What is the Associate Professional Officer Programme

The APO Programme involves sponsorship by Member Governments of young University-trained nationals for employment in UN-system Organizations. 

The Programme was launched in IFAD as early as 1980, hardly three years after its establishment as the 13th Specialized Agency.  Sponsorship Agreements have been signed with Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and USA.  Some donors have been willing to sponsor candidates from developing countries, leading to broader diversity of APO nationalities.  The cost of sponsorship corresponds to the P1/P2 levels in the UN salary scales. 

The thrust of the Programme is based on mutual benefits and essentially two-fold:

• Provide young professionals with the opportunity to gain experience through the supervision of specialists in the field of international cooperation through a structured learning experience thereby enhancing the probabilities of obtaining employment in international organizations, development agencies or elsewhere; and on the other
• Contribute to the advancement and furtherance of the organizational goals through the commitment and initiatives of the young professionals and thus derives benefits from the enthusiasm and insight that they bring to its projects and programmes.

It is in the light of such mutual advantages that IFAD strives to maintain the dynamism of the APO Programme by deploying every effort to secure the interest of an ever-wider spectrum of sponsors. 

Qualification and criteria for APO candidates

Candidates for the APO Programme are selected on a highly competitive basis.    They must be less than 32 years of age and have either a Masters or Bachelors Degree in Agriculture, Economics, Civil engineering, Political or Social Sciences, Nutrition, Business Administration, Sociology, International Affairs or related disciplines.  They should have a minimum of two years’ practical experience in the professional world.  Proficiency in one of the IFAD’s Official languages: English, French, Spanish, Arabic, is a requirement and a working knowledge of English is essential. They should have a strong interest in working with people of different nationalities and be able to adapt to multi-cultural environment. 

Openings

The choice of the APO assignment within IFAD is based on fulfilling in-house need and requirements.

Organizational divisions will identify areas for APO assignments and formulate a detailed job descriptions setting out tasks, qualifications, competencies required as well as training and supervision to be accorded.  It is then forwarded to the Human Resources Division who is the focal point for contacts with donors and the APO recruitment process.  They will in turn search for sponsorship by transmitting the said job description to prospective donors.

Most APOs are assigned to project-related work but may also be selected for positions in administration, human resources, finance and legal areas.  Most APO assignments are Headquarters based in Rome.  In the project areas, APOs are required to undertake field travel.

How to apply

The agreed donor government will publish the job description in the form of a vacancy announcement through its own network.  Nationals of sponsoring countries who consider themselves eligible may obtain information on the vacancy and/or send their applications to the relevant government office.  A list of contact addresses is shown in the attachment.  Candidates from developing countries follow the same procedure.

The donor country establishes a short-list of selected candidates meeting the basic requirements of the vacancy announcement and submits their applications and personal data to the Human Resources Division for review.  IFAD reviews the applications and candidates are called for interview where a final selection is made. The name of the selected candidate is then transmitted to the sponsoring donor.

Recruitment

Once selected and upon deposit of requisite funds by the donor, the candidate is authorized to take up the assignment as a full-fledged staff member integrated into the Organization within the framework of its Human Resources Procedures Manual and Human Policies Manual of the Fund.

APOs are appointed for an initial period of one year renewable for a second and final third year depending on satisfactory performance.

Future career prospects

IFAD is drawing on new reserves of youthful skills and enthusiasm from certain donor country to increase the manpower it deploys.

Individuals who have completed their APO assignment are eligible to apply for longer-term employment in IFAD, subject to further interviews.  Depending on performance, a former APO is given every possible consideration in the filling of vacancies with due regard to in-house experience acquired and potential. 

Thanks to the exposure and training in development assistance, a cadre of trained personnel of excellent standing is formed for future development assistance. Many former APOs are now serving as regular staff members in UN agencies, including IFAD, and in general are an asset for future employment in international organization, non-governmental organizations and the private sector.