Over the past 10 years, IOM has seen remarkable growth in terms of membership, presence around the world, staff and budget. After joining the UN System in 2016, new responsibilities have been added and the Global Compact and the Migration Network are just some of the major new assignments.
IOM’s new Administration is determined to strengthen the organization and improve its capacity to provide responses in changing operational and political environments, particularly at the country mission level.
The two roles that arguably define country office success, namely Chief of Mission (CoM) and Resource Management Officer (RMO) will be even more central to IOM’s work and will face new challenges, heightened responsibilities and wider accountabilities. All this happens at a moment, when also the UN is looking at revising its leadership [1] capability, especially under the umbrella of UN reform.
The selection of qualified, diverse candidates for these two types of positions has been a challenge in the past years and the organization has had problems in finding qualified candidates to meet its rapidly growing needs, including working in non-family and hazardous duty stations.
The Pathways Pool Initiative is a strategic mechanism to identify the skills, competencies, aptitudes and values required for optimal organizational effectiveness. The Pool will be forward-looking, seeking to determine the profiles required for staff members to perform successfully.
While IOM has many qualified and talented staff members, the initiative will also be used to attract and hire external candidates.
Further details on the Pathways Pool Initiative, including the application, assessment, selection process and positions are outlined below.
Assessment Centre
To be qualified/cleared for the Pathways Pool Initiative, candidates will be appraised in a face-to-face Assessment Centre and precleared for (immediate) deployment. IOM will articulate what skills, attributes, values and competencies will define future success in the two roles and assess against it accordingly. Several UN sister agencies use Assessment Centres for higher-level posts, particularly managerial positions and leadership roles.
An Assessment Centre is an HR management process that consists of assessing the skills of individuals by confronting them with simulation exercises, skills assessment tests and psychometric testing. It aims to complement more traditional assessment methods, such as assessment interviews or self-assessments with the end goal of improving HR decision-making.
Selected applicants will be invited to participate in a competitive Assessment Centre conducted by an external entity. Once approved, candidates will receive guidance and will be presented with professional opportunities for their consideration.
Selection Process
Candidates will be reviewed against the following criteria in addition to the requirements outlined in the respective Terms of Reference:
- Educational qualifications
- Depth of relevant experience in IOM Mandate Areas
- Previous/current UN experience and/or public sector experience
- Depth of managerial experience
- Languages (six UN languages and Portuguese)
- Volunteer experience
The current and future organizational demands will be the main factor in selecting candidates for assessment. Due consideration will be made to:
- Demonstrated high performance
- Completion or near completion of mandatory years of service in current post
- Rotation date (internal staff who are due for rotation will be prioritized).
- Staff members whose posts are being abolished
- Staff members and candidates who are willing to serve in hardship/non-family duty station
In the overall selection of candidates, the aim will be to strike a balance between addressing the current organizational needs as well as focusing on gender balance, geographical representation, internal vs external, national to international, technical to managerial and general services to professional.
As the assessment process for the Pathways Pool will be carried out at least once a year, those who are not able to participate in the assessment this round may have opportunities to apply again in future.
Current Active Opportunities
The Pathways Pool initiative will focus on Chief of Mission (D-1, P-5, P-4), Resources Management Officer (P-4, P-3) and Supply Chain Officer (P-3) positions, taking into account that these have to be at different levels, depending on size, complexity and type of mission.
Apply below
(Pathways Pool) Supply Chain Officer (P3) Multiple Duty Stations
(Pathways Pool) Resources Management Officer (P3) Multiple Duty Stations
