Applying for UN, NGO and international organisation jobs in Kenya can be highly competitive. Positions with organisations such as development agencies, humanitarian organisations, international NGOs and UN agencies often attract hundreds of qualified applicants.
Your experience and qualifications matter, but how your CV is structured and formatted can determine how easily recruiters and Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) identify your suitability.
A well-formatted CV should be professional, easy to scan, relevant to the vacancy and compatible with electronic recruitment systems.
1. Start With a Clear Professional Profile
Your CV should immediately tell the recruiter who you are and what you offer.
Place a concise professional profile near the top of your CV, directly below your name and contact details.
For example:
Development professional with 7+ years of experience in programme coordination, monitoring and evaluation, stakeholder engagement and community development across Kenya. Experienced in managing donor-funded projects, preparing reports and collaborating with government and development partners.
Avoid generic statements such as:
“Hardworking, motivated and dedicated professional seeking a challenging position.”
Instead, focus on your professional identity, years of experience, specialist areas and value.
2. Use a Simple, Professional Layout
For UN and international organisation applications, avoid overly decorative CV designs.
A professional format should include:
- Clear section headings
- Consistent fonts
- Adequate white space
- Simple bullet points
- Consistent dates
- Logical section order
- Easy-to-read formatting
Avoid excessive colours, graphics, icons, photographs, text boxes, charts and complicated tables unless the specific application instructions request them.
A clean CV is generally easier for both recruiters and ATS software to process.
3. Put Your Most Relevant Information First
A typical structure for an experienced professional could be:
NAME AND CONTACT DETAILS
PROFESSIONAL PROFILE
CORE COMPETENCIES
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
EDUCATION
CERTIFICATIONS & PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
TECHNICAL/DIGITAL SKILLS
LANGUAGES
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
REFEREES – if requested
The exact structure can vary depending on your career level and the organisation.
For example, a recent graduate may place Education, Internships, Volunteer Experience and Projects more prominently than an experienced programme manager would.
4. Tailor Your CV to the Job Description
One of the biggest mistakes candidates make is submitting the same CV for every application.
UN and NGO vacancies often contain specific terminology related to the position.
For example, a programme officer vacancy may emphasise:
- Programme management
- Project cycle management
- Monitoring and evaluation
- Stakeholder engagement
- Donor reporting
- Capacity building
- Risk management
- Budget management
If you genuinely possess these skills, make sure they are clearly reflected in your CV.
Don’t simply copy keywords from the vacancy. Connect them to your actual experience.
Instead of:
“Responsible for monitoring projects.”
Write:
“Monitored implementation of community development projects across five counties, tracking key indicators and preparing progress reports for programme management.”
This provides context, responsibility and evidence.
5. Focus on Achievements, Not Just Responsibilities
International organisations want to understand what you achieved—not simply what was included in your job description.
Compare:
Weak:
Responsible for training beneficiaries.
Stronger:
Coordinated capacity-building sessions for more than 300 community beneficiaries, contributing to improved adoption of project interventions.
Whenever possible, quantify your experience using:
- Number of beneficiaries
- Project budgets
- Number of counties or locations
- Team size
- Percentage improvements
- Number of projects
- Reporting frequency
- Funds managed
- Training participants
Numbers give recruiters a clearer picture of your level of responsibility.
6. Make Your Experience Relevant to International Development
For NGO jobs in Kenya, your CV should clearly communicate relevant development or humanitarian experience where applicable.
Depending on your background, this could include:
- Community development
- Humanitarian response
- Refugee assistance
- Food security
- Public health
- Gender and inclusion
- Education
- Child protection
- Livelihood programmes
- Climate and environmental projects
- Monitoring and evaluation
- Research
- Governance
- Advocacy
- Programme coordination
Don’t add areas you haven’t worked in simply because they appear in the job description.
Instead, identify transferable experience that demonstrates your ability to perform the role.
7. Use ATS-Friendly Formatting
Many large organisations use online recruitment platforms to manage applications.
