Locations
When you join UNDP, we are offering you more than just a job—we are making an investment in you and your future. UNDP believes in the talents of its people and is invested in their continued growth.
We provide a wide range of opportunities to advance your career and develop new skills. These include:
- AI-driven career development resources and tools to help you set, and achieve, your professional goals.
- A broad range of learning resources, activities and programmes developed by UNDP or other experts.
- Career labs series (webinars), as well as coaching and mentoring to learn from fellow UNDP and UN professionals.
- Other on-the-job learning programmes, short-term work placements, certifications, virtual and detailed assignments.
As part of our People for 2030 Strategy, UNDP is committed to equipping its managers and leaders, through a range of programmes and courses, with the tools needed to help those they lead excel in their work.
2024 JPO PPO workshop in New York. A Group of JPOs posing with Haoliang Xu, Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP's Director of the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support and David Bearfield, UNDP's Director of the Office of Human Resources/Bureau of Management Services.
Career Options and Aspirations
UNDP is dedicated to supporting its personnel in building successful careers that offer fulfilling work and professional development aligned with both organizational priorities and personal aspirations.
Our career framework is reflecting a shift from a more traditional, upwards-oriented career model, towards a more holistic model. When you are part of UNDP you will be encouraged to deepen and broaden your knowledge, skills and competencies through moves between geographic locations, business areas and teams. You should therefore think about what career tracks, streams and job roles you are interested in.
Career Tracks: Consider what track best fits your options and aspirations. UNDP clusters its jobs into three career tracks based on the type of work performed:
- Managerial and Executive: Includes roles such as directors, deputy directors, resident representatives, deputy resident representatives, and managers responsible for managing performance and resources.
- Professional/Expert: Includes roles such as analysts, specialists, officers, coordinators, and advisors performing analytical, evaluative, and conceptual work, often with supervisory responsibilities.
- General Service: Includes roles such as associates, assistants, clerks, and drivers providing procedural and processing support.
- PSA Contracts: UNDP also offers Personnel Service Agreement (PSA) contracts on local (N-PSA) or International level (I-PSA) for specific projects and initiatives. These roles are typically project-based and time-bound, providing an opportunity for professionals to contribute their expertise to targeted efforts. PSA contracts are ideal for individuals seeking flexible, short-term assignments that allow them to make a significant impact within a defined period. These roles can range from technical specialists to project managers, addressing various thematic areas and operational needs.
Career Streams: Determine where you would like to work in the organization —either in Corporate Operations or Policy and Programme—and what discipline you want to focus on or specialize in. Possible areas of focus include finance, human resources, procurement, legal, IT, communications, environment, energy, gender, governance, poverty, health, crisis prevention, resilience, and SDG integration.
Job Roles: Ask yourself “what am I ready for in my career progression?” and “what type of influence would I like to have?”. If you are specializing in international policy work, it could for instance be as a Policy Analyst at level P1-2, or a Policy Specialist at level P3-4, or a Policy Advisor or Team Leader at level P5/D1. In addition, it could be in HQ, Regional Hubs or in a Country Office around the world.