- List the high-value short assignments: Emergency surge deployments, temporary duty (TDY) missions and acting roles show leadership under pressure.
- Explain secondments clearly: Say when one agency lent you to another, so recruiters understand who your employer was.
- Describe languages in plain terms: Use common levels (native, fluent, professional) instead of UN exam codes.
Your UN career has more to show than your job titles do. Here's how to list surge deployments, temporary duty (TDY), acting roles, inter-agency secondments and UN language exams on your CV.
Surge Deployments and Temporary Duty (TDY)
UN staff often go on short emergency deployments or temporary duty assignments. They show that you can adapt fast, so don't hide them. List them under your main role:
- Emergency response deployment: Acting Head of Sub-Office | Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh (4-month surge deployment, 2023). Managed emergency shelter distribution for 25,000 displaced people.
Acting Roles and Inter-Agency Secondments
If you served for a long time as Acting Team Lead or Officer-in-Charge (OiC), say so. It shows that senior managers trusted you with more authority than your title suggested.
If you were seconded (lent) from one agency to another, for example from UNDP to OCHA, show it like this: 'Senior Policy Officer (Inter-Agency Secondment (or transfer)) | UN OCHA, Geneva, Switzerland.'
Show Your Languages Clearly
Speaking several languages is a real advantage outside the UN, so show it clearly. Don't use internal codes like 'UN LPE passed.' Use common level words instead:
- English (Native / Fluent)
- French (Full Professional Proficiency / C2)
- Spanish (Working Knowledge / B2)
Look through your UN career for TDY deployments, acting roles or secondments from the last 8 years. Add the two most relevant ones to your resume.