Welcoming new talent to the WHO EURO Istanbul Enabling Hub
In this webinar:
- Director of Business Operations, David Allen shares his vision for the team he is building in Istanbul and the type of staff he is looking for
- WHO employees Serter Akyel, Administrative Associate, CSE, Istanbul and Natasha Goldbeck, HR Officer, WHE Copenhagen sharing their experience
- Recruitment Coordinator, Tina Stochmal sharing upcoming Istanbul opportunities, Career pathways, how to ace your CV, and how to nail the competency-based interview
- The Human Resources Manager, Kathryn Ochieng sharing on Benefits and entitlements (Incl. Staff Health Insurance & Pension benefits), Development Opportunities, and Values and Culture
- Q&A with webinar participants
The focus of the recruitments, and the webinar is primarily on vacancies in the NO-National Officer, and GS-General Service categories.
The webinar was live on December 8th, 2022.
This webinar is for Türkish Nationals or work permit/residency holders proficient in speaking English.
Q&A
Q. Is it possible reach to HR via Linkedin?
You can connect with us on LinkedIn by following the WHO Regional Office for Europe: https://www.linkedin.com/company/who-europe/
We will be sure to post the Roster openings and all other Vacancies in Istanbul. You are also welcomed to link up with Tina Stochmal on LinkedIn, however, note that direct messages may not be responded to via LinkedIn, as it not an official WHO HR channel.
You can always keep yourself updated or have a further read on WHO careers through: https://www.who.int/careers
Q. I don't have any health sector experience/education. Do I still have any opportunity to work for WHO?
Indeed, we have career opportunities in other technical areas than Health specific. With the Division Of Business Operations move to Istanbul there will be a lot of upcoming vacancies in several fields like, HR, Finance, ICT, Procurement and Administration/Operations.
Further to the mentioned upcoming vacancies, you should keep an eye out for all career opportunities, not limited to a health education or experience background, this could include Communications, Resource Mobilization, Logistics, External Relations, just to name a few.
Q. Will the positions in Istanbul open to Turkish nationals only?
For position opening in the National Professional Officers category, we are strictly looking for Turkish Nationals
For positions in the General Service Category, we are looking for Turkish national and Turkish residents/work permit holders.
Q. What operations functions will be moved to Istanbul office?
The Division of Business Operations consist of the following units:
-Directors Office (BOS)
-Financial control and procurement (FCP)
-Human resources and talent management (HRT)
-Information and communications technology (ICT)
-Administrative services and conferences (ASC)
Functions within each unit will move to Istanbul
Q. When you are hiring experts are you looking at whether they have experience in WHO or other related experiences are valued too?
We are looking for talented professionals with the right skills and profile to each of our positions. WHO is experience is not a requirement for the upcoming vacancies.
Q. Kindly when will you announce upcoming positions for İstanbul and by how?
We are expecting and aiming to start posting Roster vacancies in the coming weeks (Dec 22 & Jan 23). The vacancies will be posted via the WHO career page https://www.who.int/careers . You can make yourself prepared now and start working on your CV/profile in our recruitment system Stellis.
You can already now set up your profile with Impactpool within the specific talent stream and you will be duly notified when a vacancy on which you meet the minimum eligibility criteria opens.
Or follow the WHO European Regional Office LinkedIn page, where we will also post the vacancies with direct link to apply in Stellis.
Q. What advise would you give for a candidate to be successful in an interview in WHO?
Preparation is vital to your success in the interview.
The WHO practices competency-based interview method to assess you as the candidate. We will ask you about a previous experience or situation to assess and predict future behavior. It is important to note which competency we are forming the question around, so you can demonstrate this competency in full with your response. The competencies are linked to the grade and purpose of the position and can be found in the vacancy notice for you to get prepared in advance. Further reading on competency-based interviewing can easily be found by searching the internet.
In the interview, the interview panel and the recruiter are there to guide and will ask the right questions to get the best out of you.
Q. Is it possible to apply for more than one position?
Indeed, you may find yourself eligible and interest in more than just one area. If you meet the qualifications set in the vacancy notice, we will strongly encourage you to apply when finding the role of interest.
Q. Will be there be a role for Turkish nationals with legal background?
Yes, there will also be positions within the Legal subject area. Positions outside the Roster talent streams, will be advertised individually.
Q. I am not good at differences of job titles in UN in general. To apply best position, Could you at least share ranks pay ranges, meanings of titles at WHO Istanbul? such as assistant, associate, NPSA, IPSA, P-3, G5/6 etc.
In WHO and for our upcoming vacancies in Istanbul, we are looking to employ you as WHO/UN staff, mostly on Fixed Term Appointments. To mention some the relevant levels a brief overview as follows:
In the General Service Category, the grade and title can be as following example:
GS5: Assistant
GS6: Associate
For the Nationnal Professional Category the grade and title can be as following examples:
NO-A: Associate Officer/Analyst/Specialist
NO-B: Officer/Analyst/Specialist
Salary scales for the NO and GS categories for Turkiye can be found here: https://www.un.org/Depts/OHRM/salaries_allowances/salaries/turkey.htm
Please note that the base salary does not include all benefits and entitlements. Furthermore, a step determination will take place upon initial appointment to decide where in the salary scale on the specific grade you start from. This will be based on your education and experience.
For the International Professional Category the grade and title can be as following example:
P2 - Officer/Analyst
P3 - Officer/Partner/Analyst/Specialist
P4 - Officer/Team Lead
P5- Manager
The international salary scale and post adjustment rates, can be found here: https://icsc.un.org/Home/SalaryScales
Q. In which stage you reach to references? Since the reference might be current employer, it is important for the candidates
We will ask you to provide us with contacts for reference checks if you are invited to an interview. Since you are the one providing the contacts, you don’t have to point to a current employer if you don’t wish us to contact them at this stage.