The UN Young Professionals Programme (YPP) is a recruitment initiative for talented, highly qualified professionals to start a career as an international civil servant with the UN Secretariat.

It consists of an entrance examination process and professional development once those successful start their career with the UN.The YPP examination is held once a year in different subject areas, depending on the needs of the UN.YPP is open to nationals of participating countries. The list of participating countries varies from year to year.

Eligibility Requirements

• Nationality be a national of a participating country
• Education hold at least a first-level university degree relevant for the exam (at least a relevant Bachelor’s degree or a 3-year equivalent degree)
• Age be 32 years old or younger in the year of the examination
• Language be fluent in either English or French

Application Process

1. Confirm Your Eligibility

Carefully review basic application criteria on the YPP Home page.

2. Review The Job Opening

The YPP application period typically opens each June. The job openings, specific to each exam area, will be found through Inspira or the UN Careers Portal. Read carefully to determine if you meet the requirements.

3. Prepare An Application

Watch the YPP Application Guide Video prior to applying! A general UN “Applicant Guide” is available in Inspira by logging in and clicking on the “Manuals” link on the top of the page.

4. Application Evaluation

Applications will be screened to determine if they meet the basic eligibility requirements (i.e., nationality, age, education, language).If more than 40 applicants from the same country are eligible for an exam area, those applicants will be screened and ranked based on highest level of education completed, knowledge of official UN languages, and relevant work experience. If the exam occurs in two stages, then 60 applicants per country/per exam area may be invited to the first exam stage, with a maximum of 40 per country/per exam area proceeding to the second stage.
All applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application.

Application Deadline: 13 February 2022

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the United Nations Young Professionals Programme 2021/2022