WEBVTT 00:00:05.100 --> 00:00:11.200 Hello and a warm welcome to this virtual conversation. My name is Jean-Luc Marcelin and I work with - 00:00:11.334 --> 00:00:15.901 - the United Nations Development Program. I am based in Copenhagen, Denmark. 00:00:16.034 --> 00:00:19.967 But as you can imagine, our activities are really all around the world. 00:00:20.100 --> 00:00:25.467 So I'm not going to talk about Copenhagen. I'm just going to talk about the UNDP as a whole. 00:00:25.600 --> 00:00:31.934 Some of the information I will share also applies to other UN organizations. 00:00:32.067 --> 00:00:37.100 Because UNDP is one of the many agencies which are part of the UN system. 00:00:37.234 --> 00:00:45.534 And oftentimes the way we seek young talent or try to attract talent to the organization - 00:00:45.667 --> 00:00:53.601 - is similar to what other UN organizations would do. Of course there are flavors, and when it comes to UNDP - 00:00:53.734 --> 00:01:03.201 - as you may or may not know, UNDP is an agency which tries to do sustainable development. 00:01:03.334 --> 00:01:11.000 Working with governments and implementing policies that will allow long-term development - 00:01:11.134 --> 00:01:20.467 - with a balance between all factors. Economic, environmental and democratic factors. 00:01:20.600 --> 00:01:29.267 It may sound obvious that you ned these three factors to go hand in hand in order to achieve long-term development. 00:01:29.400 --> 00:01:35.934 But not all actors do take such a comprehensive approach to their work. 00:01:36.067 --> 00:01:43.134 Because there are also some other priorities that may be more acute on a specific topic. 00:01:43.267 --> 00:01:47.601 UNDP looks to the bigger picture and the long-term. 00:01:47.734 --> 00:01:53.167 I believe this is extremely exciting, but this also leads to challenges in the sense that - 00:01:53.301 --> 00:02:08.634 - it is more difficult to implement long-term impacts of policies rather than just trying to change a specific situation. 00:02:08.767 --> 00:02:15.534 More specifically, we have a roadmap. The sustainable development goals, SDGs. 00:02:15.667 --> 00:02:22.434 And I'm certain you are familiar with the SDGs. If you are not, I would strongly encourage you to look into them. 00:02:22.567 --> 00:02:31.400 Because this is the very first step towards understanding how development work works and how UNDP operates. 00:02:31.534 --> 00:02:39.634 Within the SDGs, UNDP has six signature solutions. I have already mentioned the three main pillars. 00:02:39.767 --> 00:02:47.834 And under these pillars there are what we call signature solutions. These are basically the programmatic activities we focus on. 00:02:47.967 --> 00:02:58.967 Political action is one, governance is another, and environment and climate change is the third. 00:02:59.100 --> 00:03:07.934 Energy is also a signature solutions, so if you are more of an engineer type of person working on access to electricity - 00:03:08.067 --> 00:03:13.667 - or sustainable energy et cetera, we also have job opportunities there. 00:03:13.800 --> 00:03:19.567 We also have a lot of activites together with UN Women and other partners on gender. 00:03:19.700 --> 00:03:25.534 So if you work on gender empowerment or you are interested in gender studies there are also jobs there. 00:03:25.667 --> 00:03:31.401 And then the last signature solution, number six, is crisis prevention and resilience. 00:03:31.534 --> 00:03:39.034 Because UNDP is very much involved with governments and local society in trying to ensure that - 00:03:39.167 --> 00:03:46.434 - manmade catastrophies or natural catastrophies can be avoided through various setups. 00:03:46.567 --> 00:03:56.801 I cannot go into detail, of course, in such a short presentation. But I would encourage you to follow UNDP on social media - 00:03:56.934 --> 00:04:04.634 - and its website et cetera. In particular when it comes to specific things you are interested in. 00:04:04.767 --> 00:04:13.101 UNDP is a large partner. Our workforce is one of the big ones when it comes to the UN. 00:04:13.234 --> 00:04:20.667 If you take away the peacekeeping missions post which sometimes group many thousands of soldiers - 00:04:20.801 --> 00:04:29.567 - but in terms of workforce, UDNP has around 80 000 staff members and we are basically locatedin most countries. 