [United Nations] skills are sometimes necessary for some roles at a senior level, but many of our colleagues have joined from different sectors. What steps can those career transitioners take to get started with the agency? PC: The United Nations Volunteers program provides a good opportunity ... if you want to take a midcareer break ... and see how it feels to work for a U.N. entity. They have senior specialist [roles] and youth volunteers, so depending on which age group you fit into, you can try and explore [different options]. That gives an entry into the [U.N.] system where you see: “Is it for me, or is it not?” And then you are also working with other colleagues who might say, “I want to retain this person.” ... [These opportunities] can be in different areas. Most of them are in the field locations because they are for service delivery, but now a lot of them are also remote or home-based. And then when we are talking about that passion [for the mission], the [candidate] should put on their application why they want to join UN Women … and why do they think this is the right place for you. How can more junior professionals get their foot in the door at the agency? PC: We do see UNV and internships as good ways to really tap into the new candidates, perhaps those who are trying to make a career just fresh out of college with maybe limited or no experience but [that have a] very relevant research background or [area of] study, because a lot of our work at UN Women, along with advocacy, is also research and data and statistics. And when we are writing policy papers, [we] do need a lot of people to do research because we are establishing norms and that needs a lot of academic work. ML: In terms of the skills that they can highlight for an internship or volunteer position … highlight any projects or research that you've done that relate to our area of work — [this could be] campaigns, graphic design for a website … so, concrete projects that you’ve worked [on] and what your contribution was — and highlight that in your application. What advice do you have for national staffers looking to progress in their international career? ML: They should, of course, be able to demonstrate the skills necessary in their field of expertise. Then, given our mandate and [that] we work a lot with stakeholders — whether it's with the U.N. or governments — [you need] this ability to engage outside of your team, your organization, and across different partners. That sets you above other candidates … and would be a skill that is valued in a different location, whether it's headquarters or a different field office. What soft skills do you look for, and how can candidates demonstrate these? ML: Especially working for the United Nations, respect for diversity is a key skill. I know that this may not necessarily be something that one would have experience in if they are working in their home country but at least being able to exhibit [a time when you] worked in a team across different divisions or parts of the organization or different kinds of organizations and being able to demonstrate that through your work in a project. PC: One other skill that we are all looking for is working with teams and collegiality. Even if you're not a manager … [you need to be] able to work with others with empathy and have that emotional intelligence. It's not always easy to assess [this] in an interview, but I think you still get a sense of it — [for example] if colleagues are talking a lot about how they got things done as a team versus just highlighting what [they individually] did. What’s the biggest mistake you see when it comes to CVs? ML: The screening process [we use] is pretty common … and candidates are screened [out] if they do not meet the minimum requirements that are outlined. … [That often] happens when a candidate does not tailor the CV to highlight [how they] meet those requirements. PC: Sometimes, you can see just reading the CV the effort that has gone into it. ... It's very clear where someone [puts] time into writing their application and really filling out what the CV is asking. We have a template like most U.N. entities have; we want to know about your past employment and the supervisors … and sometimes this is also going to help us with references [or] sometimes you have networks [in common]. Sending a generic CV does not help. … We would want that you focus on why women's economic empowerment [is important] and not repeat the same when you apply for [a different role around] ending violence against women [for example]. [The candidate] has to make a compelling case and not have one standard CV for everything they apply [to] … and then you actually see that this person is really interested, is motivated. Putting in that extra effort, it shows.

    Established just over 10 years ago, UN Women remains smaller than many of its sister agencies. Still, it was one of the top employers on Devex’s job board in 2019 and recruits for a range of positions, including policy specialists, office heads, and consultants with expertise in gender, communication, information technology, or monitoring and evaluation.

    Unlike some bigger organizations, which have large networks to tap into, UN Women posts all of its consulting opportunities externally, said Prasun Chakraborty, head of human resources with the agency. His colleague Maria de la Luna, an HR specialist, added that there are often opportunities for experts to support the field offices.

    The agency is looking for people who can demonstrate a commitment to its mandate and an understanding of why its work is relevant, Chakraborty stressed. This doesn’t mean his team only hires professionals with experience in the gender equality and women’s empowerment space, he said, but this makes it all the more important for candidates to tailor their CVs to a specific position and highlight relevant experience, whether that’s school projects or volunteer work.

    This article is exclusively for Career Account members.

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    About the author

    • Emma Smith

      Emma Smith@emmasmith_bcn

      For four years, Emma Smith covered careers and recruitment, among other topics, for Devex. She now freelances for Devex and has a special interest in mental health, immigration, and sexual and reproductive health. She holds a degree in journalism from Glasgow Caledonian University and a master’s in media and international conflict.

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