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United Nations Secretariat
April 2022
Applicant Guide
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Chapter 1: Job openings in the UN
1. In the employment of its staff, the United Nations strives to meet the
highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity to deliver on its
promise in achieving the goals of peace, inclusive sustainable
development and human rights for all. Consultants, individual contractors,
interns and United Nations Volunteers are also engaged to support various
aspects of the organization’s work.
2. The United Nations Careers Portal at www.careers.un.org provides
details on the different opportunities and currently available job openings
at the United Nations. This guide briefly highlights the nature and context of
those opportunities and provides instructions on how to apply for jobs with
an emphasis on staff positions.
Staff categories
3. Positions in different staff categories are advertised on the United
Nations Careers Portal:
International recruitment
Professional and higher
categories
Internationally recruited staff performing
analytical and conceptual work, normally
outside of the country of origin and with the
expectation to move geographically
throughout their career
Field Service category Internationally recruited staff in field
operations whose functions range from
procedural, operational and technical to
analytical and conceptual
Local recruitment
National Professional
Officers category
Nationals and permanent residents of the
country of service performing analytical and
conceptual work within a national context
General Service
category
Staff whose functions range from routine or
repetitive to complex and paraprofessional
Trade and Crafts
category
Drivers, electricians, building management
staff in New York
Security Service
category
Security officers in New York
Public Information
Assistants category
Tour guides in New York
Language Teachers
category
Language teachers in New York and
Geneva
4. The movement of staff members from the Field Service category up
to the FS-5 level and the General Service and related categories (other
than the National Professional Officer category) to the Professional
category in the United Nations is exclusively allowed through the Young
Professionals Programme competitive examinations. The announcements
for these examinations are published on the United Nations Careers Portal.
Job opening types
5. Job openings are usually advertised to fill specific positions which
are available for a period of one year or longer. Some job openings in field
operations are only open to rostered candidates who have been
preapproved for selection, as explained in Chapter 5. These job openings
are called recruit from roster job openings. To be preapproved for selection
in field operations, applicants may apply for generic job openings which
are advertised for that purpose.
6. Temporary job openings are advertised to fill staff positions
available for less than one year. The position may be temporary due to
budget constraints or limited duration of need.
Non-staff opportunities
7. Opportunities for consultant and individual contractor contracts
may also be advertised on the United Nations Careers Portal. Consultants
are engaged in an advisory or consultative capacity to provide specialized
skills or knowledge not normally possessed by staff. Individual contractors
may be engaged to perform staff-like work, such as translation, editing or
part-time maintenance.
8. Undergraduate students in their final year of studies and graduate
students wishing to enhance their educational experience and gain
experience in the work of the United Nations may apply for internships on
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the United Nations Careers Portal. Interns work full-time for two to six months.
Interns are not paid.
9. United Nations Volunteers are individuals who volunteer for at least
six months and who are deployed mainly to support field operations. Many
of them already have relevant expertise and several years of work
experience. United Nations Volunteers receive an allowance. For further
information on United Nations Volunteers and on how to apply for these
opportunities, visit www.unv.org.
Finding job openings
10. The United Nations Careers Portal is the right place to start looking
for opportunities in the United Nations. Applicants may also access job
openings through Inspira, the United Nations’ talent management platform.
While both websites may be used to browse and search job openings,
applicants must create an account in Inspira to submit applications.
United Nations Careers Portal: https://careers.un.org
11. In the Search Job Openings section, applicants may conduct an
open search or enter search criteria such as the job category. Click Search
and browse job openings.
12. Click the job title to learn more about the position.
13. The United Nations Careers Portal is available in both English and
French. Applicants can change the language by clicking Français or
English on the top right side of the browser page.
Inspira: https://inspira.un.org
14. To search job openings in
Inspira, applicants need an account.
If they already have an account,
they may log in to Inspira by entering
the username and password.
Otherwise, applicants should create
an account according to the
instructions provided in Chapter 2.
15. Inspira is available in both
English and French. Applicants can
change the language by clicking
Français or English below the login
button.
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16. After logging in, enter keywords such as job title or duty station in
the Job Search tile of the Applicant / Staff Member Activity Center to look
for job openings (1 year or longer) or temporary job openings (less than 1
year). Click Search.
17. For an advanced search, use the expanded set of
search fields to locate job openings using any combination of
keyword, category, level, time of posting, job network, job family and duty
station. Click the job title to learn more about the position.
