By Shyat Lemoshira
Photos: By Erick Macharia

The USIU-Africa Placement and Career Services (PACS), in collaboration with the Talent Acquisition Unit of the United Nations Office in Nairobi (UNON), organized an outreach event at the USIU-Africa School of Humanities and Social Sciences on Thursday, July 13, 2023, from 4pm to 6pm. Mr. Aitor Maguna, Chief, Human Resources Services at UNON, and Ms. Jennifer, W.C., Chief, Talent Acquisition Unit at UNON were the event's keynote speakers.

They presented a brief history of the UNON and the United Nations (UN) mandate of international peace and security. UNON is the only UN headquarters in Africa and the Global South, and it is the world's third largest UN Secretariat. UNON now employs approximately 4,000 people in the following fields: law, science, international security and safety, political peace and humanitarian assistance, management and administration, and information and telecommunication technology. Field Service, General Services, Interns, Consultancy and Individual, National Professional Officers, and Professional and Higher Category are the personnel categories. In addition, UNON also offers special programs such as the Young Professional Programme, the Junior Professional Officer, Competitive Examination for Language positions and the UN Volunteers under the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Ms. Jennifer described the application process for UNON vacancies, which includes the following phases: searching for vacancies, creating an online profile on UN’s Inspira, submitting an online application, evaluation and assessment, carrying out of a Competency Based Interview (CBI), and finally, selection and notification. All information is available through this link.

UNON delivers skills and experience and exposure to UN operations through numerous opportunities. This characteristic is highly valued when applying for a variety of high-ranking or fixed-term contract positions. The speakers addressed misconceptions about the application process and ensured that all applications are examined, and persons are selected efficiently with little or little influence from parties within unless such positions are explicitly endorsed by governments.
The audience were encouraged to apply for UNON openings both within and outside of Kenya, as well as additional opportunities to serve. Undergraduates benefit greatly from internships in their academic careers, whereas graduates must have the courage and a significant portfolio of work experience of three to apply for high-level positions.