UN Geneva

Due to the large number of applications received we cannot arrange for individual appointments concerning your application. If you are pre-selected then you will be contacted to come for an interview. If you have any queries about employment at the UN, please visit the Contact Us page on UN Careers website.

Due to the large number of applications HRMS receives, you will only be contacted if you have been pre-selected to come for an interview. Depending on how many applications were received for a specific post you may only be contacted 3-5 months after the deadline mentioned in the vacancy announcement.

It is strongly recommended to apply on-line through Inspira. In exceptional cases where the applicant cannot do so because of technical problems or problems with the server you can of course also send a hard copy of your application by fax, email, or mail.

• Refugees holding permits type B or S may be employed with the United Nations on all types of contracts. Holders of permits type S must renounce their refugee status before being recruited. After their separation from the organization, they can request to reinstate their refugee status and reapply for a permit S if they continue to live in Switzerland. Holders of permits type B do not have to renounce their status as their permits will be replaced by a carte de legitimation while working with an international organization.
• Refugees holding permits F may be recruited as non-staff members only (consultants or interns).
• Refugees holding permits N may not be recruited by the UN.

Refugees outside Switzerland may be recruited by the United Nations if they can provide, before being recruited, 

1. an official document from the State which admitted them as refugees allowing them to freely leave and return to their country of residence any time, and 

2. a valid travel document. 

Unfortunately, if you have a mother, father, brother, sister, daughter or son working at the United Nations you cannot be considered for employment with the UN.

Please only apply to specific posted vacancies. That way you can follow-up and see at what stage your application is in.

If you have finished a first-level university degree and are pursuing further studies towards a post-graduate degree then you are eligible to apply for an internship at the UN. For more information, please see our page on internships. If you have already completed your university studies and have little or no work experience you might be eligible to register for the Young Professionals Programme. Please visit our page on Employment with the UN.

The Visitors’ Service at UNOG organizes lecture tours in 12 languages and information programmes on United Nations activities, the history of the Organization and the issues on its agenda.

For more information, see the section of the web site about the Palais des Nations. The UNOG Annual Report provides a comprehensive yearly overview of the work of UNOG, including key statistical information.

UNOG stands for the United Nations Office at Geneva. UNOG is the representative office of the United Nations Secretary-General at Geneva and it is the largest United Nations office after United Nations Headquarters in New York.

In addition to representational and liaison functions with Member States, non-governmental organizations, host country authorities and other United Nations entities based in Geneva, the Office provides conference services to over 8,000 meetings every year and administrative services to many United Nations entities based in Geneva and elsewhere.

The Director-General is responsible for all activities of the United Nations Office at Geneva. For more information on the Director-General and her mandate, visit the Director-General's webpage.

UNOG is part of the United Nations Secretariat, which is described in Chapter XV of the Charter of the United Nations. The Secretariat Headquarters is in New York. UNOG is one of three Secretariat offices away from Headquarters, the other two being located in Nairobi and Vienna. 

The United Nations family comprises a large number of intergovernmental organizations, specialized agencies, programmes, funds, offices and research institutes as well as related organizations. Many of these organizations have a presence in Geneva. UNOG is a member of this wider United Nations family in Geneva and cooperates closely with many of the United Nations entities present here. For more information, see the section of the web site devoted to the UN Family in Geneva, and to other FAQs on the same topic.

The Office was called the European Office of the United Nations until 1966 when it was given its present name, the United Nations Office at Geneva. The United Nations is present in many European countries. For more details on United Nations agencies, programmes and funds in Europe and globally, check the United Nations System of Organizations.

Approximately 1,850 people work for UNOG. Around 3,500 staff work inside the Palais des Nations. 

UNOG services intergovernmental meetings of United Nations Member States as well as of other select groups, including non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council. For more details on the conference services offered by UNOG, see the Meetings & Events section.

