13/04/2022, Entebbe; “Can you perform the same function routinely for 10 years without an impact on you and the organization? Sitting in the same place for so many years can make one unproductive.”  Paulin Djomo, Director a.i Regional Service Centre Entebbe (RSCE)

“Your career starts with you, and it is in your hands. It is up to you to engage the career development officer, correctly complete your PHP(personal history profile),  pass assessments and pass your Competency Based Interview." Nalini Contreras, Deputy Director a.i. RSCE

“Your career journey is guided by your actions and your initiatives, so it is about what you do. What do you do differently? Are you deciding what to do?” Petty Mloka, Career Development Officer

These are just a few of the messages delivered to RSCE staff during the first ever Career Development Day on 13^th April 2022 hosted by the Human Resources and Talent Management Unit (HRTMU).

Mr. Djomo opened the session by explaining to staff the motivation behind the creation of the Career Development Officer position. The Career Development Officer’s role is to guide staff on their career life cycle and to advocate, support and facilitate career development initiatives.

Ms. Mloka delivered a presentation on career development at the RSCE in which she articulated the complementarity  between HRTMU and the Strategic Planning and Capacity Building Unit (SPCBU) and how the two come together to build the capabilities and potential of staff.

She also guided the session on her proposal to deliver the career development plan which involves awareness building through a number of seminars, brown bag sessions and engagements with career champions.

She outlined her process which includes conversations at a pillar level down to service lines all the way to one-on-one sessions with staff. Part of the plan involves activities like job swaps, job shadowing, networking, and mobility/rotation.

The two-hour interactive session attracted several comments and questions from staff, many of which focused on job mobility and job classification leading to a career move. The queries were responded to by the panel of presenters that included Mr. Djomo, Ms. Contreras, Ms. Mloka and Mr. Matthieu Elombo, Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO).

The meeting concluded with very inspiring remarks from Ms. Contreras who shared her three principles that guide her work in the UN and advised staff to inspire themselves everyday and to take their career paths into their own hands.