The Department of Field Support (DFS) is a Department of the UN Secretariat that provides dedicated support to peacekeeping and political field missions in the areas of finance, logistics, human resources and general administration. It supports the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), which is charged with the planning, preparation, management and direction of UN peacekeeping activities. Although the UN gets its peacekeepers from member states who contribute with soldiers and police personnel to carry out protection and security patrols, DFS also recruits a large number of civilians to serve in Peacekeeping and Special Political Missions, where there are peace negotiations or a peace agreement to be implemented. Such employees are hired as national or international civilian staff who carry out civilian and purely non-military duties in such areas as Political Affairs, Civil Affairs, Human Rights, Humanitarian Assistance, Administration, Civil Aviation, Engineering amongst others.
Working for UN Peacekeeping
For civilians, working for UN Peacekeeping is a rewarding experience and an amazing career path very similar to serving in your country’s own foreign and diplomatic service. UN Peacekeeping civilians come from all the 193 Member States of the United Nations. The Organisation values diversity and recruits from a broad range of backgrounds so that the UN benefits from fresh experiences and perspectives. When serving the UN, you could work at the UN Headquarters in New York, at one of the Department’s regional hubs or most commonly at one of the field Peacekeeping Operations or Special Political Missions. In line with General Assembly and Security Council policies, DFS especially encourages talented and qualified women to apply and join the Organisation.
History of UN Peacekeeping
UN Peacekeeping traces its roots to 1948 with the creation of the first UN peacekeeping mission: UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) for Palestine and UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) for Kashmir. Up to the late 1980s, peacekeeping operations were operated through the UN Office of Special Political Affairs. The official DPKO was formally created in 1992 when Boutros Boutros-Ghali took office as Secretary-General of the United Nations.
What is the role of Peacekeeping in the UN family?
DPKO assists the Member States and the Secretary-General in their efforts to maintain international peace and security. It provides political and executive direction to UN Peacekeeping operations around the world and maintains contact with the Security Council, troop and financial contributors, and parties to the conflict in the implementation of Security Council mandates. Hence comes in your role as a Civilian Staff member! The Department works to integrate the efforts of UN, governmental and non-governmental entities in the context of peacekeeping operations. DPKO also provides guidance and support on military, police, mine action and other relevant issues to other UN political and peacebuilding missions where again civilians play a major role.
UN Field Missions
There are currently 16 Peacekeeping Operations led by DPKO and 23 Special Political Missions led by the Department of Political Affairs across the world. DFS is supporting the recruitment for Peacekeeping Operations as well as Special Political Missions and is currently looking for Arabic speakers to fill positions in Yemen, Libya and Syria missions.
You will find all UN-DFS rosters at Impactpool, update your Impactpool profile to stay alerted when UN-DFS rosters are posted. Find information on how to apply in the job advertisements. When sending your application, please indicate you find the opportunity at Impactpool.org.