The Junior Professional Officers Programme (JPO) is a United Nations
programme for Recruitment of Young
People to work in the United Nations
system for a period of one to two years which could be extended to the third
year subject to satisfactory performance. JPO Programme provides young professionals
pursuing a career in Development with hands-on experience in multi-lateral
technical co-operation.
The JPO Programme is administered by the JPO Service Centre (JPOSC) for the
following organizations: UNDP, UNCDF, UNDOCO, UNV, UN Women, UNAIDS, UNFPA,
UNIDO, UNITAR, UNOPS, UNRWA, UNSSC, UNU, UPU, WHO.
As of 1st December 2013, 226 JPOs are participating in the Programme with
44% of them directly working with UNDP. JPOs are an important and valuable
workforce for the participating organizations, as they represent depending on
the organization 10-13% of their professional staff. JPOs are sponsored by
their respective governments. The following donor governments currently sponsor
JPOs administered by the UNDP JPO Service Centre: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Luxembourg, The
Netherlands, Norway, Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
QUALIFICATION: How to become Junior Professional Officer
Candidates for the JPO Programme
are selected on a highly competitive basis. The qualifications below are
required for consideration:
Usually be under 32 years of age;
Usually be under 32 years of age;
Academic qualifications: Master's degree (or
equivalent) in a development-related discipline;
A minimum of two years of paid working
experience in a relevant field, preferably in a developing country;
Language skills: written and spoken proficiency
in at least two of the three working languages used by UNDP: English, French
and Spanish. Fluency in Arabic, Russian or Portuguese is an asset;
Evidence of ability to think strategically; to
express ideas clearly; to work independently and in teams; to demonstrate a
sense of self-assuredness combined with cultural and gender sensitivity;
A strong commitment to development; an interest
in adapting to varied physical and professional environments; and a desire to
work with people with different language, national and cultural backgrounds;
Respect for the principles of the United Nations
Charter and the participating UN organizations Mission Statements.
Closing date: 31st Dec by 11:59pm
Nigeria Applicants:
The Federal Government of Nigeria and the UNDP signed a Memorandum of
Understanding on the 29th of October 2012 to further actualize the president's
major aspect of the transformation agenda which is to create employment. All
Vacancies are sorted by State (Applicants are to apply for vacancies in their
state of origin). Click here to apply
Other Countries Applicants: Not all nationalities are
eligible to apply to the JPO Programme. Click here to know whether you can apply