International organization jobs are posts at bodies whose members are governments, such as the United Nations and its agencies, the development banks and regional bodies. Each organisation posts its own vacancies on its own careers site, you apply through the profile that site asks for, and selection usually runs from screening to a test, a competency-based interview and a review before the offer.
An international organisation, in the sense these job pages use, is an organisation set up by governments, whose members are states. An international NGO is different: it may work in many countries, but it is a private body, and it hires under its own rules. This post covers the first group.
Which organisations count as international organisations?
The bodies people usually mean fall into four groups:
| Group | Examples | Where their jobs are posted |
|---|---|---|
| The UN Secretariat | Departments and offices of the United Nations itself | The UN’s own careers portal |
| UN funds, programmes and specialised agencies | UNICEF, WFP, WHO, UNFPA | Each organisation’s own careers site |
| Development banks | The World Bank Group, the Inter-American Development Bank, the European Investment Bank | Each bank’s own careers site |
| Other intergovernmental bodies | Regional organisations and treaty bodies | Each body’s own site |
The German employment agency’s service for international careers says Germany alone is a member of about 300 international organisations. So no single list is complete, and no single site carries every vacancy. Start from the organisations that do the work you know, and bookmark each one’s careers page.
The development banks have rules of their own on nationality and contracts, set out in development bank jobs.
What is the international civil service?
The international civil service is the staff of these organisations, who serve the organisation rather than their own government. The UN Charter sets the rule for the UN’s own staff. Article 100 says the Secretary-General and the staff shall not seek or receive instructions from any government. Article 101 says the paramount consideration in employing staff is the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, with due regard to recruiting on as wide a geographical basis as possible.
Much of the UN system shares its pay and conditions. The International Civil Service Commission, an independent expert body the General Assembly set up in 1974, oversees the UN common system of salaries, allowances and other conditions of service, which it says comprises 28 organisations. The World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund are not part of it, which is one reason the banks publish grades and pay of their own. The commission also publishes the Standards of Conduct for the International Civil Service, first issued in 1954 and revised since. The current text names competence, integrity, impartiality, independence and discretion as the traditions it rests on.
Where do international organisations post their jobs?
On their own sites, and you apply there. The US State Department’s international organisation careers office puts it plainly: apply directly to the organisation you are interested in. It adds that most organisations ask you to create an online account and complete an extensive application profile, and that many will not take a resume or CV in place of the profile.
That profile is where most applications are won or lost. The German service at the Federal Employment Agency says most international organisations have their own application forms, and that a close match between the vacancy’s requirements and your profile is essential. Write the profile for the post, not for your career in general, and read the vacancy first with how to read a job posting.
The State Department also lists the cities where most international organisations have their headquarters: New York, Geneva, Nairobi, Paris, Rome and Vienna.
Who can apply for international organisation jobs?
It depends on the organisation and the category of post. WFP says its international professional posts are open to candidates of all nationalities, and that its professional grades run from P1 to D2, where P stands for Professional and D for Director. Many development banks, by contrast, take only nationals of their member countries.
For professional posts, the published expectations are similar. The State Department says competitive applicants usually have an advanced degree in a relevant field, a significant number of years of specialised work experience, English and usually a strong working knowledge of a second UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish), and international experience or experience in a multicultural setting. The German service says a completed university degree is almost always required, that junior posts usually need two to three years of experience after graduation, and that excellent English and usually a second official language are indispensable.
Two warnings from the same German page are worth taking seriously:
- Deadlines are often very short. Keep a current profile ready on the portals you use, so a new vacancy is a few hours of work, not a weekend.
- Many applicants already work for an international organisation. Your competition knows the vocabulary. Name the results of your work in plain terms, with numbers where you have them.
How do international organisations hire?
The State Department’s page on the application process says the process varies by organisation, type of post and grade, and describes the general steps:
- Application evaluation. The organisation reviews the applications it received.
- Assessment exercise. This may be a written exam, a simulation, a case study or another job-related test.
- Competency-based interview. By telephone, video conference or in person.
- Review and selection. An independent body of staff and management representatives checks that the procedure was followed and that candidates were considered fairly, then the head of the department makes a selection.
Candidates found qualified but not selected can be placed on a roster, a pool used to fill later vacancies. The State Department says a place on the roster lasts two years for men and three years for women.
Contracts are often short. The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs warns that international organisations often offer only short fixed-term contracts, so be ready to accept some uncertainty.
Does nationality affect selection?
At some organisations, yes. The State Department says the UN and some other international organisations consider geographic balance when they fill vacancies, so that as many member states as possible have nationals on their professional staff. It names the factors as a member state’s financial contribution, its population and its membership category.
Geographic balance is a consideration at some organisations, not a rule at all of them. Some programmes go further: the Swiss ministry says that young professionals programmes may have nationality restrictions that depend on how well each member state is represented.
Can your government help you apply?
Several governments run services for their own nationals. They do not hire for the organisations, but they can advise and, in some cases, support a candidate.
| Country | Service | What it offers |
|---|---|---|
| United States | International Organization Careers, State Department | Information for US citizens, a resume database, and in some cases advocacy for an American candidate who is shortlisted |
| Switzerland | Careers in international organisations, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs | Free application support through cinfo for Swiss applicants, and targeted lobbying at the final stage for senior posts of political interest |
| Germany | The BFIO service, Federal Employment Agency | Information on the international job market, advice on vacancies, help preparing applications and support during the application phase |
Two conditions apply. The US service says you must be a US citizen to apply for advocacy, and that it will not consider advocacy requests for organisations the United States has announced it is leaving. The Swiss ministry asks for the full file, meaning the vacancy notice, the cover letter and the CV, before it decides whether to support a senior application.
If your government is not in this table, search its foreign ministry’s site for a page on careers in international organisations.
Questions people ask
Can I send a CV instead of filling in the profile?
Often not. The State Department says many organisations will not accept a resume or CV in place of their application profile. Keep a master CV to copy from, and fill in each profile in full. One resume for many countries shows how to keep that master file.
Do I need a second UN language?
For many professional posts it is expected. The State Department and the German service both say that English and usually a second official language are needed. The German service adds that an exact rating of your language skills is indispensable, so state your level honestly and the same way on every profile.
Are international NGOs international organisations?
Not in the sense used here. An international NGO is a private body, even when it works in many countries, and it sets its own hiring rules. Its jobs are posted on its own site.
How long does a roster place last?
The State Department says two years for men and three years for women. Each organisation sets its own rules, so check the one you applied to.
What we know and what we do not
The rules above come from the organisations’ and the governments’ own pages, read when this post was written. Each organisation runs its own process, and the vacancy notice has the final word. The government services here are three examples, and others exist.
Zorlya does not apply for you. When a role is in your feed, Zorlya scores it against your resume, names its source and links to the original posting, where you apply. How it works shows the steps from resume to scored feed.