Explore your Early Career Options with the UN - Part 1: Decentralised Recruitment

I first started working for UNESCO (the United Nations' specialised agency with a mandate on education, sciences, culture, and communication) as a part-time intern (unpaid) during the last semester of my Master's degree at Sciences Po Paris. I then navigated a series of short-term temporary contracts within two different units at UNESCO's Headquarter in Paris. My first contract came as a complete surprise! I had been discussing the possibility of staying with my internship supervisors, and the response was always the same: "there is no money." One week before the end of my internship, I was offered a one-month (paid) contract to cover for a colleague who was going on holiday. One-month turned into two, which turned into six, and now it's been almost two years!

Information is scarce online about early-career opportunities with the UN. When there are documents available, it's difficult to distinguish between the different options and what each entails. This article is something I wish I had when I first started to handle contract negotiations and renewal anxieties. It is based on my experience at UNESCO, but it will be relevant to other UN Organisations as well. Part 1 will cover decentralised recruitment - Part 2 will discuss centralised recruitment!

Decentralised Recruitment

“Decentralised recruitment” is when the application does not go through the primary Human Resources of the Organisation but is instead concluded internally by the relevant HR team dealing within that specific unit (Administrative Office or AO, if you're into UN lingo). All types of decentralised contracts are fixed-term, and they include: 

• Internships

It is no secret that the majority of internship positions with the UN are unpaid. This can be a deterrent for many students to apply. In my case, combining my studies with a part-time internship enabled me to have this opportunity while still using my scholarship for living expenses. Other interns would take on student jobs and freelance opportunities to finance the opportunity. Good news is that internship policies are slowly being reviewed within the UN. While we wait, here are some of the UN Organisations that already offer financial assistance of some sort for internships positions: Unicef, UNESCO-IIEP, WHO, UNOPS, ILO.

• Individual Consultancies

Individual consultant contracts are short-term (between 3 to 6 months, on average), and focused on specific outputs, such as analysing problems, organising events, and writing reports. Although defined as short-term external assistance, in practice, some individuals working for the UN have been employed under these contracts for years. It is a popular entry point for young professionals to the formal UN. Although the pay is usually good, these contracts are also often described as precarious (lack of holidays, social security, medical leave, etc.) and a cause of anxiety to contract holders (the uncertainty of contract extension every few months). 

• Service Contracts (SC)

These are fixed-term contracts open to nationals and people with the right to work in the country where the office they are applying to is located. For example: for UNESCO in Paris, SC is open to French people, European Union citizens, and people who have a visa allowing them to work in France. This is the contract under which I am currently employed.

In short: contracts can be no longer than 24 months on a 36-month period, you have access to the host country's social security system, you get holidays, and your pay is calculated based on a fixed-rate set by UNDP for all UN Organisations. This type of contract doesn't exist in every UN institution and is often only available in Offices in developing countries. There are exceptions, of course, such as UNESCO. 

Tips from one temporary contract holder:

I'd like to emphasise that not all early career opportunities within the UN are temporary contracts, and I will talk more in-depth about these other options in my next article. Temporary contracts, especially consultancies and SCs, do, however, make up a very significant portion of the UN's workforce. In a document published by UNESCO's Secretariat earlier this year, it was calculated that in 2018 "non-staff personnel accounted for approximately 47% of the total UNESCO workforce in full-time equivalent (FTE) terms". This is an excellent illustration of the contracting nature of the UN as a whole. So knowing your way around these types of contracts is a must if you want to work for the UN. Here are some of the lessons I learned along the way:

Contact people directly!

Not all positions are openly advertised. Those that are can be found online on the official website of the Organisation you are applying for, and others such as UN Careers and UN Jobs. The ones that are not online, are available through word-of-mouth. So make the "nice to e-meet you" your go-to phrase and get as many people to know who you are as you can. Websites such as hunter.io and LinkedIn will be your best friends. Send as many emails/invites as you feel comfortable doing, and focus on having a conversation before asking for a job. If you are currently in the city you are applying to, invite people for a coffee, if not, try a short Skype call. Don't be shy! It's really a lot more common than you might think. And even if you don't get an answer, don't be discouraged! When I emailed people at the end of my internship with UNESCO, I got responses from about 10% of the messages I sent. All you need is one "yes"!

Apply for positions even if you don't tick all the boxes!

How many times did you see a job you would love to have, but decided not to apply because you didn't have the minimum required years of experience, or didn't speak one of the languages required for the job? That's the feeling of impostor syndrome. During one conversation I had during that end-of-internship period, I was told: "even if you don't tick all the boxes, you might still be the most qualified candidate to apply." And "a vacant post is more expensive for the company than training a candidate for the job." Regardless if you agree with these arguments or not, the best way to fight impostor syndrome is to look at the issue from a rational standpoint and try not to let your insecurities get the best of you. This is a very common feeling and there is no shame in it, but it doesn’t hurt to apply -  you might surprise yourself! 

Know the rules of your contract! 

Especially concerning temporary contracts within the UN, you must know the rules (I cannot emphasise this enough!). Read through the Human Resources Manual of the Organisation (you can easily find it on Google) and understand the rules and how they might apply to you. Why?

(1) You will have the upper hand in the negotiations of your salary, benefits, etc. (this was brought up in The Zig Zag here)

(2) You will be able to detect if you're being told something that isn't in line with the regulations... 

This happens often, be it because employers aren’t sure of the regulations themselves,  precedent or something else. Examples can range from demanding a minimum experience for a contract of a certain level that isn’t specified in the rules, or stating that there is a limit to how many times someone can be promoted under a temporary contract. When this happened to me, knowing the HR Manual on SCs by heart made me feel empowered and confident not to accept what I was being told and push for a fairer contract.

I hope that the above information has been useful. Look out for Part 2 when I will speak about the Young Professionals Programme, Junior Professional Officers and other posts! 

Author:
Bianca is Brazilian, of Chinese and German descent, and currently lives in Paris, France. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and a Master's in International Development from Sciences Po Paris. All views expressed are her own and do not reflect those of her employer.

Published 7th December 2019