UNDP’s junior professionals program: What you need to know

Each year, the United Nations Development Program recruits hundreds of junior professional officers, positions that are much sought-after among young professionals seeking to launch a successful career in development. JPOs are assigned to one of the many UNDP offices, such as the U.N. Development Fund for Women, Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS and U.N. Development Operations Coordination Office. Nationals from 24 donor governments can participate in the program. These countries are Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom. The number of available JPO positions for each country depends on the number of positions a government decides to sponsor. For instance, the Spanish government currently funds around 80 positions per year. Eligibility and selection process Successful candidates must be below 33 years of age and hail from the sponsoring country. Each should have a master’s degree in a development-related discipline, one or two years of experience in a developing country, and proficiency in at least two of the three working languages used by UNDP — English, French and Spanish. UNDP is focused on competences, said Piedad Martin, a JPO working on climate change in Colombia, indicating that UNDP prefers to recruit those with some technical knowledge. Before joining the JPO program, Martin was an environmental consultant for four years and worked in Spain’s environmental agency on a program to promote sustainable development in the Mediterranean region. “I think they liked my experience and the fact that I can manage my stress if I have a lot of work,” she noted. Candidates are first short-listed before some are selected for in-person interviews. “They asked me a lot of things,” recalled Jose A. Pedrosa, a JPO based in Niger and former U.N. volunteer in Lesotho. “Why I wanted to join the UNDP again if I left before, why I wanted to go to Africa, what did I learn at Yale University?” The interview, he said, was “intensive” and “tough,” and was conducted in English, French and Spanish. Experience working in a developing country can further an application. Interning for a UNDP office or volunteering for a U.N. position may also enhance one’s chance to become a JPO. Patricia Pacheco, for instance, interned for a year in UNIFEM-Ecuador and then was offered a JPO position in the same office. JPO roles and tasks vary During the two-year program, JPOs are assigned various tasks, depending on the office in which they serve and UNDP’s priorities in the region. Some positions require much field work, while others barely do. At UNIFEM in Ecuador, Pacheco works on HIV and AIDS issues. “There was a lot of work that you had to do with UNIFEM itself and interagency work, but also a lot of work with your national counterparts, with organizations and in this case women with HIV and AIDS, and also national institutions. You combine both things, working within the system and working with your counterparts,” she explained. Part of Pacheco’s job is to conduct research, monitor projects funded by UNDP, and facilitate meetings. She said she would spend 25 percent of her time on mission. In Bogota, Piedad Martin is working on strengthening the Colombian government’s capacities to develop policies related to global warming. She is also developing a pilot project with indigenous communities on how they can adapt to climate change. The formulation, the plan of activities and the monitoring of the project are on her agenda. She even manages finances and human resources, and said she spends half of her time in the field. In contrast, Elisabeth Gotschi, an Austrian JPO posted in Nicaragua, spends very little time on mission. Her role as a program officer brings her frequently to the Statistic Institute of Managua, which she said is located two minutes from her office. Gotschi is responsible for managing different projects supported by the Millennium Development Goals Fund. She makes sure that the money is spent well, transparently, efficiently, and in accordance with the work plan. Gotschi coordinates her office’s activities with six U.N. agencies and eight national counterparts. Similarly, Pedrosa spends much time at the Niamey’s National Statistics Institute. With his specialization in emerging financial markets and previous experience as a World Bank consultant, his JPO work focuses on economic issues. He contributes to the U.N. annual work plan for Niger, helps to improve the management of Niger’s public finance system, and provides financing and technical advice for poverty studies led by the INS. “Last year, we helped them so they could do a study on the linkages between cell phones and poverty,” he said. What skills do JPOs gain? The U.N. system is complex, and understanding it is as essential for JPOs. According to Pacheco, the first year is very challenging for the most JPOs, especially if they had not worked for the U.N. system beforehand. “It takes time to understand what is going on,” Pacheco noted. But through interacting and negotiating with different U.N. agencies and setting up joint programs, JPOs soon become familiar with the U.N. system. This is a great asset, especially for those eager to pursue a career with UNDP. But more generally, joining UNDP’s young professionals program provides invaluable lessons on how the development sector works, who its main actors are, and know how to interact with donors, governments, and civil society. The program also enables JPOs to learn how to manage a project efficiently. “What I really learned is to bring people together — team-building exercises, taking the lead in meetings, guiding through a meeting according to an agenda, making sure that you realize problems early on, and try to solve them,” Gotschi explained. The program provides JPOs with the opportunity to live in a developing country for a significant period of time — a boon for budding development professionals, considering that most aid organizations look for candidates with the proven ability to adapt and work in different cultural contexts. “The most rewarding thing that I get from UNDP as a JPO is the personal experience of really understanding how poor people think,” Pedrosa said. “You go out in the street and you see what people go through. This is really something that you learn. If you have a minimum of empathy, then it makes a big difference.” According to Martin, one of the main challenges of working as a JPO is “to create your own space as a professional, be recognized and have a technical opinion.” A JPO position may provide more room to maneuver than other entry-level jobs at UNDP, especially intern or volunteer positions, according to Pedrosa. “When I was a U.N. volunteer, I was doing more or less the same work as I am doing now, but you would go to a meeting and people would say: ‘Oh, he is only the volunteer.’ The local government officials don’t give you much credit,” Pedrosa said. He continued: “But if you are a JPO, the situation is very different, because they know that you will usually evolve in the system. So you do much more interesting things. You have more responsibilities, but especially the national counterparts take you much more seriously and that is a big difference.” A great career stepping stone According to UNDP’s website, one-third of JPOs have over the last 10 years continued to work within the U.N. system; almost 30 percent of U.N. resident coordinators are former JPOs. “It is an incredible chance to stay in the [U.N.] system if you like this,” Pacheco said. But with the experience gained working in the developing world, implementing and monitoring projects, managing teams and communicating with key industry players, UNDP’s junior professional officers are well-equipped to continue a successful career most anywhere in the development sector. Check out more UN career articles and our other career advice stories online, and subscribe to Doing Good to receive top international development career and recruitment news.