UNDP - United Nations Development Programme Jobs

UNV P4P Coordination Officer, Jayapura, Indonesia

Organization: UNDP - United Nations Development Programme

Added: Wednesday, 08 April 2015

Deadline: Saturday, 19 April 2025

UNOCHA Adminsitrative & Finance Associate, Jakarta, Indonesia (GS-7), Jakarta

Organization: UNDP - United Nations Development Programme

Added: Monday, 06 April 2015

Deadline: Saturday, 19 April 2025

UN Jobs : how to build a career in United nations

Getting a job in the UN is a dream for many people, as a UN job is an amazing chance to grow both professionally and personally while getting priceless experience. Working for the UN, one should expect working in a team of international experts, competitive salaries, and great career opportunities. So, let's have a more detailed look at job types offered by the UN and clarify how to become a part of this powerful organization.

But the main question is “how to get a job at the un” without spending 10 years to achieve this dream ?

How to Start the UN Career

If you love our planet and people and are eager to change the world for better, you will certainly find an ideal job for yourself in the UN. This organization is a huge employer, offering numerous career opportunities not only for experienced professionals but also for those who are just looking for a dream job. Competition is usually fierce, as there are often many candidates for the same position, which is proof that UN jobs are desirable and popular. Nevertheless, it's possible to become a UN worker. But be ready to prepare for it, as it may not be as easy as people eager to start a career in the UN usually expect. Now, let's have a look at the main steps you'll have to do to start the UN career.

  1. Prepare. The best way to start is to browse the United Nations official website to get a better understanding of what you are offered. This may be super helpful for those who do not yet understand what they are looking for. On the website, you will have a chance to get acquainted with a list of job openings, areas, and qualifications required. Information is everything, so be prepared.
  2. Choose the staff category. As we have already mentioned, there are several staff categories to choose from. So, the next step is choosing the category. You should take into account your skills and interests, as well as work experience (it's essential for some jobs).
  3. Make sure you have enough experience and qualification for the position chosen. Understandably, each position has a set of requirements you should meet for your application to be considered. Sometimes candidates don't pay attention to the requirements relying on luck. It's completely wrong, as in this case people just waste their time applying. We'll discuss general requirements a little bit later.
  4. Register an account. Having selected a job, you should proceed to the next step - registration. To register a personal account, you'll have to provide some personal information (like your date of birth, your name, email, etc). You'll also have to provide some information about your qualification. And the last step is to create a user name and a password.
  5. Choose a job and apply. Think twice whether you meet all the requirements not to waste your time for nothing. You can apply for as many positions as you like. Instead using CV, you will need to use forms as UN p11 form (personal history form).  The applying process is not a complicated one, you just have to follow the instructions.
  6. Wait for an interview invitation. Having applied for a job (or several), all you have to do is wait. You will be able to check the status of your application in your account. Be attentive, as only those selected for an interview will be informed about the result.

There are several programs designed to help young people to find a career path in the UN. One of the most popular is the Young Professionals Programme (we'll discuss it a little bit later).


UN Jobs FAQ

 

โ€‹The UNDP salary calculator as a partner for forecasting the salary

The UNDP salary calculator as a partner for forecasting the salary

Each person works for earning as much money, as he/she can. Cause our needs are not unlimited and for covering them, we need to work hard. In this case, the person can use the UNDP salary calculator and understand how much will be a monthly and annual salary of a worker in a certain position.

The role of UNDP in the world and its opportunities

The UNDP is the United Nations global development network. The main function of the UNDP is to help the whole world providing experience, knowledge, and different programs. So, the international organization tries to increase the human living level as higher as it can be. Cause, if peopleโ€™s living level is high, they start to work for development. They create something new, try to help each other, all this is interconnected. The standard of living of the population is associated with a large number of points. For example, the UN also recommends a list of conditions that affect the standard of living of the population:

Today, the UNDP works in three thematic areas:

The UNDP is the aggregate work of the member countries of the organization. All decisions are taken by consensus. And if among the permanent member countries at least one is against and vetoes, the decision is blocked. Thus, the whole world receives really necessary and important programs that will help solve certain problems.


๐Ÿ“Œ Read our Recruitment guide for UNDP - United Nations Development Programme 2020 ๐Ÿ“Œ

Reasons for getting the UNDP job

Working in the UNDP department is a dream of a lot of people. Cause, in this case, a person will be able to not only increase his or her own welfare but also to help the whole world become better. There are more reasons that make people want to apply for working in UNDP. In addition to an interesting environment and work and strong colleagues (very professional and open), there are a lot of positive things in work at the UNDP. One of the most significant reason is the salary level. Of course, the UNDP department will not hire everyone. Only the best specialist that fit the criteria will be hired.

