JPO Stories
Being a JPO in Liberia: Questions to Kay Schwendinger
Kay Schwendinger is a former Austrian JPO with UNDP in Liberia
What is your background?
Although I am Austrian, I went to school and university in England. I studied Geography at Cambridge University (UK), specialising in socio-political development, and then continued to do a Masters degree in International Studies and Diplomacy at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. Peacekeeping was my main focus.
My professional life has been somewhat more colourful. Immediately after my studies I moved to Paris where I did everything from working for Greenpeace to market research, to teaching English. Several years later, I worked in marketing and new business development for an international media company in the US and Germany. Working in the private sector did not however fulfil my desire to make a positive impact on society, so I returned to the NGO world.
I was working in Fundraising and Communications for Friends of the Earth in Austria when, in October 2004, I joined UNDP Liberia as their Strategic Partnerships Officer.
How did you learn about the JPO Programme?
I learnt about the JPO Programme through networking. When I decided I wanted to work for the UN, or another international organisation, I began to attend many seminars and lectures at various academic institutions in Vienna on peacekeeping and development in general. I also bombarded the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for information about posts within this field.
During a seminar on Women in Peacekeeping, one of the speakers who worked for the UN introduced me to the JPO Programme. At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also suggested I apply for the Programme - mainly so I would leave them alone...
What are your tasks as a JPO?
In essence I am an information broker: I gather information, identify different uses for it and make it meaningful for a variety of audiences. In some ways my job is quite unique in view of the situation in Liberia. UNDP Liberia operates within the context of an integrated peacekeeping mission, which means that there is a great need for coordination and information flows.
Originally it was intended that I work in resource mobilisation and partnerships, which was interpreted in a very broad manner; communications for the country office, rather than the individual programmes; coordination of UNDP Liberia activities with those of other organizations; preparing donor briefs; liaison with UNDP HQ in New York and Geneva; liaison with partners; information management for the country office as well as Liberia, etc.
I work closely with senior management of the country office, the UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa, and the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery as well as the peacekeeping mission UNMIL, the UN Communications Group and the Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator's Office.
What do you consider your most important professional achievement so far?
I perceive that my biggest achievement has been the role I played in developing a capacity building project for the statistical and geo-information management agency of Liberia. I was instrumental in transitioning the OCHA Humanitarian Information Centre into UNDP Liberia, thereby developing a new project to build national capacity in statistics and information management. The UNDP project staff and their national counterparts work together on all projects, thus building capacity through on-the-job training.
This is a critical project for Liberia, where the dearth of organised information is a major impediment to development planning. Collecting, analysing and managing information is currently a national priority, as information is the pre-requisite for monitoring progress made towards the MDGs and the development of a full Poverty Reduction Strategy.
What has been the most challenging situation from a personal point of view?
The lack of privacy and personal freedom have been the biggest challenges I have had to face. Life within a peacekeeping context can be very repressive in a number of ways. Personal mobility is restricted by the need for security clearances and curfew. Privacy and anonymity is non-existent with everyone knowing where you live and work, and where you are at all times. UN vehicles are the only mode of transport, but these have to be shared, which means you can never actually go anywhere on your own. Similarly, most people have flat mates, which even further ads to the lack of privacy.
Any problems or difficulties you have been facing as a JPO?
Of course I faced quite a number of difficulties. They did not really relate to me being a JPO but to my post. In general this was not an issue in my country office. In some ways it was even an advantage, as being a JPO meant that I was considered a staff member, as opposed to most of my colleagues who are on a less advantageous contract modality.
Is there any advice you would like to give future JPO?
It is important for JPOs to have a mentor from the very beginning of their assignment, especially if they never worked for the UN before. However, the choice of mentor is critical, and they must be aware of what their role actually is in order for them to be properly effective. The mentor should not have any reporting relationship to the JPO, as this will defeat the purpose.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?
I would like to be special assistant to the Special Representative to the Secretary General, or a Deputy Special Representative to the Secretary General, in a peacekeeping mission somewhere. Failing that, I would like to work in communications and external relations for the UN (this is assuming that UN Reform furthers the one UN approach).
