Application Deadline: 22 August 2017
The UN Young Professionals Programme (YPP) is a recruitment initiative for talented, highly qualified professionals to start a career as an international civil servant with the United Nations Secretariat. It consists of an entrance examination and professional development programmes once successful candidates start their career with the UN.
Requirements:
The YPP examination is held once a year and is open to nationals of countries participating in the annual recruitment exercise. The list of participating countries is published annually and varies from year to year.
Basic application criteria:
- You must have the nationality of a participating country.
- You must hold at least a first-level university degree relevant for the exam subject you are applying for.
- You must be 32 or younger in the year of the examination.
- You must be fluent in either English or French.
Participating Countries
Each year, countries that are un- or under-represented in the United Nations, are invited to take part in the Young Professionals Programme.
Afghanistan, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahrain, Belarus, Belize, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Comoros, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Honduras, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kiribati, Kuwait, Laos, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Monaco, Mozambique, Nauru, Norway, Oman, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Qatar, Saint Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, United States, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam
Political, Peace, and Humanitarian Network (POLNET).
• Civil affairs
• Electoral affairs
• Human rights affairs
• Humanitarian affairs
• Political affairs
• Rule of law
• Security institutions
Management and Administration Network (MAGNET)
• Administration
• Audit
• Ethics
• Finance
• Human resources
• Inspection and evaluation
• Investigation
• Investment management
• Management and analysis
• Ombudsman
• Procurement
Public Information and Conference Management Network (INFONET)
• Conference services
• Documentation and information management
• Language (e.g. radio production in different languages)
• Protocol
• Public information
Convocation status & Examination centres
- Convocation Status
Every year the YPP attracts up to 50,000 applications. After the screening of applications, the most qualified applicants per country are convoked to sit the exam in their respective exam subjects. You may check the status of your application by typing your application number into the search window below. The status search window will be regularly updated to notify candidates of their convocation status as soon as their status has been determined. All candidates will be informed through Important Updates on https://careers.un.org/ypp once the screening process finishes.
Recruitment process
Placement on the roster
Successful candidates will be placed on their respective rosters in July and will remain on the roster for the duration of two years. After two years the roster closes. Those not placed within these two years will no longer be considered for posts and will have to re-take the YPP examination if they wish to be reconsidered.
Type of contract offered
Candidates who are selected from the reserve list will be offered a two-year fixed term contract at the start of their Professional career with the Secretariat. After two years and subject to satisfactory performance, they may be granted a continuing contract.
Level of first placement
Your placement level can only be at a P-1 or P-2 level. Successful candidates holding a bachelor’s degree and no work experience will be offered placement at the P-1 level. Successful candidates holding a bachelor’s degree and two years of work experience, or a master’s degree and no work experience, will be offered placement at the P-2 level. You are expected to serve for a minimum of two years in that position before being considered for appointment to another position.
Application Process
Step 1: Confirm your eligibility
Carefully review basic application criteria on the YPP Home page.
Step 2: Review the job opening
Read the job opening for the exam subject you are interested in and make sure you fulfil the requirements. The list of job openings can be found on the YPP Home page.
Step 3: Prepare an application
Apply to the selected job opening through Inspira. Additional guidelines on creating applications are available by clicking on the “Manuals and Help’’ link found in the upper right-hand corner of the webpage when you log in to https://inspira.un.org.
Step 4: Application evaluation
Your application will be screened to determine if you are eligible for the examination in the exam subject you applied for. If more than 40 applicants from the same country apply for the same exam area, those applicants will be further screened and ranked by a Human Resources Officer according to points given for the following additional qualifications: highest level of education completed, knowledge of official UN languages, and relevant work experience. Please be aware that many potential applicants do not pass the screening stage due to incomplete or inaccurate applications.
For More Information:
Visit the Official Webpage of the UN Young Professionals Programme 2017