This interview was for a one year contract, grant based senior technical position in a UNDP foreign post.
Of note - Even though the entire UN system uses the P11 application form, the particular format used by UNDP had to be submitted before the interview could be scheduled. Essentially, even though you can be registered and fully vetted with multiple UN agencies with the same P11, you will still need to manually complete a new P11 for UNDP.
The interview was coordinated through Skype with a 3 person panel with a program manager and two specialists on the team which appeared to be from the US and EU. No local staffers from the home country were involved. The names and job titles of the interviewers were not given beforehand or afterwards.
The interview lasted a little over an hour and focused on well-thought out technical questions related to the position and work required, with a focus on deliverables. No behavioural questions were asked, such as those relating to social relations, inter-personal experiences and cross-cultural skills. Language skills and relationships with local staff and culture was not explored - curiously as this would be pivotal for job success given the scope of work. Little information was provided on the mission, project or country dynamics.
At the end of the interview, the panel allowed for questions to be asked by the candidate. There was time for about three questions to be asked. When candidate questions were finished, the panel lead noted the time frame for a final candidate selection would be 2 months. Disconcertingly, there was no intent to make a final candidate short list, pursue work samples or second interviews to inform a final selection. So, the decision upon a final candidate would be based on this single initial interview, with no further exploration of desired skills through writing assignments or work samples. References were checked upon completion of the interview. The panel and process was very polite and technically focused, but lacked some important dimensions related to local culture and involvement.
It's difficult to believe an effective, informed decision can be made to select a senior technical candidate with just one interview and the absence of work samples. It's also unrealistic for candidates to maintain availability for such an extended time frame without knowing if they are short-listed, final candidates or just one drop in a large pool of applicants. These aspects are red-flags for candidates but not standard across the UNDP, likely being project and mission specific.
