Department of Economic and Social Affairs	Junior Professional Officer Programme
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About the JPO Programme
Prospective Donors
Current JPOs
UN DESA recruits and administers JPOs for participating entities in the United Nations system.
Partner countries may reserve JPO positions for any of these entities with the UN JPO Programme/DESA throughout the year.
All available JPO job descriptions/Terms of References are accessible for review via our
password secured pages for donor countries
Once a donor has identified a position of interest, all queries may be directed directly to the UN JPO Programme team at UNHQ / DESA in order for us to facilitate the process with the receiving offices.
Donors may reserve positions by contacting the UN JPO Programme by email or telephone. Positions can be
a) formally reserved for sponsorship
b) or tentatively earmarked by donors for a limited time when there is an interest but not yet a firm commitment to sponsor the position.
To request access or to indicate interest in a JPO position as a donor country, or for any inquiries in this regard, please send an email to the UN JPO Programme team at UN DESA.
Current Partner Countries
The following countries have an agreement with the United Nations for participation in the JPO Programme. Click on a country to see more information about their JPO programmes and vacancies.
At this moment, no information is available on upcoming vacancies sponsored by Australia.
More information can be found on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Australia.
To be eligible to apply to the Australian JPO Programme, candidates have to:
Be of Australian citizenship
Be no more than 34 years of age at the time of the application
Hold a post-graduate degree in a related discipline
Vacancies are usually announced on national level by the Federal Ministry Republic of Austria.
To be eligible to apply to the Austrian JPO Programme, candidates have to:
To be eligible to apply to the Austrian JPO Programme, candidates must:
Be no more than 30 years of age (on the date of deadline)
Have one to two years of practical experience in the relevant area
Have fluency in two UN languages.
Please visit the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for more information.
Vacancies are usually announced on national level by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium.
To be eligible to apply to the Belgium JPO Programme, candidates must:
Be a citizen of the European Union
Be no more than 32 years of age on 31 December of the year of application
Hold a post-graduate degree
Have at least two years of work experience that is relevant to the post applied to
Have undertook and passed the training cycle organized by the Belgian Development Agency (BTC)
At this moment, no information is available on upcoming vacancies sponsored by Canada.
More information can be found on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Canada.
Vacancies are usually announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China.
Vacancies are usually announced on national level by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.
To be eligible to apply to the Danish JPO Programme, candidates must:
Have two to three years of relevant work experience
Be fluent in English and Danish (spoken and written) with knowledge of another official UN language being an asset
Vacancies are usually announced on national level by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt.
Vacancies for Finland are announced on this website, on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland and on the CMC Finland website.
To be eligible to apply to the Finnish JPO Programme, candidates must:
Have a Master´s degree and at least two years of relevant working experience
Be fluent in English, and have knowledge of another official UN language
Be no more than 32 years of age
Should have Finnish citizenship
Vacancies are usually announced on national level by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France.
To be eligible to apply to the French JPO Programme, candidates must:
Be French national
Be between 25 and 32 years of age
Hold a post-graduate degree in a discipline related to the work of the international organisations
Have at least two years of relevant work experience. International experience is an asset.
Have essential qualities: motivation and adaptation
Be fluent in English (spoken and written). Fluency in another working language is an asset.
Vacancies are usually announced on national level by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany.
To be eligible to apply to the German JPO Programme, candidates must:
Have practical experience in the relevant area
Have fluency in English and another UN language.
At this moment, no information is available on upcoming vacancies sponsored by Hungary.
More information can be found on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary.
At this moment, no information is available on upcoming vacancies sponsored by Israel.
More information can be found on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel.
Vacancies are usually announced by the UN DESA Rome Office in Italy.
To be eligible to apply to the Italian JPO Programme, candidates must:
Have Italian citizenship (or citizenship of a specified developing country if applicable)
Hold one of the following academic qualifications:
Laurea Magistrale/Specialistica
Laurea Magistrale a ciclo unico
Laurea/Laurea Triennale plus university Master's degree
Bachelor's degree plus university Master's degree
Be no more than 30 years of age (33 for graduates in medicine)
Possess an excellent knowledge of English and Italian
Vacancies are usually announced on national level by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.
Information on the Kazakhstan JPO programme will be available at the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Vacancies are usually announced on national level by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait.
All Candidates must:
Be Kuwaiti Nationals;
Be under 34 years of age on the date of their application;
Have completed a university education, at Master's Degree level normally, in a relevant area of study;
Have a relevant working experience;
Be fluent in English.
At this moment, no information is available on upcoming vacancies sponsored by Liechtenstein.
More information can be found on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Liechtenstein.
Vacancies are usually announced on national level by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg.
To be eligible to apply to the JPO Programme of Luxembourg, candidates must:
Have fluency in English and French (knowledge of other UN languages is an asset).
Practical experience in the relevant area is an asset.
At this moment, no information is available on upcoming vacancies sponsored by Mongolia.
More information can be found on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia.
Vacancies are usually announced on national level by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Morocco.
Vacancies are usually announced by the Nedworc Foundation.
