Serving the World―Careers at the United Nations

The United Nations launched a special promotion of its outreach programme on human resources at Zhejiang University on October 13. “Currently, there is still a paucity of Chinese staff in the UN, so we expect more Chinese youngsters to engage in international affairs,” said six programme officials in the promotional campaign.

John Ericson, Chief of the Outreach Unit in the Office of Human Resources Management of the United Nations Secretariat, said that China has become the third-largest contributor to UN dues and the second largest contributor to UN peacekeeping operations. “At present, a total of 476 Chinese people are in employment in the UN Secretariat, but this figure doesn’t correspond to China’s immense contributions to the UN and China is severely underrepresented,” said John Ericson.

The UN Outreach Programme on Human Resources has become one of the priorities in management reforms in the domains of human recourses in recent years. Present in the promotional campaign were the Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and UN Women. It was held by the Chinese Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

“We hope that job applicants are collaborative and equipped with leadership. They can cooperate well with their colleagues in a multi-cultural environment. These are some defining features of UN staff members,” said Ms. Martha Helena Lopez Rodriguez, Director of the Office of Human Resources, the Bureau for Management Services, UNDP, “We will pay special attention to their expertise skill, personality, willingness to change the world, creativity and communicative skills.”

In terms of cross-cultural communication, Ms. Sae-Ryo Kim, UNFPA Regional Partnerships Advisor stressed that although communication may well be exceptionally demanding, the youth must be liberal-minded and put themselves in others’ shoes. With the passage of time, they will learn to communicate effectively with people from different regions, cultural backgrounds and religions.

According to Mr. Ericson, the UN has embarked on the Young Professionals Programme (YPP) examination, a recruitment initiative for talented, highly qualified professionals to start a career as an international civil servant with the UN Secretariat.

The School of International Studies, Zhejiang University, launched the Program of Talents for International Organizations with a view to cultivating a batch of high-quality talents who gain an excellent command of foreign languages and are well-acquainted with international rules and a particular professional field, in September, 2015. It enrolls 30 undergraduate students and 10 postgraduate students from the School  of International Studies on an annual basis. This talent cultivation mode has captured immense attention.

The Program of Talents for International Organizations has entered into partnership with the UN Association of China and the International  Education Center of the International Labour Organization, signed an internship agreement with China Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation, and cooperated with several prestigious universities all over the world. Participants in this program can acquire knowledge, nurture abilities, promote qualities and strengthen character in various forms, thereby improving their capabilities in global governance.