Are you starting to think about your career? If you’re concerned about hunger, human rights and other development issues, you might want to think about working for FAO.

To get an idea of some of the skills and qualifications FAO looks for, take a look at the employment pages.

You may also want to take a look at the educational background of some of the staff we have profiled on this site. See the staff profiles.

Many of the job vacancies listed on the FAO site are not for people just at the beginning their careers. However, FAO does have a programme for those with a good education and a few years of work experience. It is called the Associate Professional Officers Programme.

FAO Associate Professional Officers (APO) Programme

The APO Programme (also known as the Junior Professional Officer Programme or JPO) attracts young people from around the world who have shown a commitment to development as well as academic success and professional achievement.

Associate professional officers get an opportunity to learn about international development and gain on-the-job experience. They acquire international experience and contribute to FAO's mission of building a world without hunger.

There are now APOs and JPOs from over 30 countries working on a variety of development projects, and if you think you’d like to join them, read more here.

FAO Young Professionals Programme

Another FAO scheme offering hands-on experience is the Young Professionals Programme, whereby the organization helps developing countries and countries in transition to train people in a range of fields relating to agriculture and food security.

The programme increases the pool of experienced professionals that these countries can draw on, with 130 people trained in the past six years at FAO headquarters in Rome and in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Near East. Click here to learn more and apply.