To be eligible to apply to the Dutch JPO Programme, candidates must:
Hold a Master degree or equivalent; or: a first-level university degree (Bachelor's degree or equivalent) in combination with qualifying experience (4 years of relevant working experience, but not more than 5 years) may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree;
Be committed to the UN values, highly motivated, professional, have good interpersonal skills and be able to adapt to a multi-cultural environment;
Be fluent in English, Spanish or French (according to the language of the duty station) and possess a working knowledge of at least one of the other two. Fluency in other UN languages can be an asset and may be tested in the interview;
Not have worked earlier as JPOs/APOs/YPOs/AEs; and
Only apply for positions outside their country of origin.
In addition to the General conditions listed above, candidates from eligible Developing Countries must fulfill the following conditions:
Be a national of a developing country that appears on the list of "Eligible countries Netherlands JPOs/APOs/YPOs/AEs Programme"; and
Have obtained either their first or second degree university education in a developing country on the above list.
New Zealand has an agreement but is currently not actively participating in the Programme.
Vacancies are usually announced on national level by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway.
To be eligible to apply to the Norwegian JPO Programme, candidates must:
Hold Norwegian citizenship
Hold a post graduate degree
Have at least 2 years practical experience in the relevant area
Have fluency in English and in the language spoken in the country of assignment.
At this moment, no information is available on upcoming vacancies sponsored by Poland.
More information can be found on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland.
Vacancies are usually announced on national level by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea.
Requirements for candidates applying to the JPO vacancies funded by the Republic of Korea
Korean citizenship
Proficiency in Korean and English language
Completed university with a master degree, as per the job descriptions
No older than 32 years of age as of 31stDecember of 2016(The maximum age limit for those who served in the military will be extended accordingly)
Male applicants should complete the Korean military service or be exempted from it.
Applicants should submit the documents to the Int'l Organizations. All documents should be prepared in English. In addition, Applicants who state their low-income status in the application should submit a certificate of National Basic Livelihood Security Recipients issued in Korean and its unofficial English translation.
P11 or CV to be submitted electronically to the Organization
A scanned copy of applicant's Resident Register
A copy of the university degree
A certificate of English language proficiency. Applicants should submit a minimum of iBT TOEFL score of 115 or TEPS score of 900
Only for male applicants: A certificate of Korean Military Service. The maximum age limit for those who served in the military will be extended* in accordance with the Support for Discharged Soldiers Act and the military service law.
Only for low-income applicants: A scanned copy of applicant's certificate of National Basic Livelihood Security Recipients issued in Korean and its unofficial English translation
* Age limit for male candidates who have completed the service:
– Less than one year will be extended for one year;
– one year above and two years under will be extended for two years;
– two years or more will be extended for three years.
All applicants can apply for a maximum of two JPO positions sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea during the year of application.
Vacancies are usually announced on national level by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia.
Information on the JPO Programme of Singapore will be available via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
At this moment, no information is available on upcoming vacancies sponsored by South Africa.
More information can be found on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Africa.
Vacancies are usually announced on national level by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain.
To be eligible to apply to the Spanish JPO Programme, candidates must:
Hold a degree in economy, political science, social science, engineering, law or any development cooperation discipline
Post-graduate studies, Master or equivalent, in a development-related discipline
Be fluent in English and possess working knowledge of French. Fluency in Arabic, Portuguese or Russian is an asset.
Have at least one year of work experience in development-related area. A field experience in a developing country is an asset.
Essential qualities: motivation, team-work and adaptation to a multi-cultural environment.
Vacancies are usually announced by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).
To be eligible to apply to the Swedish JPO Programme, candidates must:
Be of Swedish nationality or hold a residence permit for Sweden
Have 2-4 years of practical experience in the relevant area
Language: Fluency in English and Swedish with excellent writing and spoken skills. Knowledge of other official UN language would be considered as an asset.
Vacancies are usually announced on national level by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland.
To be eligible to apply to JPO positions funded by Switzerland, candidates must fulfil the following requirements:
Maximum 32 years old
Swiss nationality
Master's degree in relevant field
2-3 years' relevant professional experience
Fluency in written and spoken English and a second UN official language (French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian), other languages as specified in the Terms of Reference (ToRs)
Commitment to engaging in development cooperation or humanitarian aid
Interested in a career in multilateral organizations
At this moment, no information is available on upcoming vacancies sponsored by Turkey.
More information can be found on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey.
Vacancies are usually announced on national level by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates.
Vacancies are usually announced on national level by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of United Kingdom.
Applications are welcome from suitably qualified individuals who:
are British Nationals
are under the age of 32 years
have completed a postgraduate degree in a development related field
have a minimum of 2 years paid work experience (preferably in a development related area)
Vacancies are usually announced by the International Organization Careers (IOC).
40 years of the Italian JPO Programme – outcomes of a comprehensive analysis
Finland Evaluation of JPO Programme 2011
SIDA Evaluation of JPO Programme 2006-2009
Ecosoc Resolution 1961
The Finnish JPO Programme is open for applications – 4 JPO positions – Deadline 17 February 2020
The Swedish JPO Programme is now accepting applications – deadline 9 February!
We are looking for a statistics intern to join our team!
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