How to write a Financial proposal for UNICEF job? It should include the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment, how should I calculate that? Does it affect the selection process? So those who cost less would have a better chance to get the job?

I’m a student that applied for an internship and don’t know how to feel. I solved the questions but had to resubmit my excel spreadsheet a few times due to a few complications (due to licensing restrictions). Worried this will lose some credibility. Need reassurance. Thank you!

Does anyone know how to pass the UN YPP Political Affairs & Human Rights exam? I want to make sure I'm super prepared for this!

Hello all, currently am in a G5 staff position in WFP, my question is what is my chances to get into a P position in any agency knowing that i have a bachelor degree in my field and 12 years of experience outside UN and been now 2 years in UN system, i apply in many p staff positions i don’t get even invited to exams.

The weird thing is before joining WFP, i applied into Fit pool for P staff positions and got invited for exam however I didn’t make it but am talking about the concept of being short listed for assessment.

Good day,

How do IUNV living expenses compare to living allowances in places like Sudan ?

How are the living conditions there ?

I have a strange conundrum and I am hoping that someone here would have some insights and wisdom for me. I have progressed quite fast in the UN system -- I am in the early side of my mid-30s and am at the P4 grade with a step that is above 5. I am a very good worker, but I am a wreck at networking. I really don't enjoy spending more than the absolutely essential time with my colleagues and I have never pretended to be friends with most people at work. This does not mean that I am unkind or an asshole; I am cordial with most of my colleagues. I just have a private life with my excellent non-work friends and I wish to keep this part out of the UN dirty schemes of politicking, networking and scheming to find my way up.

Now, I am being considered for several P5 positions and I feel like even after all the testing, interviewing, diploma and reference collecting, I am not getting the job offers that I should have heard back on by now. In terms of references, I always used to give the names of three of my most trusted mentors who I met in the early stages of my UN career and who have nurtured me with their advice and wisdom. One of them passed away tragically last year and one is really sick at the moment. The third continues to give me glowing references. However, something has changed...

With the loss/absence of two of my reliable former supervisors, as indicated above, I had to give the names of two of my other seniors as my referees beginning earlier this year. Both haven't been my direct managers but have supervised my work. We had an excellent working relationship while we worked together. They are both significantly older than me and at the D1 level. I am, however, getting the insane feeling that one or both of them is messing up my references. For the latest job, I supplied the names of the three referees like the UN agency asked me to. This was supported by glowing performance evaluations from the last two years. However, after the entity had received the three reference letters (I know because all three of them told me that they had submitted their respective letters), the recruitment office reached out to me to request the names of two other referees. I have been through a lot of UN recruitments and this has never happened to me. Do you think I am being paranoid when I say that my instinct is telling me that one or both of my new referees may have been critical of me even though both told me that they gave me excellent references? I spoke to one recently and he asked me if I had heard back from the agency. I told him - no. He raised his hands nonchalantly and said that he gave the reference when they reached out to him and there's nothing else he can do. Like what?! Do you think I am overreacting? To my mind, there's no reason for them to mess up my references (I named them in the first place due to my excellent working relationships with them), but my head and heart are telling me otherwise. Please tell me I am being bizarre. I know that there's no reason for them to block my progress, but I just don't know...

Hello,

A quick presentation : I am a medical resident in France, currently enrolled in a public health residency (I think it is the equivalent to Preventive Medicine residency). It has a duration of 4 years, with internships every 6 months (after the 6 year basic course). I'm in the first year and I'm also doing an MPH at the same time.

This summer we had to choose our residency speciality (based on our grades and ranking). I wanted to pursue Infectious Disease program but couldn't as it is really competitive here... After searching for months and weighing my other options I had 2 in mind :

*the first one would be to do emergency medicine : it is a speciality that would allow me to do other things than just pure conventional medicine (I mean by that being stuck in a clinic or a hospital doing rounds). I love travelling, would love to conduct projects etc As you are not taking charge of a hospital service, you can easily do humanitarian missions (for Doctors without Borders for example).

*on the other hand I also know someone who has done medical studies and is now currently working for one of the branches of WHO as a technical officer. I got to see some zoom meetings or the work she is doing, the dozens of meetings she attends by travelling. I didn't get to talk much in detail about this with her, but from what I saw I really liked having a different kind of impact than just clinical work; reason why I am enrolled in a Public Health residency, with in mind specializing in infectious diseases (not on the clinical side tho).

