The Junior Professional Officer (JPO) Programme, administered by UNDP’s JPO Service Centre, places young professionals in entry-level positions across the UN development system. Each post is fully funded by a sponsoring government, which normally recruits candidates of its own nationality; four donors — Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden — additionally fund positions for nationals of developing countries. JPOs serve as full UN staff at a UNDP or partner-agency duty station, gaining hands-on international-development experience alongside structured learning and career support. The Service Centre has run these talent programmes for 18 years; as of August 2025 it administered 198 young professionals across 59 duty stations worldwide. A parallel Specialist Development Programme (SDP) offers a more senior variant.
Benefits & funding
- Full UN staff appointment with a competitive UN salary at the professional (P-1/P-2) level, funded by the sponsoring government.
- Standard UN entitlements: dependency allowances (spouse and child), appointment and relocation travel, periodic home-leave travel, health insurance, and UN pension participation.
- An initial one-year Letter of Appointment, normally extended to a two-year assignment; third- and fourth-year extensions are possible subject to satisfactory performance and donor funding.
- A structured “Formation Journey”: onboarding, learning support, a training allowance (DTTA), networking and alumni access, and career-management guidance.
- Deployment to one of 59 UN duty stations worldwide, working on live development programmes.
Eligibility
- Nationality: the programme is country-sponsored. You must hold the nationality of a sponsoring/partner country — currently 23: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom — or be a national of a developing country eligible under the windows sponsored by Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden. Each vacancy states its own eligible nationalities.
- Degree: a completed Master’s degree (or equivalent) in a development-related discipline.
- Experience: a minimum of two years of paid, relevant work experience (five years for SDP posts).
- Age: JPO posts are generally for candidates under 32 (under 38 for SDP), but the exact age limit is set by each sponsoring government and can vary.
- Language: written and spoken fluency in English; French and/or Spanish is a strong asset, and specific posts may require the language of the duty station.
Can you apply?
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Education required
Master
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Experience required
≥ 2 yrs
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Application process
- 1Watch the JPO Service Centre “Current vacancies” page and your own government’s JPO/sponsor website — partner countries advertise many posts directly.
- 2Confirm you meet the specific vacancy’s nationality, degree, experience and language requirements.
- 3Prepare a Personal History Form (P11), a CV, and a cover letter written separately for each position, in the language named on the vacancy notice.
- 4Submit the application online through the UNDP job site before the vacancy’s deadline.
- 5Shortlisted candidates sit a competency-based interview and reference checks before selection.
Program timeline
Rolling
vacancies are advertised throughout the year by the JPO Service Centre and by partner countries directly, each with its own application deadline.
Assignment
an initial one-year appointment, normally extended to two years, with possible third- and fourth-year extensions.