Staff members of the United Nations Secretariat in the General Service and related staff categories, as well as in the Field Service category (FS-5 and below), are given the opportunity to participate in the Young Professionals Programme (YPP) examination for recruitment into the Professional category.
The YPP examination is the exact same examination and is given in the same manner for both staff and external candidates.
The eligibility criteria for staff is summarized below and defined in Administrative Instruction ST/AI/2012/2/Rev.1:
- Do you hold at least a first-level university degree, in a relevant subject area (as listed in the job opening)?
- Are you 32 or younger by the end of this year?
- Do you speak either English and/or French fluently?
- Are you a national of a participating country?
- Do you have a United Nations appointment valid until at least six months after the date of the examination?
- Do you have a rating of at least "successfully meets performance expectations" in your latest performance assessment periods?
If you meet the criteria above, you can apply to participate in the young professionals programme via the "G to N" application.
If you are a staff member of the United Nations Secretariat in the General Service and related staff categories, or a staff member in the Field Service category, and do not meet the criteria above, you can still participate in the examination, via the "G to P" application, if you meet the following criteria:
- Do you have five years of continuous service in the Secretariat?
- Do you have a rating of at least "successfully meets performance expectations" in the last two performance assessment periods?
- Do you have a United Nations appointment valid until at least six months after the date of the examination?
- Do you hold at least a first-level university degree, in a relevant subject area (as listed in the job opening)?
- Do you speak either English and/or French fluently?
The job openings for internal YPP applicants will be accessible only through Inspira and not shown on the Careers Portal (i.e., staff should log into Inspira using their index number account to view the appropriate "G to N" or "G to P" job openings).
Successful staff will be placed on the roster of successful candidates and will be eligible for placement in a professional position at the P-1 or P-2 level, depending on their qualifications. Please note that the total number of positions that can be filled in a given calendar year by staff members who successfully pass the YPP examination as a "G to P" candidate shall be up to 10 per cent of the positions available under the programme in a given year.
Competitive examinations for recruitment and placement in posts requiring specific language skills in the Professional category are administered separately and are not included in this examination.