18. Applicants may click Save Search Criteria to keep the search results
and receive notifications for new job openings matching the search criteria.
When saving the search criteria, applicants will be asked to name the
search. They may set up notifications by checking the box Use As Job alert.
Once that has been done, click Save Search. Job alerts are not available
for temporary job openings.
19. Applicants may view saved searches and job alerts by clicking My
Saved Searches & Job Alerts link on the top of the Job Search page.
Saved job criteria and job alerts are active for a period of six months.
20. To mark specific job openings for later, applicants
may click the star icon ( ) on the far-right side of the
searched job opening from the search list or in the title box
after opening the job opening. Once the icon fills up in
yellow ( ), applicants may see the job openings again by
clicking My Favorite Jobs at the top of the Inspira home page.
21. Notifications relating to job applications, job alerts,
selections, etc. may be viewed by clicking My Notifications
on the Inspira home page.
Accessibility
22. Accessibility features are available on both the United Nations
Careers Portal and Inspira to assist persons with disabilities. This accessibility
menu can be read by assistive screen readers (e.g. JAWS, NVDA).
23. To turn on the accessibility features, click the grey Accessibility
button located on the upper-left side of the browser for the Careers Portal
and at the bottom-right side of the browser for Inspira.
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24. Select an accessibility profile from the menu. The list of profiles
includes: Screen Reader, Keyboard Navigation, Color Contrast,
Monochromatic Colors, Text Color Contrast and Block Blinking. Once a
profile is selected, the webpage will automatically refresh with the feature.
25. Click on “Define your Settings” to choose colors (Normal, Grayscale,
High Contrast) and other settings which include: Help Layer, Alternative
navigation, Speed control, Block blinking, Screen reader, Magnify. After
selecting the preferred options, click on the Apply button.
Need help?
26. Applicants may seek assistance or send
in any queries by clicking Contact Us located at
the top of the Inspira landing page. On this
page, applicants will find frequently asked
questions (FAQs) per category and
subcategory. Otherwise, applicants may submit
a specific inquiry by clicking Contact Us.
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Chapter 2. Opening an Account
27. Applicants must have an account in Inspira, the United Nations’
talent management platform, to apply for job openings. Creating an
account in Inspira is easy. Employees may also transfer previously acquired
roster memberships to employee accounts in Inspira.
Who needs to create an Inspira account?
Applicants other than United Nations Secretariat staff members
28. Applicants need to create an account, unless they are staff
members of the United Nations Secretariat or other United Nations and
related organizations adopting Inspira as their talent management
platform.
Employee accounts for the United Nations staff members
29. Staff members are issued employee accounts when they join the
United Nations Secretariat. The same applies to staff members of other
United Nations and related organizations adopting Inspira as their talent
management platform.
30. The employee account information is sent to staff members via an
automatic e-mail notification. Staff members are required to use this
account to apply for job openings. Former staff members may continue to
use these accounts following separation.
Creating an Inspira account
31. Go to https://Inspira.un.org and click
Create account here.
32. Enter the given and family name,
password, primary e-mail and date of birth. Once
the account is created, the date of birth cannot
be changed.
33. Click Register. The system will automatically create a User ID. It will
be e-mailed to the applicant, but it is advisable to write it down for ease of
reference.
Log in to Inspira and update profile information
34. Once an account has been created or issued, enter the User ID
and Password and click Login.
35. For the first login, applicants should update their profile by clicking
My Profile at the top of the Inspira home page. The mandatory fields of My
Profile must be completed before submitting any application.
36. In Personal Details of the My Profile page, applicants must ensure
that their contact information including telephone number, e-mail address,
and physical addresses are current. Hiring managers may try to reach them
via phone and e-mail.
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37. In Nationality & Residence, a copy of the personal details page of
the applicant’s passport containing the photo and biographical data
should be uploaded, unless the applicant is a current employee. If a
passport is not readily available, the applicant may provide another travel
document or photo ID.
Transferring roster membership from external account to employee
account
38. To transfer roster memberships acquired on an external account to
an employee account, in the employee account either 1) go to Main
Menu > Self Service > Recruiting > Transfer roster memberships; or 2) click
the My Roster Memberships tile in the Staff Member Activity Center and
then click Transfer Roster Memberships. Applicants should complete their
employee account profiles prior to initiating the transfer and follow the
instructions to verify that they are the owner of both accounts.