Lengthy negotiations conducted at the Palais des Nations have resulted in the resolution of bitter, drawn-out conflicts. Examples of these include the armistice in 1953 between North and South Korea and, several decades later, agreements on Afghanistan in 1988. Efforts to resolve conflicts in areas such as Abkhazia/Georgia, Cyprus, East Timor, Liberia, Syria, Yemen, the territories of the former Yugoslavia, and about the conflict in Sudan have also been pursued at the Palais des Nations in the past years. Geneva is a favoured place for multilateral and bilateral consultations and meetings to facilitate peaceful solutions to protracted problems. For example, in November 2002, the Presidents of Cameroon and Nigeria met at the Palais des Nations at the invitation and in the presence of the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, to follow up on the decision of the International Court of Justice on the border dispute between the two countries. More information on specific activities is available on our page on peace negotiations and in the UNOG Library and archives collections.

Facilitating cooperation with regional organizations is part of the mandate of the United Nations Office at Geneva. UNOG represents the United Nations in the ‘tripartite process’, a framework of informal consultations with the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. 

Students and recent graduates who are interested in an internship at the United Nations can see all open positions on the UN's global careers website. Applications are sent directly via our recruitment platform Inspira. You will need to create an account before applying. 

To be considered for one of our internships, you need to be in one of the categories below:

• enrolled in the final year of an undergraduate university programme (e.g., a bachelors programme),
• enrolled in a graduate programme (e.g., a master’s or Ph.D. programme),
• a recent graduate with a university degree

For more information concerning internships at the United Nations Office at Geneva see our careers page.

You are invited to consult the Tender Notices Section on the United Nations Global Marketplace (UNGM) where all open Expressions of Interest (EOI) are published. Please note that to express interest in tenders your company will need to be registered at UNGM. The step-by-step procedure to register as a potential supplier on UNGM is available in the UNGM Help Center. Further guidance on how to express interest in a specific procurement opportunity is also available.

The UN Geneva payment terms are normally net 30 days upon receipt of invoice and delivery of goods or performance of contractual services, whichever is later. 

One reason why your company has never been invited to bid may be that the product or service you offer is rarely required by UNOG, and we simply have no need to buy it. You may also wish to check the UNGM Upcoming Business Opportunities web page regularly. Buyers search for potential vendors based on the United Nations Standard Product and Services Code (UNSPSC) indicated in your application to UNGM. Accurate selection of UNSPSC codes that describe your core products and services, and which are in line with the tender requirements of UNOG, will increase the likelihood of your company being invited to bids. Regularly checking the UNGM website to review open procurement opportunities and expressing your interest in these directly is another way to ensure that your company is invited to participate in tenders. It is possible to sign up for the Tender Alert Service on the UNGM website which will ensure that all procurement opportunities matching the UNSPSC codes selected in your UNGM account are e-mailed to you. Please review the General Business Guide on UNGM for more information.

No, UNOG does business with vendors from all over the world guided, among others, by the best value for money principle.

Yes, UNOG is exempt from taxes under the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, adopted by the UN General Assembly on 13 February 1946.

Yes. You can find information on upcoming business opportunities in the Tender notices section on the United Nations Global Marketplace (UNGM) where all open Expressions of Interest are published.

Please consult our UN Procurement Manual. If this information still does not answer your question, get in touch with us using the contact form.

You can register as a supplier by completing the online registration form. Registering as a vendor with the United Nations Secretariat and many other organizations of the UN system is done through the United Nations Global Marketplace (UNGM). Visit the UNGM website to create your account and complete your application to become a registered vendor. The step-by-step procedure to register as a potential supplier on UNGM is available in the UNGM Help Center, under: How to register as a supplier on UNGM?

Yes, of course. UNOG procures on an international basis from vendors of all sizes and from all geographical locations. Sometimes our requirements are large and sometimes our requirements are small. For this reason, we have different levels of registration and companies can choose the level at which they wish to register based on the size of their company and the size of contract that they are able to manage. A description of the different levels of registration and the requirements for each level can be found in Chapter 3.1.3 of the UN Procurement Manual. Guidance on how to complete the additional levels of registrations is available here:  Completing the additional levels of registration | Level 1 and Level 2

The UN Secretariat does not normally make specific visits to individual companies. However, the UN system does organize Business Seminars which offer opportunities for companies to meet with procurement officials and which may include visits to select industries.