Impactpool Career Podcast | Peacekeeping with Wolfgang Weiszegger

Jorge at Impactpool: 

This episode is targeted at professionals from all backgrounds interested in working in peacekeeping and political missions. Second, professionals looking to reach to director levels of seniority at the United Nations. And third, and finally, all profiles related to law, military, criminology, security, safety aviation, emergency aid and response, logistics and operations profiles. And with those in mind, let's start by asking, Wolfgang, what are the main international career pathways for professionals in those areas that I just mentioned?

Wolfgang Weiszegger: 

Thank you for your question, Jorge. Greetings to all your listeners. The obvious ones popping to mind would be in the area of Security Rule of Law, traditional affairs, Political Affairs and so forth. They may well be suited also for positions of planners planning officers, strategic planners, training officers, analysis in joint mission analysis centres, operations officers in joint operation centres, or logistics officers within logistics areas like transport, supply fuel or supply chain professionals. But really, we should check what the profile of those candidates actually is and within their area in the UN, you basically have more or less the same job families, as in the, in the public sector and many are the same in the private sector. So it really depends on the training or the certifications that that category of candidates have received as part of their profession and also the training and work experience they have gained outside their immediate area of expertise that could be taken into account. There's a lot in the areas of legal affairs in rule of law, security, civilian and military coordination functions, coordinating officers, liaison officers and so forth. This is just to name a few, over to you.

Jorge at Impactpool: 

 
Thank you. And going, more specifically about those with a similar profile to yours that happen to have military training or a law enforcement background. So, at Impactpool we often recruit for the different International Organizations and UN agencies at the senior executive level, and what I see is that to some organizations or to some position, having this background is a plus. But for some, it's definitely a minus, so what do you recommend professionals with this background to strategically choose their next job with career progression in mind, and also having in mind how to land the job faster?

Wolfgang Weiszegger:

I see only pluses, I don't really see any minuses with that kind of profile. Unless, Of course, they seek senior positions, and they do not have a traditional university degree, but just went through the military schools and military academies, there may be some limitations there, but other than that I don't really see any minuses. The big organizations you know I would encourage people to apply for would be of course, within the United Nations and not only within the United Nations Secretariat but also within the United Nations agencies funds and programs.

Another area for members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE ) there's a lot of requirements for candidates with that kind of profile as well as the European Union. The European Union, and the African Union all have positions in the field. All those NGOs and organizations are actually very very well listed on the Impactpool website. 

Jorge at Impactpool: 

 
What kind of profile would be incredibly irresistible to these organizations given that the candidate has national experience. What kind of certifications would work, what kind of experiences or areas would be super attractive to peacekeeping and political missions?

Wolfgang Weiszegger:

Wolfgang mentions to keep in mind that you can have the best qualifications and best certifications but if you apply for a position that is not relevant to your professional and academic experiences then the chances are very low. Example certifications/training that are offered both in the public sector and attractive for peacekeeping missions:

• Project management
• New six sigma - black belt
• Logistics
• Public accountants
• HR professionals
• Supply Chain

You can have the best qualifications and the best certifications but if you apply for the wrong position or a position that is not really relevant to your professional experience or to your academic achievements, then the chances are very low, someone should always build on his strength or her strength, and then apply for positions where they can bring in the strength to their fullest and optimize their chances to be successful.

Jorge at Impactpool: 

 
Thank you, and link to this, you mentioned that it's important to be aware of and then build on your competencies and your areas of strength.
We often get UN professionals at P5 level positions, struggling with moving up to director level positions, particularly those in technical positions such as, say, Chief of policy or this kind of positions that are not intuitive to their managerial competencies, how to break this glass ceiling, how do you go from P5 to D1 if you have this kind of profile?

Wolfgang Weiszegger:

 
That's an interesting question, and I personally came across quite a lot of cases of very talented staff that have not made the transition. For example, at a more junior level, P2 or P3, you are basically an administrator, you perform administrative type of functions, the P4 and P5 level you're performing management functions and you must transition from the administrative to the management paradigm. Then, when it comes from the P5 to the D1 level, and even from the D1 to the D2 level, one has to make the transition from being a manager to be a leader. And there is where a lot of people fail to make that transition. Some of them, always remain administrators, some of them become managers, and in order to get to the D1 level you must also make the transition to leadership and become a leader. Not to forget that you still have to perform sometimes also the other functions, but the leadership, the transition to leadership I would think, based on my own experience is the most difficult part, people struggle with at the P5 level to make their transition to D1 and I encourage those to take leadership courses, leadership training to make the transition to the D1 level from the P5 level. I think that, in my opinion, is the most important.