39. After transferring the roster memberships from an external account,
applicants will not be able to submit new applications using the external
account. This will not affect applications which have already been
submitted from the external account prior to the transfer. Applicants will
continue to receive status updates of the submitted applications in the
external account. Any roster memberships subsequently obtained after the
transfer in the external account will be automatically transferred to the
employee account.
40. For external accounts with roster memberships, changes to the first
name and given name are not possible. External account holders with
roster memberships who wish to change their names in Inspira should raise
a support ticket and provide documentation to evidence the name
changes.
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Chapter 3: Applying to job openings
41. During the application process, applicants will be asked to provide
details and documentation pertaining to their educational background,
work experience, language proficiency, knowledge and skills, publications,
certifications, and training. It is important for applicants to elaborate in the
application that they satisfy the criteria specified in the job opening. The
United Nations may screen applicants through automatic screening,
manual review, and other evaluation methods.
Assessing qualifications
42. Once applicants have found a job opening that is of interest to
them, they should pay special attention to the criteria specified for
education, work experience, languages, and competencies. Applicants
are encouraged to apply for job openings for which they at least meet the
“required” criteria and have previously demonstrated the specified
competencies.
43. The criteria indicated as “required” are mandatory to be
considered for the job opening. The criteria which are specified as
“desirable” are not mandatory. However, some or all desirable criteria may
be necessary for applicants to be shortlisted.
44. Applicants should also pay attention to the competencies stated
in the job openings. Applicants may be assessed to determine if they have
these competencies through different evaluation and assessment
methodologies including a competency-based interview.
Starting an application
45. Applicants may create a draft application online which is not
associated to a specific job opening in Inspira. Click My Applications tile in
the Applicant or Staff Member Activity Center page. This opens the My
Applications page. Click Create Draft Application on the upper right-hand
side.
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46. To start applying for a specific job opening, click Apply Now from
the job opening in the United Nations Careers Portal or Inspira. Applicants
may replicate a draft or submitted application, and update the information
carried over from that application to create new applications tailored to
the specific job openings they are applying for.
47. Applicants who do not have stable internet connection and are
unable to complete their application online may fill out the application
offline first and load the application by following paragraphs 68 to 71.
48. Applicants, especially rostered candidates, are encouraged to
apply early. Job openings advertised to fill specific positions may be filled
with rostered candidates who are preapproved for selection during the
posting period. No application will be received following the posting period
of the job opening.
49. Applicants accessing Inspira from the United Nations Careers Portal
will be required to log into Inspira. Applicants who do not have an account
must create an account according to Chapter 2.
Application snapshot
50. The application process consists of the following steps. Applicants
must fill all fields marked with an asterisk (*). Applications should be saved
at each step of the process so that the information can be retrieved later.
Steps Description
1. Welcome Let us know how you learned about the job opening.
Decide whether you want to create your application
from scratch; replicate a draft or previous application; or
use an offline template.
2. Job
Requirements
Answer a series of questions to help us identify
candidates who meet the criteria specified in the job
opening.
3. Education/
Languages
Provide information about your university degrees and
high school diploma. Indicate your languages skills,
especially your proficiency level in the working
languages of the Secretariat (English and French)
including your mother tongue.
4. Experience/
References
Provide information about your work experience and
supervisors. Also provide professional references for
reference checking especially if you have had less than
three supervisors. Include supervisees if you have
managerial experience.
5. Motivation
statement
Explain what motivates you to apply for the position.
6. Other
information
Upload requested documents, such as performance
evaluation reports, degree certificate, high school
diploma, transcripts, etc. Answer mandatory questions.
7. Review/
Submit
Review all information added in the application before
clicking Submit Application. Review the Terms and
Agreements and click Certify and Submit Application.
Filling out the application
Job requirements questions
51. These are specific questions relating to the criteria specified in the
job opening for identifying candidates who meet them. The question
responses should be supported by details provided in the rest of the
application including for education qualifications, work experience and
language fluency. Click the “Watch the Job Requirements video” link in
step 2 for guidance on how to respond to the questions.
Education
52. Applicants should list high school diplomas and university degrees
equivalent to Bachelor’s, Master’s or Doctorate degrees. To add a high
school diploma or degree, click on Add Education Details in the Education
section of the application and fill out the fields. Applicants who have
completed and been conferred a high school diploma or a degree should
provide the details of these qualifications and indicate that the diploma or
degree was “obtained.”
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53. High school diploma and degrees must be issued by academic
institutions which are accredited to issue them by the competent
authorities where the institutions are based. The ultimate decision on their
recognition and equivalency is made by the United Nations upon the
review of the nature, level, context and content of the education
programme and accreditation status of the issuing institution.
