Application Deadline: December 29th 2020
The call for applications for the Fellowships Programme is usually published mid-year on the website of the UN/DESA Office in Rome. Applications are submitted online through the Online Web Application (OWA) of the UN/DESA Office in Rome.
Eligibility requirements for applicants
Candidates must meet all the following requirements to be considered eligible for the 2020/2021 edition:
- born on or after 1 January 1990 (1 January 1989 for graduates in Medicine; 1 January 1987 for graduates in Medicine who have already been awarded a post-graduate medical specialization degree).
- Italian nationality
- fluency in English and Italian
- hold one of the following advanced university degrees (or degree combinations), awarded before the application deadline:
- Laurea Magistrale/Specialistica.
- Laurea Magistrale a ciclo unico.
- Laurea/Laurea Triennale plus university Master’s degree.
- Bachelor’s degree plus university Master’s degree.
For the 2020/2021 edition, a limited number of positions will be assigned to candidates from developing countries (Least Developed Countries and priority Countries for the Italian Development Cooperation). These candidates must meet all of the following requirements to be considered eligible for the 2020/2021 edition:
- born on or after 1 January 1990 (1 January 1989 for graduates in Medicine; 1 January 1987 for graduates in Medicine who have already been awarded a post-graduate medical specialization degree)
- hold the passport of one of the following UN Member States or non-Member Observer States: Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, State of Palestine, Sudan, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tunisia, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Vanuatu, Yemen, Zambia.
- fluency in English (knowledge of Italian will be considered an asset)
- hold one of the following advanced university degrees (or degree combinations), awarded before the application deadline:
- Laurea Magistrale/Specialistica.
- Laurea Magistrale a ciclo unico.
- Laurea/LaureaTriennale plus university Master’s degree.
- Bachelor’s degree plus university Master’s degree.
Additional skills and qualifications
Given the highly competitive nature of the Italian JPO Programme, as well as the increasingly demanding skill-sets and level of experience sought by International Organizations, the following are frequently considered important assets:
- knowledge of other UN official languages / languages spoken in developing countries
- additional academic qualifications and/or training courses
- solid professional work experience (minimum one year)
- key competencies such as client orientation, teamwork, communication, accountability, planning and organization.
Candidates are expected to be motivated, flexible and willing to adapt to different environments. Furthermore, they must at all times demonstrate commitment to the core values of the United Nations, i.e. integrity, professionalism and respect for diversity.
Fields of expertise
The level of training, specialization and prior professional experience expected of Junior Professional Officers may vary from year to year according to the specific requests from the recipient organizations. Fields of expertise include – but are not limited to – the following areas: political affairs, peacekeeping and peacebuilding; humanitarian affairs, resettlements and refugees; sustainable development, including water and sanitation, environmental and climate change issues; migration and development; economic development, including public finance, public management, microcredit, etc.; social development, including social protection, indigenous issues, disabilities issues, gender issues, etc.; public administration, governance, and local development; statistics, demography and data management; international law; rule of law and electoral issues; children’s rights; food security and safety, agricultural development and livestock management; urban development; world heritage preservation, culture and education; information and communication technology for development; communications for development; private sector and industry development; logistics, supply chain management and project management.
Pre-selection of candidates
The pre-selection of applicants is carried out by the UN/DESA Rome Office. Following a careful examination of the profiles of all eligible candidates, the Office draws up a shortlist for each fellowship placement sponsored by the Italian Government.
This list comprises a maximum of five (5) candidates, all of whom meet the requirements requested by the recipient organization.
This exercise is performed taking into consideration all aspects of the candidates’ application, such as motivations for applying, language and technical skills, university qualifications and specializations, as well as voluntary and professional experiences.
Due to the large number of applications, only shortlisted candidates are informed by UN/DESA of the outcome of the pre-selection process. Shortlisted candidates are invited to participate in the next stages of the selection process and are provided with a full description of the fellowship placement for which they have been pre-selected.
Final selection of candidates
The final selection phase consists of two parts: a written test and a competency-based interview.
The written test is administered by the UN/DESA Rome Office via a specifically designed web-based application. Copies of the written test answers are then submitted to the interview panels for their assessment.
The interviews are conducted remotely (via video-conference) by panels convened by the recipient offices (in the case of fellowship placements in Agencies/Organizations of the UN System) and by panels convened by UN/DESA (in the case of fellowship placements in Field Offices of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation).
At the end of the interview process, each panel officially communicates the interview outcomes to the UN/DESA Rome Office for review by a “Final Review Panel”. The integrity of the entire selection process is subsequently reviewed by the UN/DESA Fellowship Committee in HQ, New York, which is responsible for finalizing the list of selected candidates on the basis of each panel recommendations.
All shortlisted candidates are informed by e-mail of the outcome of the final selection. In cases where the first-choice candidate declines the award, the UN/DESA Rome Office contacts the other recommended candidates in order of ranking to check their availability and continued interest.
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