Junior Professional Officer (JPO) (previously Associate Expert (AE)) is a gateway program for employment at the United Nations Secretariat. The program is sponsored by donor member states and targets young professionals willing to work for international organizations. Under this program young professionals are recruited under bilateral agreements between the UN and Donor countries to work for development projects within the UN's wide fields of competence.
- National of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mongolia, Netherlands, Norway, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States of America
- Below 32-35 years old (depends on country)
- Advanced university degree
- Fluency in English/French language
- At least 2 years of relevant professional experience.
Application and recruitment process
The number of sponsored positions varies from year to year and by donor country. Open JPO vacancies are advertised on an ad-hoc basis on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of the donor country. Each vacancy announcement contains specific instructions for candidates on the application procedure, documents required, deadlines. To enquire additional information about the specific JPO opening, approach the contact person directly in the MFA of the sponsoring member states.
Typical application process includes the following stages:
1. Submit application online
Prepare and submit required information online on the MFA website. The list of documents normally includes a Curriculum Vitae (CV)/Resume/Personal history profile (PHP) and a cover letter to be uploaded or filled directly on the website or sent via e-mail.
2. First screening
MFA conducts preliminary assessment of candidates taking into account language skills, academic background and professional experience required by the vacancy. The list of short-listed candidates is then submitted to the hiring United Nations agency for further processing.
3. Second Screening
The hiring United Nations agencies conducts another screening round and selects candidates to be interviewed.
4. Interviews.
Short-listed candidates are interviewed directly by the representatives of the various United Nations departments. The interviews can be telephonic, video or in-person, and can be done solely by the receiving office or in collaboration between the donor and the department.
5. Offers
Successful candidates are informed of the final results and receive offers to join the organization as a JPO.
Junior Professional Program
United Nations Secretariat
- National of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mongolia, Netherlands, Norway, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States of America
- Below 32-35 years old (depends on country)
- Advanced university degree
- Fluency in English/French language
- At least 2 years of relevant professional experience.
Typical application process includes the following stages:
1. Submit application online
Prepare and submit required information online on the MFA website. The list of documents normally includes a Curriculum Vitae (CV)/Resume/Personal history profile (PHP) and a cover letter to be uploaded or filled directly on the website or sent via e-mail.
2. First screening
MFA conducts preliminary assessment of candidates taking into account language skills, academic background and professional experience required by the vacancy. The list of short-listed candidates is then submitted to the hiring United Nations agency for further processing.
3. Second Screening
The hiring United Nations agencies conducts another screening round and selects candidates to be interviewed.
4. Interviews.
Short-listed candidates are interviewed directly by the representatives of the various United Nations departments. The interviews can be telephonic, video or in-person, and can be done solely by the receiving office or in collaboration between the donor and the department.
5. Offers
Successful candidates are informed of the final results and receive offers to join the organization as a JPO.