Young Professional Programme (YPP)

What is the Young Professional Programme (YPP)?

The Young Professionals Programme is a recruitment initiative aiming to improve the geographical representation, promote gender parity in the Organization at international level. This programme provides talented, highly qualified university graduates and young professionals from non- and under- represented Member States the opportunity to join UNESCO at the early stage of their professional career.

Young Professional

The Young Professionals (YP) Programme provides the opportunity for young university graduates and young qualified professionals under or equal the age of 32 years of application from non- and under-represented Member States to join UNESCO early in their professional career.

Who is eligible?

Nationality: Candidates should be nationals from non- and under-represented Member States at UNESCO.

Age:  Less than 32 years (inclusive).

Education: an advanced university degree in education, culture, science, social and human sciences or communication, or in a field related to the management and administration of an international organization. This will be specified in the vacancy announcement.

Languages: fluent English or French. Knowledge of both working languages is an asset. Knowledge of Spanish, Russian, Arabic or Chinese is an additional asset.

Previous experience: initial professional experience is an asset, but not mandatory.

Recruitment Process and Timeline

If you are interested in applying to for the Young Professional Programme or want to know if you are eligible, please contact your National Commission or Permanent Delegation.

  • Launch

Every biennium, due account taken of the availability of posts at P-1/P-2 level, UNESCO recruits up to 20 Young Professionals. The launching date of each programme varies from year to year.

The Bureau of Human Resources Management of UNESCO sends a call for applications to National Commissions and Permanent Delegations of non- or under-represented Member States. Each National Commission is responsible for the dissemination of this information and for the pre-selection at national level

  • Submission

Candidates send their applications to the National Commission or the Permanent Delegation of their country of citizenship. National Commissions and Permanent Delegations review all applications and submit a list of candidates to the Bureau of Human Resources Management at UNESCO.

UNESCO does not accept applications sent directly to the Organization.

  • Screening
  • All applications are reviewed by a committee which will establish a shortlist based on
  • academic qualifications,
  • motivation/statement of interest,
  • presentation of the application,
  • language and writing skills, and
  • level of professional experience.
  • The shortlisted candidates will be required to attend a video interview followed by a panel interview. The interviews provides candidates with an opportunity to demonstrate their communication skills, team spirit, analytical skills, sense of initiative, creativity, flexibility and adaptability.

In addition to interviews, tests may be required to determine the related competencies as well as the level of proficiency in the working languages of UNESCO (English and French).

  • Decision

UNESCO will send a letter of appointment to successful candidates. In the other case, UNESCO will inform the interested National Commissions and Permanent Delegations.

https://careers.unesco.org/content/Young-Professional-Programme/?locale=en_GB

https://en.unesco.org/careers/apply

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The Young Professional Programme (YPP) is a recruitment initiative for talented, highly qualified university graduates and young professionals to start a career in international organizations. YPPs are typically open to nationals of participating countries, and the list of participating countries varies from organization to organization.

Some of the most well-known YPPs include:

  • United Nations Young Professionals Programme (UN YPP)
  • World Bank Group Young Professionals Programme (WBG YPP)
  • UNESCO Young Professionals Programme (UNESCO YPP)
  • Comptroller and Auditor General of India Young Professionals Programme (CAG YPP)

YPPs offer a number of benefits to participants, including:

  • The opportunity to work on challenging and impactful projects at an international level
  • Access to professional development opportunities and training
  • A competitive salary and benefits package
  • The chance to network with other young professionals from around the world

The application process for YPPs can be competitive, but it is worth considering if you are a talented and motivated young professional who is interested in a career in international development or public policy.

Here is a brief overview of the YPPs at some of the organizations mentioned above:

  • UN YPP: The UN YPP is a two-year leadership development program that recruits talented young professionals from around the world to work at the UN Secretariat. Participants in the YPP have the opportunity to work on a variety of projects in different areas of the UN’s work, including peace and security, development, human rights, and humanitarian affairs.
  • WBG YPP: The WBG YPP is a two-year leadership development program that recruits young professionals from around the world to work at the World Bank, IFC, or MIGA. Participants in the WBG YPP have the opportunity to work on projects to promote economic growth and development in developing countries.
  • UNESCO YPP: The UNESCO YPP is a two-year leadership development program that recruits young professionals from non- and under-represented Member States to work at UNESCO. Participants in the UNESCO YPP have the opportunity to work on projects to promote education, culture, science, and communication for development.
  • CAG YPP: The CAG YPP is a two-year program that recruits young professionals from India to work at the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. Participants in the CAG YPP have the opportunity to work on audits of government programs and accounts.

If you are interested in learning more about YPPs, you can visit the websites of the organizations listed above. You can also search for “young professional programme” on Google to find more information about YPPs at other international organizations.