United Nations 2023 Young Professionals Program (YPP) for Talented Individuals

Published: 07 Nov 2022 1,937 views

The United Nations Young Professionals Programme (YPP) is a recruitment initiative for talented, highly qualified professionals to start a career as an international civil servant with the United Nations Secretariat. It consists of an entrance examination and professional development programmes once successful candidates start their careers with the UN.

The United Nations Young Professionals Programme examination is held annually and is open to nationals of countries participating in the annual recruitment exercise. The list of participating countries is published annually and varies yearly.

Each year, countries that are un- or under-represented in the United Nations, are invited to participate in the United Nations Young Professionals Program

United Nations Young Professionals Program

Benefits of United Nations Young Professionals Program

• Salary and Post adjustments
• Rental subsidy if newly arrived at the duty station your rent represents too high proportion of the total remuneration.
• Dependency allowances if you have an eligible dependent spouse and/or child(ren).
• Under certain conditions an education grant if you have eligible children in school.
• Travel and shipping expenses when moving from one duty station to another.
• Assignment grant to assist you in meeting initial extraordinary costs when arriving at or relocating to a new duty station.
• At some duty stations, a hardship allowance linked to living and working conditions is paid and where there are restrictions on bringing family members, a non-family hardship allowance is also paid.
• Hazard pay and rest and recuperation break when you serve in locations where the conditions are particularly hazardous, stressful and difficult.
• Many more benefits.

Requirements for United Nations Young Professionals Program

• Must have the nationality of a participating country.
• Must hold at least a first-level university degree relevant to the exam subject you are applying for.
• Must be 32 or younger in the year of the examination.
• Must be fluent in either English or French.

Staff members of the United Nations Secretariat who work within the General Service and other related categories and aspire to a career within the Professional and higher categories are encouraged to apply.

Selection Process

Selection Criteria: 

• Your application will be screened to determine if you are eligible for the examination in the exam subject you applied for.
• Suppose more than 40 applicants from the same country apply for the same exam area. In that case, those applicants will be further screened and ranked by a Human Resources Officer according to points given for the following additional qualifications: highest level of education completed, knowledge of official UN languages, and relevant work experience.
• Please be aware that many potential applicants do not pass the screening stage due to incomplete or inaccurate applications.
• If your application was successful, you will be informed that you are convoked to the examination.
• If determined that you are not eligible to apply or if your application was unsuccessful, you will be informed that you have not been convoked to the examination.
• You will be able to check the status of your application by typing your application number in the search section on the Convocation status & Examination centre page (See link in Application Process in Program Webpage Link below).

Application Deadline

How to Apply