r/UNV

I was wondering if someone with more knowledge of this could please clarify. I received an ‘invitation to apply’ for a UNV opportunity - what does this mean, really? Is it an automated email, or does it mean a hiring manager/HR person actually came across my profile? (I know UN staff is busy so I thought the latter is unlikely?)

I’ve been on the platform for years, have been shortlisted in the past etc. however it is only the second time that I get an email like this. (FYI I didn’t bother to apply to the vacancy the first time around). I wasn’t particularly interested in this role they sent the invitation for but am having second thoughts now.

Thanks!

I was an International UN Volunteer in the Maldives from 2015 to 2016, supporting UNFPA in an adviser-level role that was somewhat more senior than the kinds of positions UNV was accustomed to placing.

It was a very difficult assignment. The UNFPA office downsized from eight people to three while I was there, and there was a great deal of resentment and dysfunction surrounding that transition.

The experience that really shaped my view of UNV and UNFPA, though, came when my wife became pregnant and developed complications that required medical evacuation. The Resident Coordinator had the authority to approve the evacuation and chose not to do so. UNV headquarters in Bonn was utterly unhelpful. So were the UN medical people we dealt with locally and in Switzerland and Bangkok.
Eventually, an evacuation was approved. My wife, who was a civilian with no affiliation with UNV, was “permitted” to travel with me to Boston, but reimbursement was capped at what an evacuation to Bangkok would have cost. I ultimately completed the assignment but had to take a few weeks of leave without pay on an already tight budget, not to mention travel and medical costs. If I were UNFPA staff, this would have been handled very differently. But that’s the point: You’re not staff. That’s why this hiring modality exists.

So my advice to anyone considering an international UNV assignment is to treat promises about how you will be taken care of with extreme skepticism. When something serious actually happens, the protections that look reassuring on paper may depend on discretionary decisions by people who have very little personal stake in what happens to you.
I would not recommend doing this unless you are financially capable of absorbing a very substantial loss yourself. Frankly, I’m not sure I would recommend it even then.

If you are from a country where a UN posting could materially change your career prospects, I can understand looking at UNV as a way to build a résumé and gain entry into the international system. It can be an opportunity. But I would approach it very skeptically, understand exactly what status and protections you do and do not have, and never assume that because something is promised in your conditions of service, the institution will actually make you whole when you need it.

The creator and original moderator of the UNV subreddit disappeared a few years ago. I went through the process to take on the main moderation of this subreddit earlier this month, and today received word that my wish has been granted.

You will note that the UNV subreddit now has a description and has rules. Consider the rules always subject to change - and your suggestions are welcomed. But please read the rules before you post here.

I've also gone through the subreddit and deleted most of the posts that were weekly invitations to post, since most were empty - I kept those that had comments as well as at least one from each year, just for history purposes. But with deleting all those posts, it should be MUCH easier to find actual content from the last six years (even before I was moderator, I was the person providing most of the content).

I'm transparent on Reddit about who I am - click on my profile to learn more.

I worked at UNV HQ from February 2001 to February 2005, directing what was then the separate UN Online Volunteering service, moving it from NetAid to its own web site and substantially altering and growing the service. I also was a manager of the United Nations Information Technology Service, a program of UNV at that time. I've worked for other UNDP programs since then.

I have no current official affiliation with any United Nations agency, including UNV. Nothing here is an official statement by UNV unless it is proven to be so with a link to the UNV source where it comes from.

I would love other moderators - people both monitoring content, enforcing the rules and providing fresh content - but I would prefer that moderators be someone who has had an official affiliation with UNV in some way, either from working at UNV HQ, working under a national or international UNV contract, or having researched UNV and published a paper on such. DM me if that's you.

Onward.

Hey, I am an 18 year old student.

I have completed my school last year and will be starting my college this year.

I have been following the United Nations since I was young and had always wished to be a part of it.

Since I am new to the United Nations Volunteer programme, I don't know where to start from, so that my contribution to the committee actually becomes helpful to the society.

I would love people who have already volunteered in the UN or are also looking forward to do it to guide me!