Story from a former JPO

Vibeke Risa
Assistant Resident Representative / Programme
UNDP Yemen

 

Vibeke Risa is a former UNDP JPO in Central African Republic and in Timor Leste (1998-2002). She is currently Assistant Resident Representative / Programme with UNDP in Yemen.

 

Name

Vibeke Risa

 

Born and raised

Born in Oslo, raised in Portugal, Washington DC and various locations in Norway.

 

Academic background

'Mellomfag' (equivalent to BSc or BA) in Political Science from the University of Oslo and MSc in Population and Development from the London School of Economics.

 

Career path

After finishing my MSc, I worked as a reporter with Radio Paris-Oslo, a small bilingual radio station run by the French Cultural Centre in Oslo. About a year later (1998), I joined UNDP as a JPO in Bangui, Central African Republic, where I spent two years working mainly on gender issues. I spent the next two and a half years with UNDP Timor Leste, first as a JPO then funded by the Country Office. I was then selected for the LEAD Programme in 2003 and worked as an Assistant Resident Representative with UNDP Somalia, where I worked on a number of issues, i.e. HIV/Aids, livestock, and several UN Coordination issues. I have now joined UNDP Yemen as ARR / Programme, this time as "regular" staff.

 

Current role and responsibilities in UNDP

My role with UNDP Yemen is to ensure that our programmes are strategic and aligned to both national priorities and UNDP's mandate. I also support programme development, undertake resource mobilisation and interact with donors and other key partners, support advocacy and communication efforts as well as support capacity building and team building efforts within the Country Office.

 

3 things you enjoy most about working for UNDP

  • The very varied nature of the work we are doing in our various programme countries;
  • The multicultural nature of the organization;
  • The wide range of learning opportunities.

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    Your biggest UNDP highlight or achievement so far

    One of my biggest achievements during my time with UNDP was the successful management of a large electoral assistant programme in Timor Leste in 2002, which lead to the establishment of a Constituent Assembly in charge of developing a constitution for the new country.

     

    Words of wisdom for those aspiring to join UNDP

    Working with UNDP requires willingness to work hard (a lot of the time with long hours and working weekends), flexibility, open-mindedness and cultural sensitivity. The work is challenging and often rewarding, and the opportunities are many.