In addition to the high salary, another advantage of the work is - benefits for officials. High-ranking professionals are provided with a whole package of benefits, which includes:

Another advantage of work-life balance. There is a requirement for the number of hours that must be worked out per day and per week. Nobody will be engaged in micromanagement, so there is an opportunity to regulate your working day as necessary.

One more advantage is a good working environment. Typically, offices create good working conditions for service - cafeterias, a library, a gym, and a garden. Such a criterion helps people relax in the field of important negotiations, and tune in to a new project. Yes, and in other matters, when mental work is interrupted for a short rest, the productivity of the work is always higher.

The main requirements for getting a job in the UNPD.

If you always wanted to help the whole world to become better, to help solve human problems at the global level, then you can definitely find the ideal job for you in the United Nations Development Program. The UNDP is a huge employer and offers career opportunities and career path choices comparable to those in large private companies. However, not everyone will be able to get a job at the UNDP. Itโ€™s no secret that the selection criteria are quite strict, so not everyone passes them. For years, specialists have come a long way to fully meet the requirements of the department. So, what are the selection criteria for the UNPD job?

Language

Historically, the UN has two working languages - English and French, and six official languages (English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian, and Spanish). It is impossible to get a job in the structure of UN organizations without knowledge of English. Know more foreign languages - this will add you points when passing through the stages of employment, but English - must-have. The dominant working language, whether in Geneva, New York, Vienna, Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Paris, Bangkok, remains English. Without it, you donโ€™t even need to start talking about finding a job at the UN. This fact is the subject of debate and demarche on the part of francophone countries, they insist that the French play the largest possible role in the life of the UN, but the realities show a different picture.

Theoretically, if you have only French, you may not be excluded from the recruitment procedure, but there are other reasons not to hire you. The most important thing is that without English it is almost impossible to integrate into the UN secretariat system.

An experience

Since the UN deals with important aspects of the whole world, the organization cannot take a person to a high position without experience in a certain field. In such cases, if a person has clearly defined for himself that he/she wants to work in the UNDP department and has decided on the field of work, he/she must get experience. With small steps, a person will be able to achieve his goal. All efforts made to get a job will justify it in the future.

Availability of hard and soft skills

Working as a team, a person is obliged to possess developed soft skills. Indeed, without communication, not a single thing will work out. Therefore, a person who wants to work at the UNDP should be able to quickly find a common language and be as open as possible to the conversation.

Higher education

This item is required wherever there is career growth. Without higher education, a person will not be able to get the desired high position, because this requires special specialized knowledge.

Itโ€™s just half of the main requirements but they are very important. Nevertheless, just have such points for applying for a job is not enough. If you are really determined to get a job at the UN, you should read some recommendations that will help you achieve your goal. There are many such recommendations, the main thing is to stand out for yourself the main thing, and clearly follow your goal. For example, you are able to read an article with which you can get good tips and advice on how to successfully get a job at the UN (just go to website) But since the whole world is now sitting in social networks, you are able to access to the Telegram channel, which has a lot of practical tips and news.

A career at the UNDP begins with the position of the trainee, who in most cases does not receive a salary at all. So, it can last from 6 months to a year. During this time, the specialist gains good experience working in an international organization, and if he or she performs well, then this type of internship can guarantee that he will be hired.

Some employment tips for future workers

๐Ÿ“Œ Read our Recruitment guide for UNDP - United Nations Development Programme 2020 ๐Ÿ“Œ

The higher salary โ€“ the harder work

Well, as it was mentioned, one of the reasons why many aspire to work at the UN is, of course, high salaries (8-10 thousand dollars a month on average) and social guarantees. Good health insurance, pension accruals, a flexible tax system (the UN pays most of the taxes for its employees), allowances (that compensate for the cost of living in the city where the person work), subsidies for renting a house (if a person has to move to another region). And this is far from all that the most powerful non-profit organization in the world will offer to its workers. But, for reaching this all, the worker should every day increase the level of own knowledge and skills. There is one important rule that must be remembered. If you do the same tomorrow as you do today, you will have what you have today. If you want other results, do something else. And for this - learn. Similar tips are also in the uncareer.net portal book about how to get a good position in the UN and grow, you can download it right now and get one step closer to your goal. As for the salary, when a person receives a position, he already dreams about how in 3 years he will receive many times more. Such thoughts may exist, but it is better to focus on the UNDP salary calculator.

The meaning of the UNDP salary calculator and its criteria

When a person works for a long time in an international company, he already has some idea of what the salary will be. But, when a person just starts work, he/she does not know yet. In order for everyone to navigate the future salary, the UNDP website created the UNDP salary calculator (to get to the site, follow the link Skip Navigation Links SalCalcInt).

