UN/DESA Italian Junior Professional Officers Programme 2024

The Italian Junior Professional Officers Programme – also known as the JPO Programme – is a multilateral development cooperation initiative sponsored by the Government of Italy and implemented by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN/DESA).

The purpose of the Programme is two-fold: a) to assist international organizations in carrying out their activities by providing them with gratis skilled personnel; b) to allow qualified young professionals seeking an international career to make a relevant experience that could broaden their chances of recruitment in international organizations or in the international field.

The Programme stems from a United Nations Economic and Social Council resolution adopted in 1961, which approved and encouraged the collaboration of volunteers (funded by their respective countries of origin) in development cooperation initiatives and programmes.

Italy joined this scheme in the mid-1970’s and over the years developed it into a full Programm.

Requirements

Candidates must meet all the following requirements to be considered eligible for Programme:

28 years old or younger (N.B. candidates must not turn 29 during the year of application)
Italian nationality
Fluency in English and Italian
hold one of the following advanced university degrees (or degree combinations) awarded before the application deadline:
- Laurea Magistrale/Specialistica
- Laurea Magistrale a ciclo unico
- Laurea/Laurea Triennale plus university Master’s degree
- Bachelor’s degree plus university Master’s degree.

Additional skills and qualifications

Given the highly competitive nature of the Italian Fellowships Programme the following are frequently considered important assets:

knowledge of other UN official languages / languages spoken in developing countries
additional academic qualifications and/or training courses
previous work experience (including internships and voluntary work)
key competencies such as client orientation, teamwork, communication, accountability, planning and organization.

Candidates are expected to be motivated, flexible and willing to adapt to different environments. Furthermore, they must at all times demonstrate commitment to the core values of the United Nations, i.e. integrity, professionalism and respect for diversity.

Interview date, Process and Venue

Assessment and screening of candidates

The preliminary assessment of applicants for admission to the selection phase is carried out by the UN/DESA Office in Rome. Following a careful examination of the profiles of eligible candidates vis-à-vis the requirements of the position(s) for which they have applied, the Office identifies the most suitable candidates.

This phase generally results in long-lists of between 10 to 12 potential candidates for each JPO position. The exercise is performed taking into consideration all aspects of the candidates’ application form, such as reasons for applying to the specific position(s), language skills, university qualifications, specializations, voluntary and professional experiences and motivations.

Pre-selection

The outcome of the assessment of applications is further examined by a UN Commission comprising Human Resources experts from the UN Secretariat in New York.
This Commission undertakes a second in-depth evaluation of the applications received with a view to pre-selecting a maximum of 8 applicants for each JPO position.

The large volume of applications makes it extremely difficult for the office to provide individual feedback to unsuccessful candidates on their application. Only short-listed applicants will be informed by UN/DESA about the final decision and invited to participate in the final selection phase.

Final selection

The last phase of the selection process is carried out by representatives of the international organizations receiving the JPOs. Responsibility for the final decisions lies exclusively with these organizations.

The selection phase usually consists of a written exercise and a panel interview, both of which are administered by the respective organization.

The interviews of the short-listed candidates are normally conducted via web-based video conference facilities.

At the end of the interview process each international organization transmits to the UN/DESA Office in Rome the names of the: a) selected candidate; b) reserve candidate; c) suitable candidate(s); d) not recommended/not suitable candidate(s).

All pre-selected candidates are informed by e-mail of the outcome of the final selection phase. Reserve candidates are contacted only if the selected candidate declines the JPO position.