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 Maria Oset Serra was born in Castellon, Spain, in 1971. She holds a B.A. in Public Law by the University of Valencia (Spain), a MSc in Public Policy and Administration by LSE (London, United Kingdom) and a DEA in Government and Public Administration by the University Complutense (Madrid, Spain). Maria has worked for the Ministry of Economy of Spain, Institute of Foreign Trade, in South Africa, Mozambique and Hungary. In the UK, she lectured for the Uniformed Public Services and was a researcher at the House of Commons. She worked as an Institutional Development Advisor in Cameroon. Her first professional experience with the UN System was in New York in 2007, where she was an intern with UNDESA, Division of Public Administration and Development Management, Knowledge Management Branch. From 2009, Maria has been the Programme Officer for the United Nations Volunteers programme in Nicaragua. Photo: Maria, during the advocacy and mobilization activity organized by UNV on the occasion of the Rio+20 summit and Volunteering Matters campaign with '10 de Abril High School' students.
What motivated you to apply to the UNV programme? I applied to the UNV programme for three reasons. First of all, I fully share the values and principles embedded in the UNV programme. I strongly believe in the power of volunteerism for peace, for development, for the well-being of individuals and societies. I am convinced a better world to live in is possible and it starts with me, with you, with the actions of every individual. Secondly, I wanted to promote volunteerism and show how important volunteers are to the lives of many people. I wanted volunteerism to be properly acknowledged in the law, in public policies and in programmes and projects. Thirdly, having previously volunteered with several NGOs in developed and developing countries (Scouts, Red Cross, VSO) and experienced how, despite its worth and potential, volunteerism was low in any public and political agenda, I felt United Nations and the UNV programme represented the perfect fora to reach broader audiences and to get the attention of individuals in leadership positions with whom to partner, in order to work for the acknowledgement and strengthening of volunteerism in our world. Could you describe (in a few sentences) a typical day at work? I do not really have a typical day at work and that’s why this position is so fascinating. Anyway, I would say my work day starts some time before I leave the office the previous day, when I think about how I will tackle the challenges during the day ahead. First thing in the morning I check my correspondence and try to give an immediate reply to as many issues as possible (‘do not leave for tomorrow what you can do today’), as I find that is the most effective and efficient way to work and also in that way there is no possibility that you will ended forgetting something or somebody. Then, I basically work following the UNV programme business model; I mean I concentrate on advocacy, integration and mobilization. I am always busy, be it with talks with volunteer involving organizations (VIOs), the Nicaraguan National Assembly or the Nicaraguan Institute of Youth on matters related to advocacy and volunteer infrastructure in the country (law, by-law, networks of VIOs, Government-promoted volunteer programmes); or meeting with colleagues from UN agencies and other bilateral cooperation partners in order to find opportunities for UNV programme integration in interagency projects, programmes and initiatives; or discussing with UN Volunteers and other volunteers about our next mobilization activity. One also has to leave time during the day for some tasks related to the volunteers’ management cycle, like elaboration of description of assignments (DoAs), interviews, security issues, etc. Also, I regularly travel to the field for monitoring of UN Volunteers and for the celebration of advocacy and mobilization activities. I really love the field work and sharing with the UN Volunteers and the communities in which they are assigned. What has been your biggest challenge? Nicaragua has traditionally had a large number of international and national UN Volunteers, more than 60 per year, on average. When I arrived I had to quickly update myself with all these UN Volunteers, get to know them, their assignments, their supervisors, their expectations of me and the UNV programme. I ended up placing their photos, names, roles, in a Nicaragua map I had in the office so I would not forget any of them. Another big challenge has been to ‘educate on volunteerism’ and convey the great potential of volunteerism for the achievement of UN objectives so volunteerism is systematically integrated into programmes and projects. What professional competencies have you gained in your assignment and how will this be of benefit to your future? I have learnt a great deal during my assignment. I have acquired further technical knowledge on volunteerism, United Nations and the way it works, programme and project management, the Nicaragua and Central American social, political and economic context, etc. and I can confidently say that I master the different tasks included in my DoA. Most importantly, the nature of the tasks performed has greatly improved my organizational, planning, problem-solving and innovating skills. Again, due to the fact that this assignment implies constant relationship building, I do believe I have enormously learnt regarding relationships and behavior. What advice would you give to someone who is interested in being a UNV PO? Well, if you want to succeed as a UNV PO you have to definitely have a strong commitment to the values and principles of volunteerism; you have to be patient, outgoing, diplomatic, proactive, with strong interpersonal and organizational skills, resilient to drawbacks … there are many challenges to face but this is an extremely rewarding position and I can only tell you that if you are lucky enough to be selected you are in for a treat! About Nicaragua Years of political conflict, natural disasters and a civil war, together with unfavorable economic conditions have left Nicaragua the second poorest nation in the region after Haiti. The government recently presented to the donor community with its National Human Development Plan, which focuses on five areas: promoting growth through sound macroeconomic policies, increased public and private investment, and improved access to external markets; fostering well-being and equity through the expansion of health and education services and targeted social programs; improving the governance and transparency of public sector institutions, including the strengthening of audit and control mechanisms; promoting environmental sustainability; and, reducing inter-regional disparities by promoting the development of the autonomous regions along the Caribbean coast. |