54. Many universities and degrees are searchable from the preloaded
database in the application form. In case a university or degree cannot be
found and the United Nations has not otherwise recognized the degree,
applicants should confirm the accreditation status of the institution and
degree through the institution itself and the appropriate ministry of
education and accreditation bodies. After confirming that the institution is
accredited to issue the specific degree, applicants may list the degree by
selecting “Other/I cannot find my school” in the field for Name of Institution.
Applicants should then select the second option from the dropdown, as
shown below, and manually enter the name of the institution.
55. Applicants should attach an electronic copy of the degree
certificates, transcripts and other supplementary materials supporting the
level and accreditation status of the degrees listed in their application in
the Other information section. This especially applies to applicants who are
not staff and who are not holding a permanent, continuing or fixed-term
appointment with the United Nations.
56. Up to six most relevant short-term certificates or diplomas which are
not equivalent to a high school diploma, or Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctorate
degree or equivalent may be recorded.
Languages
57. Applicants should indicate their proficiency level for the languages
specified in the job opening including their mother tongue. Applicants will
not be considered for job openings if they do not indicate proficiency in
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the required languages. Generally, fluency in either English or French, the
two working languages of the United Nations Secretariat, is required for any
job openings.
58. To be considered fluent in a language, the proficiency level in all
four specified areas (i.e. reading, speaking, understanding and writing)
must be “fluent.” To be considered to have knowledge in a language, the
proficiency level in at least two out of the four specified areas must be
“confident” or “fluent.”
Work experience
59. In the Experience/References step of the application, click Add
Work Experience and fill the information in the entry form. Include all
relevant work experience in the application.
60. In the Summary of duties field, applicants should make sure to
describe their duties. Describe also any managerial responsibilities and the
number and kind of employees directly supervised.
61. Applicants should provide the contact information of their
employers and supervisors. The United Nations may contact them for
employment record verification and qualitative reference checks. If the
applicants do not wish the United Nations to contact their current employer
and supervisor, they may so indicate for the current work experience.
However, if they are selected for a job opening, their current employer and
supervisor will be contacted.
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References
62. The United Nations seeks professional reference apart from supervisors.
Applicants may include professors, thesis advisors, mentors, colleagues, peers,
team members, former supervisees, collaborators, clients, stakeholders in their
work, or other persons with whom they have had professional relationships.
Applicants with managerial experience are encouraged to list past direct
supervisees who could provide a perspective on their role as a manager.
Applicants should not list personal references such as family and friends.
Motivation Statement
63. Use this space to briefly explain what motivated you to apply for
the position. Include any other details that is not already in your application
that makes you a good fit for this position.
Submitting the application
64. Applicants should review their application carefully before
submitting it. Once the application has been submitted, applicants will not
be able to make changes to it. They may withdraw an application, but they
cannot apply to the same job opening again.
65. Applicants give consent to reference verification at the time of
submitting the application. The United Nations and its authorized service
providers may contact the academic institutions, employers, supervisors,
references, organizations of the United Nations system and other international
organizations and governments and investigate if the applicants meet the
highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity standards required
for employment with the United Nations. When applicants specifically express
their consent to contacting the current employer and supervisor in the
application, they may be contacted at any stage of the recruitment process.
Selected applicants may not have the option of opting out of reference
verification with the current employers and supervisors.
66. If applicants need to update their profile, they may save the
application and go to My Profile. After they have updated their profile, they
may retrieve the application by clicking on My Applications in the Inspira
home page.
Using offline application
67. While it is easier to fill out the application online,
applicants who do not have stable internet connection
may use the offline application form. As the first step,
applicants should download the latest version of the
template using the link in the Application Guidelines tile
of the Staff Member or Applicant activity center page. Only the latest
version can be uploaded back to Inspira.
68. To start an offline application, applicants should create a draft
application or an application for a specific job opening, and in step 1 of
the application process (Welcome), the applicant can also download the
Offline Application Template.
69. Follow the instructions provided in the offline application template
and fill out the form.
70. While applying for a job opening, choose the “Load from File”
option in step 2 of the application process (Welcome). Once the template
has been uploaded, complete the remaining steps to submit the
application.
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Chapter 4: Evaluation and assessment
71. After submitting the application, applicants may go through
various stages of evaluation and assessment.
