JPO Stories
From Sweden to New York, via Guatemala...
After a roundabout as a SARC in Guatemala, Lotta Viklund-Mc Cabe is now back to New York and now works as a UNDG Liaison Advisor.
My name is Lotta Viklund McCabe. I come from a small town called Pitea in the north of Sweden. I lived there for the first 18 years of my life together with my brother, mother and father who both worked as professors/teachers. After high-school I moved to Uppsala to start my university studies. For as long as I can remember, travelling around the world, meeting new people, understanding new cultures have been at the core of my interest, so during the university years I combined it with several long "back-packing" trips, living and studying abroad in Asia, Africa, Europe and Central America. My formal education resulted in a Masters degree in International Humanitarian Assistance in combination with Anthropology and Political Science.
After I had acquired my degree I got an internship with the Emergency Response Division in UNDP, New York (which today is the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery). I worked with the Demobilization and Small Arms team and stayed on for a year after the internship had ended. After that I took a break, had my first child and then I got a JPO contract with the Crisis and Post Conflict Cluster in DGO (which today is DOCO). During my three years with DGO I mostly focused on enhancing support to countries in transition and to strengthen inter-agency collaboration within the UN. After my assignment with DGO my family and I decided to move back to Sweden. Therefore I left the UN and started to work with the policy department at Swedish Sida. However, after one year at home I heard that there was an opening for a post as Special Assistant to the Resident Coordinator in Guatemala. It sounded too interesting to miss out on so I applied and luckily I got the job.
In August 2006 I moved with my husband, son and daughter to Guatemala City. It was a big change from living in the countryside in Sweden.but I loved it. The constant noise from traffic, people shouting, street vendors, spicy food, wonderful people and endlessly beautiful scenery were overwhelming. But as we know, there are always two sides of the coin and the extreme poverty, the huge gap between rich and poor and the constantly high level of organized crime and impunity overshadowed much of the beauty.
Already on the first day of my SARC assignment I knew I was going to enjoy it. The RCs office welcomed me with open arms and the RC, Mr. Beat Rohr and I got along right away. My main responsibilities were to facilitate the work of the UN Country Team and to manage the RCs office as well as participate in/manage most of the interagency meetings (HIV/AIDS, HACT, Human resources etc). Basically all the work that I did was linked one way or the other to UN reform - searching for new ways to work better and more efficient together as one UN system. I was very lucky to have the opportunity to work with an RC who was open to changing the "way we do business" and who gave me space and opportunities to explore and try out new waters. He was always there to help me navigate and give good advice.
If I were to summarize my SARC years in a few words I would choose the following: fantastic opportunity, professional growth, getting to know the UN system, fun, a lot to do and also a great opportunity and experience for my family.
In the middle of my SARC assignment an exiting vacancy came up in New York. It was a secondment from DOCO to the UN Chiefs Executive Board Secretariat - where I would work as the UNDG Liaison Advisor, to facilitate the integration of UNDG into the CEB structure. My husband, who is based in New York, hinted that this might be a good opportunity to move back so that he also could pursue his professional career as a musician. So we made a joint decision and in February 2008 we moved back to New York.
The SARC experience certainly enriched me both on a professional as well as on a personal level. I believe that there is no other place within the system that gives you such good oversight of how the UN works together (and how it does not work so well together) in the field. You learn the "UN politics" which gives you a better understanding of why working together, joint programmes and joint implementation etc. sometimes is more difficult than you might think at a first glance. During my SARC period I got to know the work of many different agencies, funds and programmes and I believe this is a great opportunity for inter-agency mobility and the chance to work with different parts of the UN system.
If you are thinking about applying for a SARC position my advice is definitely - "go for it!" If you have already been selected, congratulations! - it is a fantastic opportunity. If you are moving with your family my advice would be to spend a lot of time with them and ensure that they become engaged and integrated in your new life. Even though you might find yourself swamped with work you need to find a good work - life balance.
Behind the suit
I am really a happy mother of a son (Carl 7 years) and daughter (Nora 6 years) and love to spend time with them, reading, swimming and baking all sorts of breads and cakes. In my spare time I also like to read, go to concerts and set aside time for meditation and recreation.
The last book I read was "The African" by 2008 Nobel laureate - Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio.
My favourite quote:
Oh, I have so many favourite quotes. But this is one that I try to apply in my own life (pretty often when I think about it!) "When angry count to three before speaking, if really angry count to one hundred". (Anonymous).
My father has been a great inspiration to me. He has shown me that being successful does not mean that you need to be a competitive person with sharp elbows always "striving upwards". Be considerate and honest to yourself and others. We are all just human beings with different strengths and different weaknesses. Alone one can not do much but together we might make a difference. And last but not least trust your stomach feeling - it will most likely lead you in the right direction.
