United Nations Career Journey Podcast

“The Rhine has a particular shade of blue, especially in the morning, and it's just stunning.”  In this episode, we take you to Bonn , a small city in western Germany which will receive hundreds of relocated UN staff in the next year.  What is Bonn like? Bucolic and welcoming? Or a bit humdrum?  Can you swim in the Rhine River?  Hear from Jelena Hadzic , a Programme Officer with the UN’s Clima...

“Get out there. The more people who know who you are and what you love, the more likely they are to remember you—and one day, to count on you.” Listen to Daniel Gonzalez Carmena, who shares his unconventional journey into the United Nations. From a chance encounter at an airport to navigating years of short-term contracts, uncertainty, and self-discovery in UNCCD (United Nations Convention to Comb...

“I came to realize that international careers require more emotional intelligence than technical skills. Listening is in fact a strategic tool in itself.”  Hear from seasoned colleague Miguel Aju, Special Assistant to the Head of Mission at MINUSCA, the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic. He shares about the importance of relationships and communication in UN work, having serv...

« [Un] conseil, ce serait vraiment d'oser sortir de sa zone de confort. Il ne faut pas avoir peur d'aller vers des domaines où on n'a pas forcément l'expérience. Il faut être volontaire pour des missions de l'organisation dont les autres ne s'y intéressent pas, parce que c'est en relevant des défis pareils qu'on se démarque et qu'on peut également progresser le plus. »  Dans cet épisode, nous avon...

“Your career doesn’t need to be linear to be meaningful. Every experience—no matter how different—can become a building block toward the leader you are becoming.”  Hear from Ia Dadunashvili, a UN professional whose non-linear career spans gender equality, human rights, governance, and crisis‑response roles across multiple UN agencies and international organizations.  Ia Dadunashvili is the Project...

“Do not be picky about the place where you would like to serve the UN. The closer you are to the issues you're trying to solve, the more interesting it will be.”   Hear from Jonathan Lorrillard, a veteran in UN peacekeeping operations. Jonathan Lorrillard is the  Political Affairs Officer at the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) in...

“The UN has never been more called into question, but it has never been more essential.” John Whyte is the Acting Senior Deputy Director at UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Dublin. He has years of experience with UNRWA in Syria, Lebanon and Gaza, where he worked for a period during the recent conflict. Hear about the extreme challenges he and colleagues...

Dans cet épisode inspirant du United Nations Career Journey Podcast , nous rencontrons Lolita Iranezereza , biologiste moléculaire à la Clinique des Nations Unies à Bujumbura, au Burundi. Découvrez comment Lolita a transformé son parcours — depuis la gestion de son diabète de type 1 dès l’enfance jusqu’à ses études en biologie moléculaire au Canada — en une carrière marquante au service de la sant...

“I would say to not compromise your vision. because you willget to see it through. You will seek and you'll find a lot of people to thank along the way, so make sure you give plenty of people reasons to be thankful.” Hear from Omar Jagne , Innovation Digital Partnerships Specialist for United Nations Development Programme in New York, whose career journey blends innovation, digital transformation,...

“I started following the Arab Spring to work on youth, which spilled over to migration, older persons…then abruptly to women, peace, and security...I see my career as layers upon layers of a fantastic cake.” Hear from Raidan Alsaqqaf, who has contagious enthusiasm about his new role in disaster risk reduction and about UN career pivots. Raidan is the Deputy Chief, UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduc...

"Do not let your mobility challenges define or limit you. Embrace your strengths, work toward your goals, and persist. Networking and continuous learning will open doors and empower you to adapt."  Meet Consolata Karani, the Executive Assistant to the Deputy Resident Representatives - Programme and Operations at UNDP Kenya. From her early career in media and film production to her current role, Co...

“It is a key to unlocking deeper insights into people, their traditions, their perspectives, because it helps you to look at similarities between cultures while too often we focus on the differences.”  From her early internship days to her current role as a Results and Reporting Specialist at UNDP in New York, Alessandra Muto,  offers invaluable insights into building a career within the UN. She d...

“I would show up sleep deprived and I would know that everyone else was sleep deprived and we would just get on with it. One of the greatest lessons I learned from Ukraine was this sense of resilience.”       Katalin Downing is the Administrative Officer at the UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) in Kyiv, Ukraine. She shares about the extreme stressors of working in a conflict zone – and...