Automatic and manual screening
72. Upon submission, applications go through an automatic screening
process in Inspira based on a set of pre-established rules on age, academic
qualifications, length of work experience, family relationships, criminal
record and others according to the United Nations Staff Regulations and
Rules, applicable policies and requirements of the job opening. In some
cases, the United Nations may conduct manual reviews requiring
applicants to respond in a timely manner.
Evaluation
73. The hiring managers evaluate the released applicants and create
a shortlist of applicants based on the criteria specified in the job opening.
Assessments
74. Shortlisted applicants may be invited to participate in assessments
such as written exercises, presentations, technical tests, knowledge-based
interview, competency-based interviews or other assessments.
75. Assessments are normally scheduled for a specific date and time
slot. Applicants who do not respond to invitations or cannot be reached by
e-mail or phone in a timely manner, or do not participate in assessments will
be disqualified.
76. Applicants should follow all instructions. Failing to do so including
missing the deadline for submitting the response may lead to
disqualification. Cheating will immediately disqualify the applicants from
further consideration.
Competency-based interviews
77. For job openings and generic job openings, the competency-
based interview is a preferred assessment methodology. Only a select
number of applicants are invited for this interview. The goal of this interview
is to gather objective evidence of the applicants’ competencies through
their past behaviour and performance.
78. Before the interview, applicants should familiarize themselves with
the indicators of each competency stipulated in the job opening and think
about the past examples where they demonstrated those indicators.
79. During the interview, the interview panel normally consisting of
three United Nations staff members including the hiring manager, will ask
for examples when they have demonstrated the competencies,
particularly how they handled or addressed a situation or task. Applicants
may be asked to give both positive and negative examples for some of the
competencies. These questions are called behavioural questions. Appraisal
and comparison questions may be used to obtain further insight on the
applicant’s behaviours. Several probing or follow-up questions may also be
asked until the interview panel has gathered sufficient evidence.
80. The below table shows some examples of different question types
which are asked during a competency-based interview:
Behavioral Give me an example of…
Please describe a situation when you had to… and
how did you go about it?
Appraisal What was the feedback you received from your team
members?
What feedback did you receive about your role in this
project?
Comparison
In relation to leadership specifically, what makes you
stand out as compared to others around you?
Which of your previous experiences working in a team
was the best as compared to others, and why?
Probing/
follow-up
What happened next?
What were your specific responsibilities in the team?
81. A competency-based interview typically lasts 30 to 60 minutes.
Depending on the location of the applicant and availability of
communication methodologies, a mix of in-person, video or phone
interviews may occur.
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Chapter 5: Application results and roster placement
Checking application status
82. Applicants may check the status of their application in Inspira by
clicking My Applications. Each status has the following meaning:
• Draft means the applicant has started a draft application but has not
submitted it.
• Applied means the applicant has just applied to the job opening and
the application is being screened through Inspira.
• Under Consideration means the application has been screened by
Inspira, and the recruitment process is on-going.
• Recruitment Completed means the process has been completed with
the selection of another applicant.
• Rostered means the applicant was recommended for the job opening
although he or she was not selected.
• Selected means the applicant was selected for the job opening.
• Filled from Roster means a rostered applicant was selected.
• JO Cancelled means the job opening was cancelled.
Application result: Selected
83. Applicants who are selected for job openings are notified by e-mail.
Selected applicants must confirm their continued interest and availability
via e-mail within five business days of the notification. If no confirmation is
received within five business days, another applicant may be selected.
Application result: Rostered
84. All applicants who are recommended for selection and roster
placement for job openings and generic job openings, including the
selected applicants, are placed on the roster, which is a pool of
preapproved candidates for subsequent job openings at the same level
and with similar functions. However, placement on the roster is no
guarantee of a future selection or appointment. The scope of the roster
may change as determined appropriate by the United Nations Office of
Human Resources in the Department of Management Strategy, Policy and
Compliance.
85. Roster candidates receive an invitation to apply when job openings
are advertised where they are preapproved for selection. Roster
candidates are encouraged to apply as early as possible because the
hiring managers may select roster candidates during the posting period for
the job opening.
86. To view roster memberships and details including the level, status,
membership start date and associated job titles, click
My Roster Memberships at the top of the Inspira home
page. Candidates may withdraw from the roster or put
their roster membership on hold on this page. Once
candidates withdraw themselves from a roster, the
roster membership cannot be reinstated.
87. In My Roster Memberships page, applicants will also see currently
available job openings to which they may apply as roster candidates.
