Written by About the programme
The United Nations Young Professionals Programme (UN YPP) is an annual recruitment initiative aimed at attracting highly qualified young professionals who are willing to start a career in the United Nations Secretariat as international civil servants.
As of today, it is the largest hiring program of the UN System and is the only opportunity for young professionals with limited experience to get a job in the Organisation as a permanent staff member. Depending on the staffing needs of the United Nations, applicants are invited to apply for different job areas (called “job families“) with different responsibilities, locations, and requirements.
Eligibility criteria for the candidates
In April-May every year the United Nations announces the eligibility criteria for the upcoming intake of the UN YPP program. A general set of requirements is as follows:
Have the nationality of a participating country (changed annually);
Hold at least a first-level university degree relevant for the job family you are applying for (changed annually);
Be 32 or younger by the end of the examination;
Be fluent in either English or French.
Requirements of the programme
The recruitment procedure for the UN YPP differs from the one for any other job at the United Nations and consists of three stages:
Application stage, when candidates are invited to submit an online application to the UN YPP job opening in one of the job families;
Written Exam stage, when candidates take an online test to demonstrate their knowledge of subject matter in the selected job family;
Interview stage, when candidates attend an online interview session to show their compliance with the core competencies and values of the United Nations.
The United Nations makes slight changes to the assessment procedure on each of these stages annually in order to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the UN YPP process.
Benefits of the programme
Applicants who pass all three stages of the UN YPP (Application, Written Exam, Interview) are recognised as successful candidates and become members of the United Nations Roster of Young Professionals. All new job openings for professional entry-level positions in the United Nations Secretariat (P-1, P-2 posts) are filled only with the rostered UN YPP candidates. They are offered a two-year fixed term contract at the start of their professional career, and in case of their satisfactory performance, they are granted a continuing contract to further develop their career at the United Nations.
The United Nations offers alternative career options for young and experienced professionals who are not eligible for the UN YPP examination. We have prepared detailed guidelines for you with the key steps to land a UN job that matches your interests and backgrounds.
Apply now at https://ypun.org/ypp/overview/
Young Ignited Minds Foundation 