Maria Chepurina-Deswel, External Relations Officer, Executive Office of the Secretary-General, New York   “It’s a little bit like working in a startup mode where every week, every month, there is a new project with new objectives, new priorities.”  Maria Chepurina-Deswel is the External Relations Officer at the Executive Office of the Secretary-General in New York. She shares about her once-in-a-l...

“Life sometimes has a way of pulling a 180-degree maneuver on you. After years of flying, I realized that my purpose could be even bigger than the cockpit.”  Slavisa Vidakovic is the Chief, Supply Chain Management and Service Delivery at UNAMI (United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq) in Baghdad. He is a UN aviation expert in field missions who now oversees hundreds of operations staff at the UN...

" Evaluation was not a career option when I started; there were no courses, no guidance. I had to teach myself. But today, evaluation is key—not just for accountability, but for learning. It’s about showing what works, what doesn’t, and why .”  Meet Ana Rosa Soares, Senior Strategic Advisor and Strategic Plan Chief Evaluator at the Independent Evaluation Office, UNDP. With nearly two decades at th...

“The experience of being in the Congo – an amazing country - remains the most amazing professional experience of my life. I was responsible for tasking 105 aircraft on a daily basis for about nine months and I've never had anything more intense in that sense in my life.”  Hear from Stephen McOwan, Chief, Operational Planning Service, Department of Operational Support (DOS), New York. Stephen has s...

"The UN targets to achieve about 18% of persons with disability employment. It’s so sad. Most of our brothers and sisters with disabilities, they don’t apply. [...] Always try to remember opportunities are not given, they are grabbed. If you don’t grab that opportunity, then we’ll be lost... Just show your ability and remove the dis in your ability." Meet Ashura Michael, Talent Development and Inc...

"I am humbled and grateful to have had the support of my family and the cooperation of my colleagues, who played a crucial role in helping me navigate and overcome such challenges. Ultimately, these experiences have taught me that while challenges are inevitable, they also bring growth and new opportunities. Embracing change and maintaining a positive outlook has been key to overcoming the ob...

“I had an opportunity for a promotion in New York, but I said to myself, it will be even harder to leave later.  So we packed up and moved to Bangkok. That was eight years ago. We never looked back and it has been a fascinating experience.”   Meet Milica Markovic, a seasoned HR professional at the UN Secretariat who is based in Thailand with her young family. As Regional HR Focal Point for the Dev...

“The organisation has changed quite a bit in terms of its digital transformation.[..] And what is interesting about it is that, digital transformation never ends. Technology continuously develops. And that's true for any organisation and every human being in a way. We always have to learn new skills”   Tune in to hear from Dhani Spiller, Head of the Digital Capacity Building, in the Chief Digital...

Nous avons le plaisir d'entendre Amélie -Yann Gouiffès, experte en réduction des risques de catastrophe et en relèvement post-crise. Amélie partage son parcours de plus de 26 ans dans l'humanitaire et le développement, avec une quinzaine d'années de missions pour les Nations Unies.  Elle explique comment elle a débuté sa carrière aux Nations Unies par un concours de circonstances, en commençant pa...

“This is a work environment where you get to meet people from all around the world.  And you get these bits of wisdom…but we have to consciously choose to hold on to them and make them parts of ourselves…”  Hear from the passionate and multi-dimensional Peride Kaleagasi, a seasoned UN expert and currently Head of Office in the Resident Coordinator’s Office in Guatemala.  She shares about developme...

David Bearfield | Director of the Office of Human Resources UNDP, New York ; Catharina Klingspor | Special assistant to Deputy Bureau Director of Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy, UNDP, New York, Former JPO; Rayza Oblitas Palacios | Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Specialist, UNDP Regional Office in Istanbul, Alumna of UNDP Graduate Programme; Ghadir Elidrissi Raghni | Technical Advis...

“Working in the mission you see the direct impact of whatever work you are doing, whatever sacrifices you are making, and the decisions you are taking [...] as it is showing in the lives of the people.”  UN veteran Ben Dotsei Malor, after concluding his eighteen-month stint as the Chief of Communications and Public Information at the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), shares about the...