Jobs/Vacancies
 
UNHCR International Professional Roster

1.  UNHCR has established an International Professional Roster as a means for the Office to ensure that international positions at the P-2, P-3 and, on an exceptional basis, P-4 are filled in a timely manner with a professionally qualified, gender balanced, geographically diverse, linguistically able and highly motivated corps of professionals. When professional vacancies occur UNHCR does its best to fill them internally. Only if the number of internal candidates is limited, Roster candidates will be considered.

2.  This invitation targets potential applicants who could be suitable for posts in the fields of Supply, Telecom, Information Technology, Human Resources, Public Information, External Relations and Legal (Non Refugee Related Matters) at P-2 and P-3 levels.

The deadline for receipt of applications is 05 September 2008.

3.  Applicants to the Roster must be prepared to serve on posts in field locations, especially in category D and E (hardship and/or non-family) duty stations, for an initial period of one year. Preferably, the first appointment should be outside the continent of the candidate’s nationality. As all UNHCR international professional staff members are required to rotate, applicants accepted on the roster are expected to conform to this requirement.

4.  Interested candidates who fulfil the criteria mentioned below should submit their applications by e-mail with the subject heading "2008 IPR, Name, Profile" (Ex: 2008 IPR, SMITH John, Supply) to HQIPR4@unhcr.org.

5.  All interested candidates particularly women with the required qualification and experience are strongly encouraged to apply.

Profile requirements for external applicants to the Roster

6.  This year’s external invitation is restricted to persons working within the UN Common System or who are affiliated to UNHCR through various deployment schemes and stand-by arrangements.

7.  The anticipated staffing requirements for this year show a potential need for Roster candidates for P-2 and P-3 posts with the following functional profiles. Therefore, in addition to a university degree, all applicants should have ideally four (4) years of relevant professional experience of which two (2) are preferably in the international context in one of the following fields:

8.  Kindly refer to the Standard job profiles for the above-mentioned posts.

9.  Candidates for the Roster must possess a university degree (i.e. BA, LLB etc.) or an advanced university degree (i.e., LLM, MA, MBA, MSc, PhD) preferably in one of the following disciplines: International Relations, International Public or Private Law, Finance, Accounting, Public Administration, Social Work, Communications, Journalism, Political Science, Social Sciences, Information Technology, Telecommunication, Logistics.

10.  Candidates should have ideally four years of relevant professional work experience, of which two (2) are preferably in the international context, in their area of qualification. Relevant professional work experience will be based on the period the applicant has worked in the area of his or her preferred functional profile. All candidates will be graded based on the following standard recruitment criteria:

  • P-2  University degree plus 4 years of relevant professional work experience; or Advanced University degree plus 2 years of relevant professional work experience.
  • P-3  University degree plus 8 years of relevant professional work experience; or Advanced University degree plus 6 years of relevant professional work experience.
  • P-4  University degree plus 12 years of relevant professional work experience; or Advanced University degree plus 10 years of relevant professional work experience.

11.  In order to broaden the opportunities for candidates to rotate in different regions and to respond to actual professional recruitment needs, interested applicants are required to have a demonstrated working knowledge of English and are encouraged to have knowledge of a second UN language. A working knowledge is demonstrated by passing the UN or other accredited language proficiency exams, having achieved the university qualification in the language, or having served effectively using the language in a country where it is the official working language. Applicants who do not have the second UN language must at least demonstrate that they are enrolled in a language learning programme in order to be considered for the Roster. Applicants must therefore submit to in addition to the IPR Application Form, an attestation from the language learning programme confirming how long they have been enrolled and what level of proficiency they have attained.

12.  Applicants accepted to the Roster, may expect to be able to start applying for Job openings in July 2009. Once selected for a post, candidates would be expected to take up their duties within 2-3 months of notification of their selection. However, United Nations Volunteers and others with current assignments with UNHCR are expected to first complete those assignments.

Applying for the Roster

13.  Interested candidates who meet the requirements specified above must submit the following documents to the Recruitment and Postings Section (hqipr4@unhcr.org) not later than the deadline 05 September 2008.

i. Application Form together with a competency statement.

ii. UN Personal History Form (P11 and P11 Supplement) must be signed and submitted, including at least three references.

iii. An attestation from a language programme for candidates who do not have the second UN language.

Timetable for administering the Roster

14.  The Division of Human Resources Management in UNHCR is responsible for administration of the Roster. A review of the files of all applicants will take place during the two months following the application deadline. Applicants who are retained at this first stage of the process will be informed accordingly. Due to the large number of applications, we are unfortunately not able to respond to applicants not retained.

15.  Retained applicants to the Roster will be invited to take an Entry Test approximately 3-4 weeks from receiving confirmation of their retention, and will be provided with information regarding the timing and administration of the test. This essay-based test will gauge the analytical skills, as well as the awareness of the international environment, knowledge of the United Nations and refugee affairs, command of English, and computer literacy. There will be no background information provided for this test. Please note that the test is mandatory for all applicants.

16.  All applicants who sit for the test will be informed of the outcome accordingly. The names of those candidates who successfully pass the exam will be forwarded to Functional Units for Functional Endorsement according to the profiles they have chosen. Functional units may also opt to conduct competency based interviews to determine the suitability of candidates for specific profiles.

17.  Thereafter, candidates may expect to be invited at regular intervals to express interest in specific vacancies or short-term assignments. Candidates who do not respond positively to three invitations will be removed from the roster. Those who express interest in posts and are subsequently appointed but refuse to take up the offer should note that this may have a bearing on the likelihood of subsequent offers. Roster candidates who are not appointed to posts as a result of expressed interest will remain on the Roster for one year. After one year they will be requested to reconfirm their interest to remain on the Roster and to update personal details including additional work experience and qualifications.

18.  We thank all those applying in advance for their interest in working for UNHCR and to serve the cause of the world’s refugees.