The first thing you see on the site will be a small introduction, and then the calculator itself. At first glance, the siteโ€™s interface is quite simple. All presented icons have an explanation, which means that even a novice user will be able to understand it. Despite the number of working days in a month, the calculation of the salary according to the salary has a formula in which a person who has worked a whole month receives a fixed amount of salary. The salary system can be combined with bonus, piece-rate pay, in which the employer, in addition to the salary, pays bonuses for the performance of any indicators for the whole company, structural unit, branch, etc. You need to select the items that correspond exactly to your data, for example, you need to indicate how many years you have been working in the UN, how many years you have been in a particular position, in which country you are working in, what your rank is. These items will help you calculate your salary. But, in addition to salary, with the help of the UNDP salary calculator, you can find out what allowances will be given to you. For example, you need to fill out a column about health insurance and others, and then the UNDP salary calculator will calculate the size of allowances for you.

One of the advantages of the UNDP salary calculator is that the calculator considers your first gross salary, and then after deducting the Staff Assessment (the internal tax that the organization each time takes from gross salary), the person sees net salary.

Items in the UNDP salary calculator

Despite the fact that the calculator is quite simple, here are some points that are worth explaining.

  1. Eligible dependent children. This item is needed in order to calculate the sum of allowances. Therefore, you need to indicate here if you have children, then how many children you have before the age of 21.
  2. If you are a single parent, then you need to check the box in this section and be sure to indicate the amount of monthly support.
  3. If your work is hard and falls into this category, then you need to indicate this. Indeed, in such cases, wages will be calculated using another coefficient.
  4. In the insurance item, it is important to indicate Medical & Dental insurance. At this point, Life Insurance is not accepted. And also, if you have a dependent child (or maybe two), you should definitely indicate this in the corresponding line.

The rest of the items are ordinary helpful. But, the main thing to remember, if you want to know exactly how much you can get to calculate your future costs, then you need to completely fill out the calculator without missing any detail. Any changes in the work of the UN, and other news, can always be found on the Instagram page (you can click on the link).

Example of working with the UNDP salary calculator

Letโ€™s fulfill the appointment details step-by-step just for example using random variations, for a better understanding of how the salary calculator works.

* There are several main categories of staff at the UN - these are P-staff (professional-staff), G-staff (general-staff), national officers (national professional officer), field-staff.

P-staff are the so-called international employees who enjoy all the immunities and privileges that work at the UN gives. There are several levels of positions:

  1. P-2: at least 2 years of work experience
  2. P-3: at least 5 years of work experience
  3. P-4: at least 7 years of work experience
  4. P-5: at least 10 years of work experience
  5. P6 / D-1 (directorate-staff): at least 15 years of experience (these are department directors)
  6. P-7 / D-2: over 15 years of experience

(The highest salaries are received by the heads of the commissions and the chairmen of the committees. Their salary reaches $ 200 thousand net).

Well, fixing this data the UNDP salary calculator fix for the worker:

Total โ€“ 7,841.71 USD.

Calculation: Net Salary * post adjustment (%) multiplier = post adjustment amount.

Allowances

Total โ€“ 873.87 USD.

Staff contribution to Pension Fund โ€“ (1,078.21) USD.

In this case, the workerโ€™s monthly salary will be 7,637.36 USD. And the annual salary will be 91,648.37 USD.

Such a calculator can be useful both for beginners and experienced workers.

How to increase salary working in the UNDP

So, you calculated approximately your future salary and thought about how you can increase it. If you are planning to work in the UNDP department for a long time than it's important to understand that this organization each day demands from workers constant development. What does it mean?

Learn to be more useful.

Well, if a person wants more, he/she should work more for it. He/she should develop own skills. For this, the UN always hosts a huge number of different conferences and meetings that you can go to and listen to, various pieces of training on personal development are also organized here (for example, how to solve conflicts, how to quickly find a common language, how to understand what the interlocutor thinks about And so on). The UN has language courses that are absolutely free. However, with the help of these courses, it is possible to learn and improve knowledge only in the official languages of the UN (and there are only 6 of them). You need to learn to look at yourself through the eyes of the employer. No one will increase your salary just out of pity. It's simple: you benefit the company; the company rewards you for it. Think about what you have changed in your work lately, how it affected the quality and effectiveness of your work (you learned how to use the new task management system, mastered and applied especially tricky time management techniques, etc.). Any entrepreneur is more willing to pay for the result than just a salary.

Work experience

Itโ€™s no secret, that the more your work experience is, the more salary you will get. Everything connected with the experience. Cause when a person has some years of experience, he or she is able to solve more issues in the work. In this case, the person growing up the career ladder, and he or she has more responsibility. All this affects the fact that a person's salary is growing. But, remember, to get a leadership position, you need to have a higher education with a master's degree in business, procurement or commerce. Permanent employees sign a new contract every year.


๐Ÿ“Œ Read our Recruitment guide for UNDP - United Nations Development Programme 2020 ๐Ÿ“Œ