The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) program
was established in 1971 by the United Nations General Assembly and is
administered by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Currently,
there are over 3,000 UN Volunteers from around the world serving in developing
countries.
Of this corps of volunteers in the field, there are approximately 50
United States citizens serving in primarily two-year assignments. The
United States will send up to 24 U.S. citizens per year to serve as UNVs.
The majority of UNVs serve in Africa (42%), with the remaining serving
in the Asia Pacific region (25%), Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent
States and the Baltics (15%), the Americas and the Caribbean (12%), and
the Arab States (6%).
General Information about United Nations Volunteers
Who is the average UN Volunteer?
Volunteers are, on the average, in their early 40s, with an advanced
degree, 15-20 years of experience in their field, and substantial work
experience in developing countries.
UNV recruits volunteers with specialized,
technical skills, in the fields including, but not limited to: business/finance;
organizational management; civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering;
water and sanitation management; forestry and natural resource management;
information technology, and agricultural and health-related fields.
Unfortunately, teachers and individuals with generalist backgrounds
are seldom accepted into the program.
UNV does not offer short-term
overseas work camp, internship, or residency opportunities.
What are the qualifications
of a UN Volunteer?
Applicants to UNV must possess a university degree or technical diploma
and preferably have five years of full-time work experience in their
field of expertise (defined as the subject area in which the applicant
has his/her highest degree and a demonstrated, related work background).
This full-time experience must have been completed subsequent to
graduation. Applicants whose work experience and education are not
compatible and individuals desiring to make a career change into
fields in which they do not have the required years of experience
will not be considered for the program. Furthermore, it is highly
recommended that applicants have prior overseas work experience when
applying to the program. Statistics reveal that more than 90 percent
of the volunteers fielded have worked overseas in development related
projects.
Applicants must be fluent in at least one of the U.N. working
languages (English, French, or Spanish) and will be considered for
UNV projects only if they are fluent in the language of the post.
Post languages include English, French, Spanish, Arabic, and Portuguese.
Applicants
must be at least 25 years of age; there is no upper age limit. All
applicants must clear a medical screening process following identification
for post. UNV will cover up to three accompanying dependents to the volunteer's
country of assignment.
What does the UN Volunteers
application process for American citizens entail?
The application includes a Peace Corps application and a UNV Personal
History Statement. Peace Corps conducts an initial applicant screening,
including an interview, reference check, and legal clearance. Providing
the application receives favorable consideration from Peace Corps,
Peace Corps will agree to co-sponsor the candidate should s/he be
selected for assignment. At that point, the UNV application is forwarded
to UNV Headquarters for processing and placement on a UNV roster
of qualified and available candidates. The UNV roster is quite extensive,
including candidates from over 140 countries. The length of time
spent on the roster varies depending on marketability of the candidate's
skill, the number of candidates already on the roster in the same
field, and the competitiveness of the candidate in his/her field.
Unfortunately, although UNV would like to place all applicants, there
are no guarantees of placement.
How do you apply to the
United Nations Volunteer Program?
If you fit the qualifications, are a U.S. citizen, and have a competitive
background, and are interested in 12-24 month assignments, please research
the UNV Web site and
send a resume and cover letter to:
Peace Corps/United Nations Volunteers
1111 20th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20526
Fax: 202.692.2251
unv@peacecorps.gov
If you fit the qualifications and are not a
U.S. citizen please visit the UNV
Web site for further information on how to apply.
United Nations Volunteers/UNDP
1775 K Street NW
Washington DC 20006
Are short-term assignments
available?
UNV does place volunteers in shorter term assignments (usually 6-9 months).
The majority of these assignments are filled by the UNV Special Operations
office, which recruits volunteers for disaster relief efforts and electoral
assistance. Candidates with a minimum of two years of full-time work
experience in fields related to human relief, disaster assistance, or
electoral assistance can apply directly through the UNV Web site. For
further information on opportunities with Special Operations, or to apply*,
visit the UNV
Web site.
United Nations Volunteers (att: HRU)
Postfach 260111
D-53153, Bonn
Germany
Fax: 49 228 815 2001
Inquiries for this program must go to the
Special Operations office in Germany. As the volume of applicants is
quite high, replies will only be sent to applicants with experience
in fields related to current or prospective Special Operations projects.
Please note that Special Operations expects all applicants to be immediately
available for deployment.
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