Jorge at Impactpool: 

Thank you. What do you recommend what would you recommend a person, with UN experience, but they have been developing positions that are unrelated to peacekeeping, how can they transition into peacekeeping operations, what do they need, what would you recommend to have?

Wolfgang Weiszegger:

It really depends on their job profile. Peacekeeping really has everything in it, like you see positions in private industry in the public sector, the most important thing is to be willing to work in hardship locations, and one attribute in peacekeeping is also don't ask what's in it for me, ask what can I do to help and how can  I serve, because sometimes when you work in peacekeeping operations, it's a tough job you know it's dangerous, it's medical facilities are sometimes inadequate, the infrastructure is in very poor shape. So a lot of our colleagues are deployed in hardship locations, and if you can demonstrate in your application that you have work and that you are resilient to work in hardship locations in isolated places. That may be a plus.

Jorge at Impactpool: 

What would you advise yourself if you could 38 years ago, to be as successful as you are and reach that level of seniority?

Wolfgang Weiszegger:

 
Well first of all, as I said before, don't ask what's in it for me, ask how can I serve. Sometimes you take on assignments like I did a couple of times, where you actually
suffer financial losses, the next shot that you take on may not be as well paid as the one that you hold now. And you would still take it on with a long term view that this job that you are applying for that is less pay than the one that we have right now, fits into your career progression and you take that risk. I took a lot of those calculated risks, that are financially disadvantageous but taking the long term career progression in mind, and it worked out. There will always be hiccups along the way and a lot of people probably facing it and are frustrated from time to time, as part of their career, no exception to that, sometimes you're stuck at one level for a few years before you progress. But opportunities always come, if you miss one train, there's always another train passing by. Good performance, commitment, loyalty stayed true to the charter, to the UN competencies, integrity, support the Secretary General's United Nations reform streams in the areas of peacekeeping development and management, there are three reform streams, there are a lot of new initiatives coming out, showing interest support them, show that you are supporting change that you are a change agent in working for a much more efficient, effective United Nations like envisioned by the Secretary-General right now.

Jorge at Impactpool: 

   
You have been in many conflict zones and missions, can you share with us what was the biggest challenge in your career in this area?
 

Wolfgang Weiszegger:

Well, there were many, there are many challenges, you know, particularly the protection of life and limb. For example, when we were in Lebanon in the 80s, our compound was shelved, and we went into the shelter, you know, it was important for us to make sure that everyone is protected too if someone falls
sick in a remote area, we want to make sure that that person receives care in the best possible places that are in-country or arrange for medical evacuations. But the most challenging thing is to protect the life and limb of your staff and also the population that you serve. It is difficult from time to time like in Haiti in 2005, when I was there, there was flooding and it was very difficult to get our stuff out. Thankfully, we didn't lose anyone. I would say that's the most important thing, to protect your staff, your colleagues, your neighbours, and the population that you serve.

Jorge at Impactpool: 

Was there a moment where you felt that you failed as a leader in any of those missions?

Wolfgang Weiszegger:

Well, there are many of those moments, you often doubt yourself, if you are taking the right decision particularly when you have to make a decision and there was dissent and then you had to use your judgment for decision making, you know, based on the analysis the facts that were presented to you and you got to make decisions you know you cannot be indecisive. For example to rescue our staff, what risks do you take, with a helicopter being shot down and you will have additional casualties, when you leave your staff are they and they may be may be harmed, kidnapped, shot or killed. So you get advice of some experts that tell you launch the helicopter now and you get advice from other experts that tell you don't don't do it, because you may increase the risk of casualties. So you have to assume certain risks based on the information that you received and when you launch and take those decisions, there's always a bit of doubt in your mind, you know, was it the right decision or not, but you never know for sure until the mission returns successfully, for example.

Jorge at Impactpool: 

I'm just thinking listening to you, there are many professionals that land this job, they have experience with operations and logistics and these other things, but they've never been in a military or in a real conflict, so many of these aspects that it entails and they know that a lot of of their colleagues there will have a bigger or larger formation in that area. What would you tell them in order to let them know that they will do well? Or what do you recommend them in order to feel more confident about their competitors and dealing with that situation without having military experience?

