What should I study to get invovled in UNAIDS? Already have an MBA. What steps are required?

Question

I want to work for an organisation or company which assists in aids or something similar. I have an MBA but not experience in this kind of field. Where can I get experience or, if I go back to school, what should I study? Are there any reputable schools that provide this education through distance learning. Thanks.

Answer 1

I suggest you check out the UNAIDS website and look at their carreer openings. You can get a feel for what they are looking for - and what you need to prepare by looking at vacancy announcements.

Note that the UN system has two types of employees = the professional category and the general services. If you are in the P level, a graduate degree is a must have (PhD is the ideal, though Masters degree is sometimes acceptable). They are often looking for those with post graduate degree in social sciences and health. But MBA I suppose is already enough (I used to work for UNDP and my boss before was a DBA Doctor in Business Administration)

Here is a list of their professional vacancies -- note though that they are looking for people with years of experience
http://www.unaids.org/en/Careers/Professionalvacancies/default.asp

If you are targeting the UN, you need to start at the P level, instead of the General Services level. It is very hard, though not impossible, for a GS staff to cross over to the Professional category.

Answer 2

I doubt getting more education is going to help you at this point. You need to get some real world experience. You might consider volunteering at a local AIDS organization as well to get a feel for what the opportunities are.

Answer 3

The fact that you are asking this question instead of doing the research yourself makes me wonder if the school you got your MBA from is even accredited.

Answer 4

dunno