I thought to myself that if I could work for such an impactful organization as WHO I would be as satisfied as being an emergency doctor. However, just after being few months into my residency I don't know if it is the best choice... I feel like I am not quite sure about leaving the clinical side right away. Plus the course doesn't seem to learn you much, but rather you learn by the different interships that you do.

I think that I would love to work with the UN/WHO in the future, but what is the job as a medical technical officer CONCRETELY ? (I saw for example pulmonologist or peadiatrician technical officer). Is there a lot of bureaucracy ? Is there field work ?

I saw some carrer pathways in linkedin, and saw some emergency doctors working for WHO after few years of working for hospitals or NGO's, after having done some missions with the UN.

I think that ideally I would want to do a clinical residency, work few years as an emergency doctor for example, and do missions by the side with the UN or other Public Health organizations; and then maybe transition into getting a job there.

What do you all think ? I am really confused...

Hello everyone,

I came across a job listing for an internship with the WFP in Germany, specifically aimed at students. I’m very interested in applying, but unfortunately, the listing doesn’t mention the expected workload or hours. Since I’m also completing my master’s degree, I’m a bit concerned about balancing both.

If anyone has experience doing an internship as a student, could you share how many hours you were typically expected to work?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Hello,

I hope this post finds you well. Does anyone from cohort 2023 or 2022 know please the time-line for selection to the UNECA Fellowship ?

Is there an interview ?

How much time does it take from application to interview or results ?

Thank you very much.

Best regards,

Curious if there are any recreation facilities or gyms available to UN staff. Or, if there are places nearby where UN has agreements. If not, anyone have any recs in that part of midtown/grand central?

I did look this up but only found what appeared to be slightly outdated info from several years back.

Thanks and hope it's ok to ask this on this thread!

What are working hours like in UNJSPF OIM? I heard pay is lower than private investments but do the working hours compensate for that? Also how are good / bad are exit opportunities from here? Any info would be really helpful! Thanks in advance.

Hello colleagues,

This question is for colleagues that have had experience in recruitment process or have experience as hiring managers.

What’s the difference in the process between an internal and external candidate. I have searched in different threads but haven’t found a specific answer.,

For example, if Im applying for an NOB as an internal candidate, will I do all the process including Written test? Or just directly to an interview?

I’m asking in behalf of a colleague that was invited to an interview but not to the written test, but she knows someone applying for the same post as an external that first was invited for a written test and then for the interview.

Is this common?

Failed to find any information on this topic online, maybe someone can share their experience?

In Germany for example there is a local statutory health insurance system that covers 100% of almost any medically necessary costs and pays for them directly – you don't have to pay yourself and then get reimbursed.

As I understand, with UNSMIS it is the other way – you pay first and then get reimbursed and only 80% of costs. You also have to get a prior approval of many costs.

In Europe medical costs may be quite high and possibility of paying 20% of them concerns me a bit, even given that I don't have any chronic ilnesses.

In practice is it problematic to have a UNSMIS health insurance in Europe in terms of high costs, need of prior approval, overall bureaucracy and any other matters?

Hi guys. I am about to separate from my position after five years of working at a P-something level in the same organization. Other than the exit formalities, of which there seem to be a million, I can't think of much else to do. Would you have any recommendations on records etc. to keep/other things to do before one separates from a UN organization?

Has anyone here taken the written test for the IPU's junior consultant position recently and heard back from them for an interview?

Have you ever heard of any UNV selected for a stretch assignment? Or exchange? Currently a NUNV specialist onsite and i want to explore more and more while i am in the system cos you never know what might happen by the end of the contract. Please tell me all the good things about future prospects of being a UNV. There's already a lot of demotivation at work 🫠

I am currently working at one for UN agencies as a fixed term contractor(G6).

My contract is renewed every year and it will be always renewed if there isn't any other serious changes.

I am wondering if I could use the Maternity Leave and Parental Leave altogether after I give a birth to a child during my contract period.

If I want to use both of my maternity leave(4weeks) and parental leave together, should I make it sure that the period is within my contract period?

If my contract is to be renewed in December and I give a birth to child in October, should I come back to work in December and work shortly until I get my contract renewed and then use another maternity leave after renewal??

