Guide to Junior Professional Officer Programme at UNICEF
The Junior Professional Officer (JPO) Programme offers Youth professionals curious in seeking a career in international development with an outstanding possibility to gain hands-on experience at UNICEF. The programme provides its participants with a distinctive proficient development experience and brings fresh energy and ideas into the organization.
Through the JPO Programme, UNICEF helps the growth of young professionals interested in developing in the organization and making significant contributions to our future and work. On average, one in two JPOs continue at UNICEF as regular staff partners, upon completing their assignment.
The programme is supported by donor governments. Usually, these governments only sponsor citizens of their countries, but in some cases, nationals from generating countries are eligible to apply.
You may want to read this too: UNICEF Internships
Eligibility Criteria of the UNICEF JPO programme
- National of a donor country (a few countries sponsor nationals from developing countries)
Usually under 32 years of age
- An advanced university degree and fluency in English
- Minimum two years of relevant work experience
UNICEF JPO programme offers:
- Professional coaching
- Mentoring programmes
- Career counseling
- Online learning courses
- Stretch assignments
- Buddy programme
- Career Transition programme
JPOs are fixed-term UNICEF staff members and are therefore entitled to compensation, benefits, and allowances equivalent to International Professional staff. In addition, UNICEF has organized a number of tailored resources to enhance their overall career growth and learning journey.
“UNICEF JPO Programme brings new, fresh perspective from young people to the organization On the other hand, UNICEF provides unique learning and career development opportunities because of its mandate and
diverse areas of work it attracts the most interesting people, so it gives JPOs exposure to some of the most
dedicated and experienced professionals and an opportunity to work in emergency and in a development
context.” Said Meritxell Relaño, former Spanish JPO, now Deputy Director, D1, Geneva.
Read also: Guide to Volunteer Programme at UNICEF
How to apply?
Vacancies are posted throughout the year on both the UNICEF vacancies page as well as the donor government’s website.
For your application, you may need this: What is the Application Process for UN jobs?