Myungsoo Cho

1. What kind of work are you doing in New York?

I have managed the immunization section's planning team in New York since 2021 to coordinate programme planning, monitoring & budgeting, lead knowledge management activities, and support Gavi partnership engagement and global immunization grants for over 120 HQ, Regional, and Country office teams.

As you may imagine, immunization teams at Headquarters, Regional, and Country offices have been extremely busy for the last couple of years, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our top priorities are catching up on children missed during the pandemic, restoring immunization programmes to pre-pandemic coverage levels, and supporting new and underutilized vaccine introductions such as the Human papillomavirus (HPV) and malaria in programme countries.

2. Tell us about your career so far and what made you decide to pursue a career in international development cooperation?

I first considered a career in international development cooperation when I joined the first international field trip to Vietnam in college as a Pacific Asia Society Youth Corps member. Interacting with local students and learning a new culture was a fascinating experience. At that time, I thought it would be rewarding to work for the UN without a clear idea of the extensive scope of work one would need to undertake as a UN staff member. My ideas and plans became more concrete through studying abroad in New York and Oslo and working at Korea’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. However, getting a full-time job in the UN system was unrealistic right after graduate school.

Thus, unlike many other professional UNICEF staff members, I started my career as an assistant marketing manager in the private sector.

Since my job was launching new high-tech products successfully in the global markets, I could travel extensively to developed countries as well as programme countries like Syria, Kenya, and Colombia, which reminded me about my previous plans. So, when I saw a one-year UNV opportunity in UNDP Vietnam, I did not hesitate to apply. It was a tough decision to give up my marketing manager career at a global company to become a UNV, given my family situation at that time, but I believed it was worth a try.

After less than a year there, I got an offer for a Planning/Contract specialist position to manage the immunization forecasting exercise and undergo supply monitoring for over 100 countries in the UNICEF Supply Division. I am confident that I was able to make this breakthrough considering my extensive experience within the private sector as an international marketing manager in multinational companies. Then onwards, I served as the Medical Unit Lead & Contracts Manager in the Supply Division to manage various medical supplies globally. I moved to New York as the Planning team manager for the HIV/AIDS Section to coordinate UNAIDS partnerships and HIV programme management until my lateral move to my current position for an exciting new opportunity. It has been an extremely rewarding journey with an array of vivid memories!

3. What was the most memorable moment working for UNICEF?

There are so many memorable moments to share. However, if I had to choose one, my top pick would be a field monitoring visit to Kenya and South Sudan in early 2022. The mission was still in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, so traveling to programme countries was practically very challenging. That was the first mission in 2 years due to the travel restrictions imposed during the pandemic.

Having worked in UNICEF’s health programmes, especially in immunization for 15 years, field visits are common but due to the pandemic, it felt like a long time since I had visited the field. Most of all, I wanted to see the situations in the field first-hand to monitor the circulation of COVID-19 vaccinations as well as to see children face-to-face on the ground. Internally, we had also proactively discussed strategies with key partners such as the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide extensive outreach to children omitted caused by the unprecedented pandemic. During my visit to the field, it was an exhilarating and invaluable experience to see children being inoculated in open markets and health facilities including monitoring cold storage rooms with stockpiles of essential vaccines procured by UNICEF colleagues.

4. Do you have any advice or message for students or professionals who want to work at UNICEF?

Trying to find a job in the UN system like UNICEF can be quite challenging. As aforementioned, it can be a difficult and long journey especially true if one is fresh off the boat from college. For several years, I’ve provided UN career mentorship for graduates at my alma mater in the United Kingdom. During my rapport with mentoring graduate students, I continuously heard about their frustration with attaining jobs as UN working professionals. I do not think it is because UN jobs require exceptional skills or talents but there is a plethora of already qualified people for the few international posts that are vacant.

So, please do not be discouraged if you have not received a job offer or an interview invitation from UNICEF after tons of applications. Just accept the fact that it will take time. If you want to work at UNICEF, find an opportunity in the international development area, other professional organizations, or the private sector and build up your career there until you become an expert professional in one of the key functional or programme areas. It does not always have to be a big or well-known organization. A lot of my professional colleagues at UNICEF have started their careers in small local Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs).

Lastly, please do not hesitate to learn new things wherever you are. Things are changing fast these days, so developing new skillsets and knowledge is essential to pursuing a career within the UN system including UNICEF.