Volunteering with the United Nations and Earning Internationally Accredited Certifications
About UNV
The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme contributes to peace and development through volunteerism worldwide. We work with partners to integrate qualified, highly motivated and well supported UN Volunteers into development programming and promote the value and global recognition of volunteerism. UNV is administered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and reports to the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Board.
UNV is based in Bonn, Germany, with around 150 staff members at headquarters, and 12,408 UN Volunteers deployed in the field in 2022. UNV has an office in New York, six regional offices in Amman, Bangkok, Dakar, Istanbul, Nairobi and Panama City, a liaison office in Tokyo and around 60 Field Units. Toily Kurbanov is our Executive Coordinator.
UNV’s Office in New York (ONY) promotes volunteers and volunteerism through partnership development with Permanent Missions to the UN, UN partners headquartered in New York, civil society organizations and other NY-based partners. It monitors policy and strategy developments at the UN in New York and contributes to UN Volunteer mobilization by developing and promoting volunteer solutions within UN partner operations, projects and programmes, coordinating closely with UNV headquarters, regional offices and field units.
UNV has six Regional Offices in Amman (covering the Arab States), Bangkok (covering Asia and the Pacific), Dakar (covering West and Central Africa), Istanbul (covering Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States), Nairobi (covering East and Southern Africa) and Panama City (covering Latin America and the Caribbean). The regional offices are the first entry point for partners wishing to engage with UNV. They offer UNV services and solutions to government partners, UN entities, civil society and the private sector, and takes the lead in scoping and delivering UNV advisory services on volunteer infrastructure. They also provide oversight and strategic guidance to UNV’s field units in the regions.
How to Apply
In order to create an account on UNV’s Unified Volunteering Platform (UVP), you must be at least 18 years old. Creating a full profile should take about 45 minutes. You can access your account at any time to add information and keep your profile up to date.
The registration process follows a few simple steps, all of which must be completed before you can apply for onsite or online volunteering assignments.
- Enter basic information to create an account on UNV’s Unified Volunteering Platform. You will receive an automated message with a numeric verification code. Copy the code into the respective field to finish creating your account.
- In your new account, you will see a task on your dashboard requiring you to complete your profile. Click on the task and enter full information regarding your skills, educational qualifications and experience.
- After completing all the required fields, click on the button to submit.
- You can now browse available Descriptions of Assignment and apply to those matching your qualifications, skills and experience.
A few points to note:
- You can create your profile in English, French or Spanish. However, be aware that profiles in French or Spanish will be considered primarily for assignments in French- or Spanish-speaking countries. If you are fluent in English, we recommend that you complete your profile in English.
- Bear in mind that the details provided in your profile are the only source of information for UNV when matching candidates with Descriptions of Assignment. It is, therefore, in your best interest to provide comprehensive information. This includes describing the main tasks and responsibilities you had in past professional experience in a clear manner and making full use of the space available.
- When applying for volunteer assignments, you will be asked to complete a short application form. While you can copy past applications when applying again, we recommend that you tailor each application to the specific volunteer assignment. The applications of shortlisted candidates will be shared with the host entity, together with your UNV profile.
- You will be alerted if mandatory fields are missing, as only complete profiles can be submitted.
- You may copy and paste information from your electronic CV, but you can neither upload your CV, nor submit it by email.
Is there a specific qualification or minimum requirement to be an online volunteer?
Answer
All users registering in the UNV Global Talent Pool must be at least 18 years old.
Requirements to apply for online volunteer assignments are listed in each Description of Assignment (DoA) under the ‘Requirements’ sections.
I want to become a volunteer. What are my options?
Answer
As a candidate, you can apply for onsite assignments to:
- volunteer abroad (international assignments)
- volunteer in your home country (national assignments)
or for online assignments to donate your time and skills for peace and development over the internet.
The areas of volunteering on the site are:
- Awareness and advocacy.
- administration.
- Community organization.
- Teaching and training.
- Research.
- Technology development.
- Project management.
- Art and design.
- translation.
- Writing and Editing
