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The International Organization landscape overview (Part 1)

Andrzej Antoszkiewicz
10/1/2024

At Glance

The global IO space is huge! Whereas there are just under 200 countries across the globe, there are over 300 IOs spread across every continent and region. The subjects they cover are diverse and fascinating – as are their hiring practices. It’s impossible for me to address all of them in this article but I can set out some groupings and generalizations for you to consider when you decide to embark upon an IO job search.

This article is part 1 of a series called “Careers in International Organizations (IOs) – an insider’s guide” – click this LINK to access an overview of the series.

Common themes across IOs:

IOs can be exciting and impactful places of work. The myriad of IOs can be found on this fantastic Wikipedia list. They can also be equally frustrating and feel monolithic. My experience has been overwhelmingly positive, and I would recommend them to anyone, but there are some things you should consider before signing on the dotted line.

  • IOs are political in nature: This one should be obvious, but many people miss this concept. Achieving results in IOs isn’t just about finding the optimal solution – it’s about finding a solution which satisfies the interests of all countries in that IO – or not finding a solution at all. That’s why dialogue and consensus are two key principles of most IOs. This holds equally true if you’re at NATO – handling defense and politics, or the WHO – looking at health issues. Many newcomers to IOs find this deeply frustrating.
  • IOs are not generally meritocratic: In private industry if you achieve great results for your employer, you get promoted, if you fail to meet expectations, you’re shown the door. Most IOs, however, do not have the flexibility to promote you on performance (or even give you a bonus). Promotions are generally based on competitive processes – meaning that the internal vacancy you apply for will be posted externally and you have the same chances as anyone else from around the world. However, there’s a trick built in to give insiders an advantage – this comes in the forms of IOs demanding past IO experience in their vacancy notices – more on this later.
  • Working in IOs is socially difficult: When you apply for an IO job you imagine diplomatic cocktail receptions, meetings with Heads of State, and Balls at the Hofburg in Vienna. If you’re lucky you’ll enjoy all of these throughout your career. What you don’t think about, however, is that you’re ripped away from your social network, your family, and friends. The things you took for granted are gone and the unspoken language and understanding of context which you enjoyed back home are foreign to your new colleagues and ‘friends’. I was already quite nomadic when I first moved to NATO in Brussels but still found myself hit hard by this reality. Interestingly, this phenomenon is well known in national Diplomatic Foreign Services – which consistently suffer from some of the highest divorce rates.
  • You’re not going to get rich – but you’ll live comfortably: IO jobs pay well and come with a great pension scheme, but you can earn much more in the private sector. Some IOs have great perks, such as tax-free salaries (a bit different for US nationals), duty-free cars and schooling for kids. However, the base salaries themselves are not stratospheric. Remember that when you work for an IO, you’re essentially a public servant.
  • While IOs are political – you won’t be: This one is key! As an international public servant, you’re expected to be neutral, regardless of your personal beliefs or convictions – which you are discouraged from publicly sharing. This can be difficult to accept but is a tenant of the political neutrality of any public service. There are not many things that an IO staff member can be fired for. However, breaking political neutrality (or using one’s post to achieve political ends) is a definite cause for termination.

Groupings of IOs:

Most IOs fall into rough groupings, or families. Interestingly these are strongly linked with the HR practices and compensation frameworks that these IOs administer. This is the case for two reasons – history and prudence.

I say history since many organizations came about as children of their parents. For example, the International Atomic Energy Agency is a specialized agency created by the United Nations.

Consequently, it makes sense that much of its HR regulations and compensation is linked with the UN. In fact, it is part of the UN Common System – which I’ll explain shortly. The second point, prudence, is a bit more nuanced. IOs are generally (but not always) publicly funded institutions. This means they are accountable to taxpayers – via their governing boards. In the UN that’s the General Assembly – and on administrative matters the Administrative and Budgetary Committee (also called the Fifth Committee). Governments generally push for budget reductions and it’s easier to do this if those reductions apply to a whole swath of IOs rather than just one. This approach also prevents disparities in pay (and subsequent mobility) between IOs.

So, what are these groupings of IOs?

The United Nations:

This is by far the largest grouping of IOs both in terms of size and budget. UN IOs cover almost every aspect of human endeavor. Internally we call this the UN Common System. It comprises the UN Secretariat in New York (but also in Geneva, Vienna, and Nairobi), 6 Funds/Programmes (think UNICEF), 15 Specialized Agencies (such as the World Health Organization), 9 other entities (for example UNAIDS and UN WOMEN) as well as 7 Related Organizations (such as the IAEA and the OPCW). Each one has a Headquarters location, but many have field missions and other regional offices. The UN has a great link which explains these IOs here. Countless other IOs also follow many of the HR practices of the UN – such as, for example, the OSCE in Vienna.

Getting into the UN is highly competitive and depends very much on your international experience and specialized knowledge. There is also a hierarchy of organizations which prospective applicants must consider as they decide which vacancies to apply for. I’ll discuss this a little later in Article 3. Applicants to the UN should also be mindful of the three-legged stool model I describe in Article 4 – as it’s a key determiner of success.

The Co-ordinated Organizations:

As I mentioned earlier HR rules play a big role in how IOs are grouped. Sometimes this is even more pertinent than the individual activities or mandates of the organizations themselves. The Co-ordinated Organizations are a prime example. They include 6 formal IOs (the principal ones being the OECD and NATO) as well as 25 which loosely follow the rules. Co-ordinated Organizations are lumped together since they follow similar compensation and pension frameworks. As salaries and pensions are managed by HR, many other aspects – such as recruitment practices – are also more closely aligned in these organizations. This being said, significant differences do also exist (such as a security clearance requirement for NATO).

International Financial Institutions (IFIs):

IFIs are multilateral IOs which finance development projects across the world. Some, like the World Bank, have a global mandate while others, such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, are more focused on a particular region.

What have I omitted?

I have deliberately chosen to restrict the term IO to refer exclusively to intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) – meaning ones which are composed of representatives of member states (countries). Because of interest I will also cover International Sports Federations (ISFs) which are composed of representatives of national sporting federations and are not IOs or IGOs.

It is important to note that the IO space also includes many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) – which are made up of people unaffiliated with the governments of their countries.

Examples of NGOs include Greenpeace and Oxfam. NGOs are critical to international dialogue and action on key issues, and they serve as an important voice of civil society. However, securing a job with these is very different than with IGOs and so it makes sense to exclude them from our discussion.

I have also deliberately decided to exclude the European Union and the European Commission from this article series for two reasons. First, the nature of the EU is such that its institutions are structured more like national public administrations rather than true international organizations. Second, only EU nationals can truly work for EU institutions which doesn’t quite fit with my narrative here. I’m happy, however, to hear your thoughts in the comments and may do a specific series on the EU in the future.

In Article 2 we'll focus on the key questions you should ask yourself as you start targeting specific IOs.

Andrzej Antoszkiewicz