Petra Förste is an advisor at the Bureau for International Organisations’ Personnel (BFIO), and International and Specialized Services (ZAV), which is based at the Federal Employment Agency (BA) in Bonn. The BFIO informs and advises established and young managers on all matters relating to employment at international organisations. These include the United Nations (UN) with its special and sub-organisations, the institutions of the European Communities, international financial organisations and professional organisations assigned specific tasks.

Ms Förste, what advisory services are offered by the BFIO?

We help the German Federal Government to increase the proportion of Germans in international organisations (IO) such at the EU and the UN. This includes offering advisory services to people who wish to apply to work in international organisations and giving them individual support during the application processes. We can provide this advice either personally on site in Bonn or Berlin or by telephone. Sometimes it is sufficient to give advice in writing. The advice we provide is tailored to the individual and generally starts with an analysis of the current position. This means we look at the person's present situation, how much experience they have and what they envisage for the future. We also alert them to where vacancies are advertised. If the applicant is interested in a specific job, the advice includes comparing the post advertised with the profile and assessing the status of the documentation.
Sometimes we support the process until an appointment is made and provide specific assistance during preparation for the selection interviews. In part, we provide advice in collaboration with the coordinator for international human resources policy at the German Federal Foreign Office and the local Permanent Representations at the places where the organisations are based.

It is also very important to assess yourself critically: does your profile match the stated requirements? There are always a large number of applications for posts at the UN and competition is great. Furthermore, the employment contracts are generally only for a limited term, you frequently change jobs every two years, mobility is part of the employment concept at the UN and many postings are in unstable areas. You need to ask yourself whether it is something you can deal with. We also discuss these questions when we are providing advice.

At the UN, there are practically no permanent positions, particularly when starting out. There are entry-level programmes such as the Young Professionals Programme (YPP) and the Junior Professional Officer Programme (JPO) for applicants without much professional experience. The age limit for the YPP is 32 years. The JPO is controlled and implemented by the BFIO. Each year, there are sixty such posts.
Then there is the UN volunteer programme (UNV), which is also available for people with professional experience.
What we always recommend is to register in the German Federal Foreign Office’s jobs pool, where all positions for which Germans can apply are published and the list is updated every week.

Applicants with significant experience abroad but no previous experience in an IO can look at the websites of the various organisations and focus on individual vacancies. For instance, they may find a suitable consultancy that will provide an initial opportunity. A consultancy contract may last between three and twelve months. This may, in turn, lead to new contracts and thus develop the profile further.
Anyone who has worked abroad for an extended period and can offer experience in many
fields needs to identify the positions where this is a requirement: there are good opportunities here.
Jobs at headquarters are difficult, because many qualified applicants based there are chasing a few sought-after vacancies. This is why I would recommend looking at jobs in outposts and at the UN's suborganisations.

The selection procedure is not standardised. These are generally multi stage with one or two interviews and a written test. As a general rule, applicants should prepare for competency-based interviews (CBIs). These are interviews with targeted questions on applicants’ professional background, which provide information on how they perform at work. For example, applicants need to show their personal competencies such as team-working, assertiveness and problem-solving skills on the basis of specific work situations that they themselves have experienced.
Applicants should make specific preparations for this and BFIO will provide support here. This is also something that people often approach us about. In this situation, we simulate the interview specifically tailored to the vacancy concerned. Applicants can prepare for this in a targeted manner. There are also many examples for these interviews on the internet.

You also need to be pretty resilient, as the procedure can last a long time: from the post being advertised to when an appointment is made often lasts eight to ten months.

At present, the focus is on climate change, the environment, peacebuilding, human rights, humanitarian aid, migration and displacement, and matters relating to gender policy, plus everything that relates to implementing the Sustainable Development Goals. Accordingly, the following professional profiles are in demand: political scientists, lawyers with certain specialities, environmental economists, profiles that are connected to environmental issues. Additional training in these areas is certainly helpful.
University degrees in international affairs, international development and similar areas are in great demand. In general, it is true that the more senior positions definitely require a Master’s degree and then, depending on the entry point, appropriate experience in the job.
It is not essential to have worked in an IO before but the applicant should have international and multilateral experience. If not, it will be difficult for applicants to establish themselves. Very good English, naturally including written English, is mandatory. It is also helpful if the applicant also has a good command of one of the other six UN languages.
 

I found this target group very interesting, because they were very diverse and could offer very different skills. Junior positions are a possibility for several. The others can take a look at individual job advertisements: after that, they will need patience and tenacity.

Ms Förste, many thanks for the information.

The interview was published in transfer issue 01-2024 “Working in the public sector”, Interview by Silke Wesemann 

BFIO - Büro Führungskräfte zu InternationalenOrganisationen
Bundesagentur für Arbeit
Zentrale Auslands- und Fachvermittlung (ZAV)
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Tel:  +49 228 50208 2901
E-Mail: bfio(at)arbeitsagentur(punkt)de

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