00:04:29.700 --> 00:04:36.334 In developing countries, basically all of them, and also in quite a few headquarter locations - 00:04:36.467 --> 00:04:39.167 - og region offices. 00:04:39.300 --> 00:04:44.667 For example, we had a presence in Oslo with the Oslo governance center. 00:04:44.800 --> 00:04:52.767 Also we have a visitation office in Oslo. It's not big offices depending on the countries. 00:04:52.900 --> 00:04:56.734 But we are really all over the world. our network is quite large. 00:04:56.867 --> 00:05:07.100 When it comes to nationalities we have basically most nationalities except maybe for a few here and there. 00:05:07.234 --> 00:05:15.367 The diversity element is extremely important. We have both a local presence, working with local partners - 00:05:15.500 --> 00:05:19.534 - governments, civil societies implementing our activities. 00:05:19.667 --> 00:05:26.067 We have regional presence in five hubs covering more or less the five continents. 00:05:26.200 --> 00:05:34.500 Where the activities cover a region. And then we have our headquarters which is in New York. 00:05:34.634 --> 00:05:41.800 In the Unites States, and also some outpost headquarters units like in Copenhagen or Geneva. 00:05:41.934 --> 00:05:49.067 Again, a lot of information can be found on the job site or the website of UNDP. 00:05:49.200 --> 00:06:00.800 But also if you look at the latest yearly activity report that has just been launched a few months ago - 00:06:00.934 --> 00:06:10.200 - covering 2020. It takes time to gather all the information. It is a very interesting read if you want to know more about UNDP. 00:06:10.334 --> 00:06:17.267 When it comes to working with UNDP there are three main messages I want to convey. 00:06:17.400 --> 00:06:23.200 The first is that working with UDNP means you are joining a community of purpose. 00:06:23.334 --> 00:06:32.200 You are joining an organization that values input from all stakeholders, including us, across the UN family. 00:06:32.334 --> 00:06:38.334 You're not just choosing a job. You're really choosing a community of collaboration. 00:06:38.467 --> 00:06:50.901 Of people working together with a shared sense of purpose. I know it sounds fluffy, but it really is a community of purpose. 00:06:51.034 --> 00:06:54.267 We really believe that. It's not just any job. 00:06:54.401 --> 00:07:00.601 It's a job where you need to believe in being able to make changes for the greater good. 00:07:00.734 --> 00:07:05.934 Because it is challenging. You will sometimes face drawbacks. 00:07:06.067 --> 00:07:13.534 Situations where you work for many many years on the project and then some situation makes the program not that successful. 00:07:13.667 --> 00:07:18.034 So you really need to believe that it's possible to make a change together. 00:07:18.167 --> 00:07:25.367 In order to be efficient and satisfied with the job. 00:07:25.501 --> 00:07:32.267 It's also a job where innovative thinking and creative input is encouraged. 00:07:32.401 --> 00:07:39.234 Of course, we are a large organization with public money so we have to justify, to report. 00:07:39.367 --> 00:07:45.034 We have a lot of different layers which forces us to take action in a certain way. 00:07:45.167 --> 00:07:53.501 However, innovative thinking and next-generation thinking is a critical element for UDNP to retain pertinence. 00:07:53.634 --> 00:08:01.067 And to make sure it enables its mandate. So we live in a very fast-changing world - 00:08:01.201 --> 00:08:08.434 - and we have to make sure we also evolve in the way we think and in the way we partner. 00:08:08.567 --> 00:08:19.267 The third point is peronal growth. In the sense that UNDP does offer quite a package - 00:08:19.401 --> 00:08:22.701 - when it comes to professional development, but also personal development. 