The Resident Coordinator Assessment Centre (RCAC) is the assessment mechanism to enter the Resident Coordinator (RC) Pool for candidates interested in pursuing a Resident Coordinator position. Being in the RC Pool is a pre-requisite for applying for RC vacancies.

Sessions of this RCAC are scheduled to be held online between Monday, 3 November to Friday, 14 November 2025 and will offer a limited number of seats to highly qualified candidates with an excellent performance record.

* Both internal applicants from UN system organizations as well as external applicants may apply directly.

All application submissions must be received by Wednesday, 13 August 2025, 23:59 EST. No late submissions will be accepted.

1. Eligibility Criteria

Candidates for the RC Pool must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Master’s degree – or equivalent post graduate qualification – in development studies, international relations, political science, economics, social sciences, human rights, law or closely related fields (for otherwise suitably qualified candidates, a first level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced post graduate university degree);
• Be at the P-5 level or above, or at an equivalent level of seniority outside of the UN system;
• A minimum of 15 years of substantive experience and results in leadership roles at the international level with a focus on development, human rights, rule of law, peace-building or humanitarian action (including at least five years of cumulative at the country level (e.g. Country Director, Representative, Head of Office) preferably outside of one’s own country)*;
• Fluency in English;
• Rating of “Fully met performance expectations” or equivalent, in the last two performance appraisals, where applicable;
• Proficiency in the competencies of the "Resident Coordinator Leadership Profile";
• Ability to serve for at least one tour of duty (i.e. 5 years) before reaching the mandatory age of separation (65 years), by the time of application;
• Readiness and willingness to deploy within 6 months following the RCAC;
• Commitment to serve in any country at the request of the Secretary-General;
• Candidates will not be considered if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts.

* Country-level experience is defined as experience working directly with governments and other national and international partners on a day to day basis in situ, and does not include visiting missions, work performed in headquarters locations.


Desirable criteria include:

• Senior-level representational experience;
• Experience serving on UN Country Teams (UNCTs)/Humanitarian Country Teams (HCTs), or equivalent;
• Experience in inter-agency coordination, or equivalent;
• Experience in developing strategic partnerships with governments, intergovernmental entities, private sector and/or donors;
• Working knowledge of another official UN language and/or of a local language where RCs serve;
• Membership to and/or satisfactory completion of a leadership development programme, such as the Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator (RC/HC) Talent Pipeline, Senior Women Talent Pipeline or equivalent is an advantage.

Due regard will be paid to the importance of selecting candidates on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs.

The United Nations Secretariat does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination.

2. Screening Process

UNDCO will thoroughly screen applicants against the eligibility criteria and desirable criteria listed above to make a final decision on the list of candidates to be invited to the RCAC.

Through the review process, all selected candidates will undergo reference checks.

UNDCO will inform the successful candidates to be invited to the RCAC by mid-September 2025.

3. Preparation for the RCAC and next steps

The November 2025 RCAC will be conducted fully online by Organisational Development & Research Ltd (ODRL).

Once candidates have been notified, they will receive a briefing organized by ODRL that will be focused on logistical and technical details.

4. Costs and Cancellations

The cost of candidates’ participation in the Assessment Centre will be borne by UNDCO.

Selected candidates who are unable to undergo the RCAC are required to inform UNDCO at least 21 days before the beginning of the assessment. Failure to do so will result in the candidate being charged for late cancellation fees.

Questions on the process should be addressed to rctalent.dco@un.org.

The results of the RCAC are final and are not subject to rebuttal by the candidates.

Instructions:

It is suggested that the application form be completed using a compatible internet browser (Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge).
In order to complete your submission, you will need the following required documentation:

• Two (2) most recent performance appraisals; or (for external candidates only) equivalent documentation that demonstrates a record of strong performance.
• Recent copy of your CV.

Important:

If you had previously applied to call for expressions of interest to either the RC/HC Talent Pipeline in 2022, 2023 or 2025, or to the RCAC on or after November 2021, please contact us (rctalent.dco@un.org) so that we can assist with your application. This will significantly reduce the amount of time required from you to apply to this call. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________