This document provides information about the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, including its mission to promote volunteerism for peace and development worldwide. It details how UNV fulfills its mandate by advocating for volunteer recognition, integrating volunteerism into development programs, and mobilizing volunteers. It also provides contact information for the UNV programme in Mongolia and answers frequently asked questions about becoming a UN Volunteer, such as eligibility requirements, assignment locations, and benefits.

1. For more information, contact UNV programme in
Mongolia at:
UNV Programme Officer, UNV Field Unit Mongolia
UN House, United Nations Street-12, Sukhbaatar District,
Ulaanbaatar-14201, Mongolia
Tel: +976-11-327-585 /ext. 1159/
Fax: +976-11-326-221
Web: http://www.mn.undp.org/
(UNV under UNDP Mongolia website: http://www.mn.undp.
org/content/mongolia/en/home/operations/united-nations-
volunteers/)
facebook.com/UNVolunteersMongolia
For more information about volunteerism, visit:
• UNV Global Homepage
www.unv.org
• UN Volunteers Facebook
www.facebook.com/unvolunteers
• World Volunteer Web
www.worldvolunteerweb.org/
• Online Volunteering Service
www.onlinevolunteering.org
• Volunteer Action Counts
www.volunteeractioncounts.org/en/
What do UN Volunteers do?
• The major professional functional areas of UN Volunteer
assignments include technical cooperation with governments,
with community-based initiatives, in humanitarian relief and
rehabilitation and in support of human rights, electoral and
peace-building processes. UN Volunteers listen and discuss;
teach and train; encourage and facilitate; share and exchange
ideas, skills and experience, in a way to develop capacity of
national and local counterparts with whom they interact.
• The UNV programme involves a wide spread of sectors
(maintaining a roster covering 115 professional categories):
Agriculture, health and education feature prominently, as do
human rights promotion, governance, electoral assistance,
information and communication technology, community
development and civil society engagement, vocational training,
industry and private sector development, population and social
inclusion of marginalized groups including all segments of society
such as children, youth, gender, people with disabilities, culture
and sports, environmental protection and crisis prevention and
disaster risk reduction, peace & conflict resolution, emergency
relief and partnerships.
What benefits are entitled to UN Volunteers?
The key benefit of being a UN Volunteer is the personal satisfaction
the volunteer assignment brings to you as you make a positive impact
on peace and development. However, we support you during your
assignment in several ways, e.g. training and learning opportunities,
living allowance, annual leave, and health and life insurance, etc.
UN Volunteers are not paid, but receive monthly Volunteer Living
Allowance (VLA). VLA is strictly intended to allow the UN Volunteer
to sustain a modest and secure standard of living. It is not a salary
and is not meant as compensation or reward for the volunteer
service.
What is the difference between UN Volunteers and Online
Volunteers?
Online Volunteers are not UN Volunteers. Online Volunteers are
individuals who commit their time and skills over the Internet,
freely and without financial considerations, for the benefit of
society. Everyone above the age of 18 can apply for an opportunity
published on the Online Volunteering service website. The Online
Volunteering service offers a database of online volunteering
opportunities submitted by development organizations worldwide.
Interested individuals identify opportunities that match their
interests, expertise and skills, and submit their applications directly
to the organizations, which select the volunteers they would like to
engage in their activities. For more information, please visit http://
www.onlinevolunteering.org/.
www.mn.undp.org
www.unv.org

2. T
he United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is the UN
organization that contributes to peace and development
through volunteerism worldwide. It fulfills the mandate by
advocating for recognition of volunteers, working with partners
to integrate volunteerism into development programming, and
mobilizing an increasing number and diversity of volunteers,
including experienced UN Volunteers. UNV embraces volunteerism
as universal and inclusive, and recognizes volunteerism in its
diversity as well as the values that sustain it: free will, commitment,
engagement and solidarity.
Based in Bonn, Germany, UNV is active in around 130 countries
every year. UNV, with Field Units in about 80 countries, is
represented worldwide through the offices of the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP).
U
NV in Mongolia acts as an outreach arm of UN agencies
to establish and strengthen partnerships with diverse
stakeholders in civil society and volunteering organizations
(CSVOs). Volunteerism is at the heart of active civic participation
and at the root of civil society organizations. That is why UNV is
WHO WE ARE
WHAT WE DO
What is UNV’s mission? Volunteerism for Peace and
Development (V4D)
UNV contributes to peace and development by advocating for rec-
ognition of volunteers, working with partners to integrate volunteer-
ism into development programming, and mobilizing an increasing
number and diversity of volunteers, including experienced UN Vol-
unteers, throughout the world.
How can I become a UN Volunteer?
To become international UN Volunteers, who are UN Volunteers
serving abroad other than their own country of nationality, visit and
register online in the UNV database: http://www.unv.org/how-to-vol-
unteer/register-to-be-a-un-volunteer.html.
Generally, the UNV programme draws a short-list of three to five
profiles from the UNV database for each assignment, which are
then submitted to the relevant authorities of the country requesting
the services of a UN Volunteer. The requesting authorities make
the final choice and select the candidate who best fulfils their needs
and requirements, usually following an interview and/or an in-depth
assessment.
To become national UN Volunteers, who are UN Volunteers serving
within the country or territory of their own nationality (for instance,
as a Mongolian national you cannot serve as an international UN
Volunteer in Mongolia but only serve as a national UN Volunteer),
check vacancy announcements on the UN and UNDP websites.
Besides, vacancies will be advertised in local newspapers and/or
magazines.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS “FAQ”
Is there an age limit for UN Volunteers?
• For a regular international UN Volunteer, at least 25 years old.
• For an international UN Youth Volunteer, between 18 and 29
years for the whole duration of the assignment.
• For a national UN Volunteer, at the minimum of 22 years old.
What are the Common Qualifications both for international
and national UN Volunteers?
• Commitment to Service:
A key feature of all UN Volunteers is a personal commitment
to service. The commitment to service is emphasized in each
Description of Assignment (DoA) and is assessed in the
recruitment and interview process.
• Technical Competencies (Education, professional
experience and maturity):
The candidates must demonstrate the required level of
education, relevant professional experience and the requisite
maturity, character and strengths in order to be selected as
UN Volunteers (including the abilities to work in a multi-cultural
environment and to adjust to difficult living conditions and strong
interpersonal and organizational skills etc.).
For each national UN Volunteer assignment, specific
requirements in terms of education, age and experience as well
as required competencies are set out in the individual DoA.
• Language Requirements:
All UN Volunteers should be able to read and write and
communicate effectively in the UN working language in the
country.
National UN Volunteers should be able to read and write and
communicate effectively in one or more local languages.
Where do international and national UN Volunteers work?
• UN Volunteers are assigned to a Host entity which is a UN
organization or entity that requested the service of UN Volunteer.
• Together with other UN personnel, UN Volunteers work within
the framework of a specific UN project designed by various
UN agencies or directly assigned to support any given office
functions of a specific UN agency and contribute to the neutrality
and visibility of the United Nations.
committed to creating an enabling environment to promote and
strengthen volunteering for and civic participation in inclusive peo-
ple-centred development process in Mongolia.
The range of UNV support activities includes, but is not limited
to:
• facilitating the process of national capacity building to develop
favorable national policy, regulatory, fiscal, programming and in-
stitutional framework;
• raising public awareness on and advocacy for volunteerism and
civic participation;
• taking the lead in commemorating the International Volunteer
Day (IVD) on 5 December every year, in cooperation with
CSVOs in Mongolia.