Being a mentee in the JPO Mentoring Programme

Introduction

The idea to introduce a Mentoring Programme for JPOs was conceived in early 2002. Based on the feed-back received by the JPO Service Centre from JPOs in all parts of the world, it was felt that a Mentoring Programme could add positively to the learning experience of the JPO and supplement the day-to-day supervision with an alternative kind of feed-back and support. Hence, if you are open, ready and have an interest in developing yourself, learning more about a specific subject or get relevant feed-back from someone who is familiar with the system, but has no direct links to your duty station, the JPO Mentoring Programme may be the answer.

The idea for the JPO Mentoring Programme was inspired by the LEAD Mentoring Programme, through which all successful candidates to the LEAD Programme were given the opportunity of having a mentor. With approximately 300 JPOs worldwide, the JPO Mentoring Programme will potentially be more than ten times larger than the LEAD Mentoring Programme.

Because of the logistical implications, and in order to remain flexible, it has been decided to run the first year of the JPO Mentoring Programme as a pilot phase.

At present we have a list of 50-70 professional UN staff who are ready and willing to volunteer their time and resources to mentoring a JPO. Some are ready to mentor more than one, but nevertheless, we cannot guarantee to find a mentor for all. If you would like to benefit from the Programme, we strongly encourage you register as a mentee The sooner we receive your registration, the better your chances are of being selected for the JPO Mentoring Programme.

What is a mentoring relationship?

A mentoring relationship is a personal relationship between a mentor and a mentee and is based on trust, confidentiality, openness and respect. In the mentoring relationship, a mentee (JPO) has an opportunity to discuss, receive honest and constructive feed-back and get access to the information, knowledge and experience from a more experienced staff member from a duty station other than his or her own. The objective of the individual mentoring relationship, as well as the subjects raised, is identified by the mentee.

A mentoring relationship places high demands on the communication skills of the involved parties. In the case of the JPO Mentoring Programme, where mentor and mentee will most often be situated in separate countries, maybe even on different continents, the demands on the communication skills are even greater. It is a challenge that both mentor and mentee will have to take up to establish a relationship of trust, openness and confidentiality over the phone, e-mail or whatever type of communication will be used.

When this is created, however, the mentee can expect, through the mentoring relationship, to be listened to and to receive help in, for instance, development of his or her potential, development of personal characteristics and maturity, help to grow as a person and support to go through change processes. Concrete examples could be to receive help to act within the Organization, speak up at meetings, find a balance between work and family life, discuss and explore career opportunities, etc. The mentoring relationship at its best allows the mentee a space to speak frankly on all subjects and learn from the process and the mentor, learn from practical examples, learn from own mistakes, become aware of own reactions and be supported and encouraged.

Who are the mentors?

The mentors include experienced JPOs who are in their second or third year of the JPO assignment, Special Assistants to the UN Resident Coordinator (SARCs), or current UNDP staff members who were recently JPOs.

These mentors already have the knowledge and experience of what it means to be a JPO as well as a new staff member in UNDP and can provide information, feedback and advice on various issues, such as: how to integrate into a new duty station, networking, establishing an effective working relationship with a supervisor or new colleagues in the duty station, where to locate resources and information, perspectives on the challenges in UNDP or a particular subject, learning opportunities, having a career in the UN, UNDP rules & regulations, bringing a family to a new country, etc.

The mentors are most - if not all - amateurs in the sense that they have not gone through a formalized training on mentoring. Some have more than 20 years of experience within the Organization (i.e. Resident Representatives), while others may only have three years of experience. Some are stationed in headquarters locations, while others work in the field. In principle, however, everybody, with at least 18 months of serving experience can be a good mentor if the interest and willingness to listen and learn are there.

From experience, we know that in order for a mentoring relationship to function well, good chemistry between the mentor and the mentee is important. That, of course, is not something that can be guaranteed in advance. In order to facilitate the start up and further development of the mentoring process, we will provide advice and guidelines to both mentees and mentors. One very important note to the mentees is that, although the mentors are very well qualified and experienced, they do not know and cannot do everything. Therefore it is important at the beginning of a mentoring relationship to find out what it is that the mentor can help with and make the most of it.

Last, but not least, it is important to respect the fact that the mentor role is limited to guiding. The mentor should assist you in solving problematic situations, but you are the one responsible for finding solutions and making choices.

The role of the mentee

A mentoring relationship is first and foremost the responsibility of the mentee in the sense that the mentee is the main beneficiary, and it is the responsibility of the mentee to gain what is intended from the mentoring relationship. To put it in popular terms, the mentee owns the problem and the solution. Hence, a good mentoring process depends on whether the mentee is sufficiently aware of what he or she wants to work on at the personal level in relation to the job and his or her capability of formulating needs and expectations.

Because we are only able to offer mentors to a limited number of JPOs at this stage, we would like to ensure that JPOs who apply for the Programme are fully aware of and accept the role of the mentees in the process. Before you decide to apply for the Programme you are therefore asked to consider the following:

Do you have an idea of what you want to achieve through the Programme?
Are you able to set aside time and energy for your personal development?
Are you committed to and willing to take ownership of the process?
Will you be active in the development process?
Are you committed to making progress?
Will you let yourself be challenged?
Are you willing to receive - and encourage - feedback?
Are you flexible and willing to listen?

If the above applies to you, the Mentoring Programme is a unique learning opportunity for you that should not be missed.