Wolfgang Weiszegger:

 
Well, I would say get the relevant certifications for your job and the training for the job so you are well prepared, do all the required mandatory courses that
that you need to take before deploying to a field position, particularly the deep field , and volunteer for short term assignment to those locations, there are opportunities for short term assignments, sometimes one month, sometimes three months, sometimes six months, before you take it on full time. Additionally, do internal job training, volunteer for internal job training, staff rotation from headquarters to the field and vice-versa, to get a feel for it and gain confidence and determine if this is something that is actually for you. It's not for everyone, some people prefer to stay in headquarters locations, in family duty stations and don't want to go out to the field. Others prefer to work in the field, some people have family circumstances that would not allow them to stay away from their family for more than three months or even one months. So it really depends on the individual and on the individuals' circumstances.

Jorge at Impactpool: 

 
Thank you. I would like to move on to a different subject that it's more related to Gender Parity. I've heard some rumours that the missions are severely underrepresented on women professionals at all levels. Why do you think there are so few women that are attracted to these jobs?
 

Wolfgang Weiszegger:

Very good question. I think that women are probably attracted to these jobs, and they will surely thrive in them. But I think there may be other circumstances that we need to look into. There was a recent UN staff survey that was conducted with all UN staff, it was was quite interesting. I don't recall all the details but some elements may be that quite a lot of duty stations or hardship places and although women are very resilient and and can thrive in those places without with ease. And I've seen many thriving with ease, others may be afraid to take the chance and try it out. I encouraged us to try out go on short term assignments, some of them are non family due to stations and they have their family obligations, they are single mothers, they can't leave their children, there are no medication facilities, there are no medical facilities or  absences are first class medical facilities, there is there is isolation. Some of their functions are technical, when you look at the, the overall, when you look at the overall figure, you will see a huge field by women like vehicle mechanics and radio technicians and so forth. There have been efforts made in the field them apart from the Secretary General's chamber strategy. In the field, we have always taken taken steps to attract women, through our outreach programs, particularly with national staff in universities encourage them to apply.

They have improved also living conditions to attract and retain female staff, for example, having separate sanitary installations for females, optional access to a female female team in one mission, I set up a mammography testing center, because we were so isolated and our colleagues couldn't get out. So we had mammography testing center for our staff and also for the population. I have been in missions where you had medical facilities and there was no female gynecologist, for example, you know, the only male gynecologist so there are little things that you can do to attract and retain the female staff in those hardship locations and there are many, many more that come to mind. We established women focal points that we would meet on a regular basis to listen to their concerns and try to address them. But also, when it comes to the UN recruitment system, there have been some efforts, were female candidates were given slight advantages, if if there's a male and a female candidate and both have the same qualifications, same level of experience, all things being equal to boost will go to the female candidates. But when you look at the entry levels, we have a lot of female personnel that really want to join the UN, but they come from universities, and they don't have relevant professional experience. And the UN is missing out on that, you know, they are graduates, they are the brightest, the future and the UN recruitment system is so antiquated, that it does not allow the organization to hire those talented staff. Something really needs to be done there because by the time they have the relevant experience established in their own professional areas with maybe top 500 companies or the best other international institutions. So there's a lot of work to be done to attract and retain the best and brightest female and female staff.

Jorge at Impactpool: 

So could we say that in all these peacekeeping missions you mentioned, the sanitary services offered for women and the medical services, female candidates trust that they will have this if they apply for a UN peacekeeping position?

Wolfgang Weiszegger:

While it varies on the lifecycle of the mission, of course, you know, if it's a start-up operation, it is still very basic, very rudimentary, if it's in the more established missions, missions that have been around for a number of years,  those facilities are much better developed. Yes, they would be there.

Jorge at Impactpool: 

Can you give a hint on what professional areas in peacekeeping are less competitive for a woman in terms of the number of applicants? What are the areas they will have more opportunities to land a job there, due to the fewer women competition?

Wolfgang Weiszegger:

In the technical and logistics areas there are many opportunities for female candidates such as transport managers, supply managers, civil engineers, or even military engineers. For example, we had to recruit a D1 Supply chain manager, and out of all the 20 to interview, not a single one was a woman. When I questioned and challenged the list, there was really no candidate they could identify for us to interview. I don't believe in that as I have met and recruited quite a lot of ex-military, police officers, transport officers, security officers, quite a lot of fantastic female civil engineers. It is important that they are part of the team because they take into account already the female aspects. 

Jorge at Impactpool: 

Thank you, Wolfgang, that is very interesting. We believe so as well, at Impactpool it is part of our mission to empower women and help the UN and other organizations to reach gender parity. Thank you very much, Wolfgang. We appreciate your presence here, and we are extremely proud to have you at Impactpool as a new coach. So now our audience knows that there is a career coach with plenty of experience that will help you and support you to land your dream job or progress in your career in this occupational group. Thank you Wolfgang and have a great day!