00:08:22.834 --> 00:08:29.634 In the sense that we have career developments report, there are opportunities for continuous learning and improvement. 00:08:29.767 --> 00:08:38.334 And just the fact that working with UNDP involves being exposed to so many different situations. 00:08:38.467 --> 00:08:47.700 There is a huge personal growth when it comes to intercultural understanding and interpersonal connection. 00:08:47.834 --> 00:08:55.900 In terms of profiles we look for, I already mentioned the programmatic profiles linked to the signature solutions. 00:08:56.034 --> 00:09:03.300 Poverty, reduction, governance and energy and environment, gender, et cetera. Everything I just mentioned. 00:09:03.434 --> 00:09:16.800 But UNDP also hires experts in more operational types of work such as communication, procurement, human resources, finance. 00:09:16.934 --> 00:09:23.400 Monitoring, evaluation, et cetera. So if you're more on that part of the spectrum - 00:09:23.534 --> 00:09:27.534 - it is also possible to find opportunities in UNDP. 00:09:27.667 --> 00:09:36.434 What is critical is to make sure your CV is geared towards the type of jobs and requirements we're looking for. 00:09:36.567 --> 00:09:51.634 Often when I talk to students and other talent or mid-level or even senior talent I meet people who have the motivation and drive - 00:09:51.767 --> 00:10:00.500 - to work with UN and UNDP, but who may not have the perfect CV. And we do need people to have some requirements in the CV. 00:10:00.634 --> 00:10:05.167 So what are these? Typically, depending on the level of position you apply for - 00:10:05.300 --> 00:10:07.434 - the requirements will be different. 00:10:07.567 --> 00:10:12.334 But oftentimes you will need a few years of experience in a developing country. 00:10:12.467 --> 00:10:19.800 So if you have the opportunity to work with an NGO it's always good for your CV. 00:10:19.934 --> 00:10:27.934 There will also usually be a need for a second UN language. That's not always the case, but often having French or Spanish - 00:10:28.067 --> 00:10:35.767 - or Arabic, sometimes, can be a huge asset against people who only have English. 00:10:35.900 --> 00:10:41.400 We also need people who have a minimum number of years of experience. 00:10:41.534 --> 00:10:51.467 Depending on how senior the position is. Typically, if you want to work in an international position - 00:10:51.600 --> 00:10:56.267 - in the UNDP, a minimum of two years of experience are required. 00:10:56.400 --> 00:11:02.867 In other words, your first job within UNDP or the UN system, for that matter - 00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:14.634 - it would usually be with an NGO or an embassy or even in the private sector, maybe a consulting firm. 00:11:14.767 --> 00:11:22.500 Or maybe academia. As long as it is relevant to the type of position you apply for, this is fine. 00:11:22.634 --> 00:11:29.967 One last thing. I do believe quite a few of you are Norwegian nationals. 00:11:30.100 --> 00:11:37.567 We have a partnership with the Norwegian government on something called the Junior Professional Officer Programme. 00:11:37.700 --> 00:11:43.600 It does require two years of experience, so if you are still a student it can not be the case for you yet. 00:11:43.734 --> 00:11:51.134 But have a look at the JPO programme. For Norwegians it's one of the best opportunities to get into the UN system. 00:11:51.267 --> 00:11:59.434 Lastly, internship opportunities in UNDP are paid with a stipend and they are totally decentralized. 00:11:59.567 --> 00:12:06.467 They are available on our job sites in case this is something you would like to explore during your studies. 00:12:06.600 --> 00:12:11.434 I have to stop here because we are reaching the time limit for this presentation. 00:12:11.567 --> 00:12:21.067 But I look forward to talking with you during the two hour sessions that will take place later today or during the day of this event. 00:12:21.200 --> 00:12:24.867 Thank you very much and thank you for being interested in joining UNDP. 00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:29.000 All the best.