If this is the case, I understand that I need to plan my childbirth precisely around the maternity leave period, but I’m not sure if this is realistically feasible.

I’m curious to know how others are managing this.

When a Vacancy says this, does it mean that its not open for externals? Saw a temporary vacancy for 6 months and the time between deadline and publication is only 4 days. Is there any point in applying?

Hey guys Does anyone have a clue about amenities and housing, inCongo duty stations ? How is the situation there ? Thanks

Does anyone work with home-based IPSA in France, how is the tax situation? I asked a non-specialised accountant and he told me that since it's "foreign income" I'm exempt from income tax but have to pay social contributions only. Is that true? Can you recommend a lawyer or accountant in Paris specialized in these cases?

For those who are working with the WHO, FAW, FDA …etc How did you get your first job here at the WHO? What is the best part of your job, and what is your greatest challenge? What skills have served you best? What does the organization look for when they're hiring ?

Regarding the YPP application, did anyone get an invitation to the first stage of the exam or is it a spam email that I got?

Curious to see what the situation is really like on the ground currently compared to what he being shown on the news. Thank you.

Thursday, December 4, 2024 8 am EST | 2 pm CET - UN webinar on Careers in Environment, Climate, and Sustainability

From the UNDP Careers Facebook page:

Are you passionate about making a difference in the environment on a global scale? Join us for the OneUN Webinar: Careers in Environment, Climate, and Sustainability to explore exciting career opportunities within the United Nations system. Hear firsthand from experts at UNDP, FAO, UNESCO and UNEP as they share their career journeys and practical advice. What you’ll gain:

• Insights into diverse career paths in environment and climate.

• Expert advice on how to join the UN system.

• Inspiration from real-life success stories.

Thursday, December 4, 2024 8 am EST | 2 pm CET

Register: https://buff.ly/3CNILhH#UNCareers

Anyone know the expected pay, benefits, terms, etc?

By lying, I just mean checking the 'do you have a masters' button in the pre-screening section of an application. I only have a bachelors degree, but I have the decades-long experience required for the role.

The particular role is a NOC position at UNESCO. Has anyone ever done this before and got hired? Just curious.

Hello everyone, I hope you're all doing great.
As the title states, there are 2 openings with the same job title, in the same location, one has a P2, and the other P3 contract. One requires 2 years of experience and the other 5 years, and different tasks/responsabilities.
I plan to apply to both jobs because they are about the same.
Would you advise me to apply with the same cover letter ?
Do you guys think I have a higher chance of getting shortlisted, if I apply in duty stations of conflicts ?
and, would you have any advice for me besides what you might reply ?
Many many thanks

Hi! I'm an environmental engineering MSc Erasmus Mundus student and next semester I'll be studying at IHE Delft, in the Netherlands, which is under the auspices of UNESCO. As part of the program, next summer I'm supposed to do a (at least) 6 weeks internship. Because of my interest and previous experience with international organizations, I was wondering if I could have a shot at landing an internship for that time frame in the UN. Keeping in mind the direct correlation of the IHE institute and the UNESCO I believe I could be eligible but I really don't know how the process for getting an internship is, where I could find one and if 1.5-2 months would be too short of a time. Thanks

Hi I have some questions about job application with WHO :

• What does in progress mean in the status? Specially if the job posting was from a long time ago
• I worked in different countries and some of them I no longer have connections with my previous manager, how this might affect my application?
• if the add is on for two weeks or less, does that mean it will be filled internally?
• which job is easier to get for someone who has no connection, online or onsite ?
• should we mention the courses we get to show continuous learning and improvement ? Do the HR and hiring managers value those courses?

I got in through the YPP programme and I have to say that everything I heard in advance about its job security was greatly overstated, or maybe just a bit outdated. My first managers were good but after being rotated less than two years in to a different assignment, I am experiencing the worst workplace bullying ever, and likely going to be separated. I've tried to explore all the internal mechanisms recommended by more senior colleagues (Ombudsman, rebuttal, OIOS, OSLA) only to find they're all horribly underresourced and usually don't work except in cases of extremely undeniable abuse. Staff regulations are basically taken with a huge grain of salt by lots of managers within the system.

Finding all these things out the hard way has been disappointing, to say the least. Hopefully I'll move on to other better things. But I thought hearing from others who've had similar experiences might be interesting and/or cathartic. So, for those who have worked within the system, what is the worst experience you've had with management?