Careers outside of Headquarters
While duty stations such as New York, Geneva, Vienna or Nairobi often have most visibility, working with the UN in a peacekeeping mission, a special political mission or any other country office is a truly rewarding experience.
The UN is the world’s largest peacekeeper. Saving future generations from the impacts of war was the main motivation for creating the United Nations and working on the ground is still one of the most rewarding and core UN experiences you can have today.
Working in peacekeeping operations or special political missions outside of headquarters and regional offices offers the opportunity to contribute to our efforts on the ground. There are currently 12 peacekeeping operations in countries such as Western Sahara, Central African Republic, Mali, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, South Sudan and Cyprus. There are also 24 special political missions or other political presences in Africa, the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and West Asia.
Member States partner with the UN to implement and maintain peace by providing troops and other forms of support. For a military position, you will need to be a part of your country's military. If you are not military, you can also apply to be UN police.
What about United Nations civilian employees? If you are not police or military, you can find a number of jobs on this website for assignments in a peacekeeping or a special political mission, a fact-finding mission or a liaison office across roles such as:
- Administrators
- Engineers, Pilots, Drivers
- Legal Experts
- Economists
- Electoral Observers
- Political Affairs
- Logistics
- Specialists in Civil Affairs and Gender
- Information Technology
- And many others
Learn more about women's roles in UN peacekeeping missions span the police, military, and civilian positions. Currently, women comprise about 30 percent of the international civilians in peacekeeping.
Beyond our work in peacekeeping operations, special political missions and other political presences, the United Nations Secretariat has a strong presence around the globe as evidenced by 465 duty stations. Some of the offices with strong presences beyond headquarters in New York or the offices in Geneva, Vienna and Nairobi, are:
- The Resident Coordinator System has Country or Multi-Country Offices covering 162 countries. The Resident Coordinator is the designated representative of the UN Secretary-General and leader of United Nations Country Team of agencies such as the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Programme (WFP) or the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
- The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which operates in more than 80 countries around the world through its network of 115 field offices with 2,400 UNODC personnel globally. UNODC works closely with Governments and civil society towards building security and justice for all.
- The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) with a presence in 30 Country Offices and five Regional Offices in addition to the Headquarters in New York and Geneva.
- The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR, or UN Human Rights), which has its main operations located in Geneva, Switzerland as well as a New York office, which represents human rights issues on behalf of OHCHR at the United Nations headquarters in NY and OHCHR also implements its work at the national and regional level , which includes the provision of advisory services and technical cooperation, in accordance with the High Commissioner's mandate.
- The Department of Global Communications (DGC) maintains a network of 63 United Nations Information Centres to reach the peoples of the world and to share the United Nations story with them in their own languages. These centres, working in coordination with the UN system, reach out to the media and educational institutions, engage in partnerships with governments, local civil society organizations and the private sector, and maintain libraries and electronic information resources.
- Other Departments and Offices within the Secretariat beyond peacekeeping operations and special political missions or other political presences that have a significant global presence are, amongst others, the Office of Internal Oversight, the Department of Safety and Security, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), and the Department of Operational Support (DOS).