An ATS-friendly CV should generally use:
- Standard section headings
- Readable fonts
- Simple formatting
- Consistent bullet points
- Standard date formats
- Relevant keywords
- Clear job titles
Avoid placing important information inside images, graphics, headers or complicated text boxes.
For example, instead of creating a graphic showing your “90% communication skills,” explain your communication experience through your professional achievements.
8. Be Consistent With Dates and Job Titles
Inconsistencies can create unnecessary questions during recruitment.
Use a consistent format such as:
Programme Officer | ABC Organisation | Nairobi, Kenya
January 2022 – June 2025
Then use the same structure throughout the CV.
Make sure employment dates, job titles and organisation names are consistent with your LinkedIn profile and other professional documents.
9. Include Relevant Education and Certifications
For international organisation positions, qualifications can be particularly important when the vacancy specifies minimum academic or professional requirements.
Include:
Degree/Qualification – Institution
Year
For relevant certifications, include the certification name and awarding organisation.
Examples might include training in:
- Project management
- Monitoring and evaluation
- Procurement
- Safeguarding
- Humanitarian response
- Data analysis
- Financial management
- Occupational health and safety
Prioritise qualifications relevant to the vacancy.
10. Highlight Language Skills
Language ability can be valuable for international organisation positions, particularly roles involving community engagement or regional programmes.
Clearly list languages and, where appropriate, your level of proficiency.
For example:
English – Fluent
Kiswahili – Fluent
French – Intermediate
Only state proficiency levels that accurately represent your abilities.
11. Keep Personal Information Professional
Your CV should contain essential contact information such as:
- Full name
- Phone number
- Professional email address
- Location
- LinkedIn profile, where relevant
Avoid unnecessary personal information unless specifically requested by the employer.
For example, information such as marital status, religion, national ID number or unrelated personal details generally does not strengthen your application.
Always follow the organisation’s application instructions if additional information is specifically requested.
12. Don’t Overdesign Your CV
A common misconception is that a visually impressive CV is automatically a better CV.
For UN jobs, NGO jobs and international organisation jobs, functionality should generally come before decoration.
Your CV should allow a recruiter to quickly identify:
Who you are → What you specialise in → Where you’ve worked → What you’ve achieved → Why you’re relevant to the position.
A clean professional document can accomplish this more effectively than a heavily designed template.
13. Follow the Application Instructions
This is one of the most important steps.
Some organisations request a specific CV format, application form, personal history form or other documentation.
If the vacancy specifies:
- A particular file format
- Maximum number of pages
- Specific application questions
- A personal history form
- Required supporting documents
- A particular recruitment platform
Follow those instructions exactly.
A beautifully formatted CV cannot compensate for failing to follow application requirements.
14. How Long Should Your CV Be?
There is no universal page limit for every UN or NGO position.
The appropriate length depends on your experience and the requirements of the vacancy.
A recent graduate may have a concise CV, while a senior international development professional with 15 years of experience may legitimately require more space.
The key principle is:
Don’t make your CV longer simply to make it look more impressive.
Include enough information to demonstrate your suitability while removing repetition and irrelevant details.
Final CV Formatting Checklist
Before submitting your application, ask yourself:
☑ Is the CV tailored to the specific vacancy?
☑ Is the professional profile relevant to the role?
☑ Are the most important skills easy to find?
☑ Are achievements clearly demonstrated?
☑ Are relevant keywords naturally included?
☑ Is the formatting clean and ATS-friendly?
☑ Are employment dates consistent?
☑ Are qualifications and certifications clearly presented?
☑ Have unnecessary personal details been removed?
☑ Have I followed the organisation’s application instructions?
Final Thoughts
Getting shortlisted for UN, NGO and international organisation jobs in Kenya is about more than having good qualifications. Your CV needs to communicate your experience, competencies and achievements in a clear, relevant and professional format.
The best approach is not to create one generic CV and send it everywhere. Tailor your CV to each vacancy, demonstrate measurable results, use relevant terminology and make your most valuable experience easy to identify.
Your CV should make it easy for the recruiter to answer one important question:
“Does this candidate clearly demonstrate the experience and competencies required for this position?”
If the answer is obvious from the first review, you’ve already taken an important step toward securing an interview.