Young Professionals Programme (YPP)

World Trade Organization (WTO)
Ready to spend a paid year in Geneva at the WTO, turning your trade nerdiness into real-world policy experience on the global stage?
Why us?
Help us drive impact in:
International Affairs and Diplomacy
Youth
Youth
The opportunity:
Opportunity type:
Paid job
Commitment:
Project / Contract
Experience level:
🚀 Growing (2 - 5 yrs)
Location:
Global
Remuneration:
CHF4,000 monthly
Closing date:
May 7, 2026
Why you might love this opp:

The WTO Young Professionals Programme (YPP) is a unique opportunity for qualified young professionals up to the age of 32 years, as at 1 January 2027, from WTO Members with low or no professional representation in the WTO Secretariat, to enhance their knowledge of WTO and skills in international trade issues. 

The Programme aims to widen the pool of professionals from these WTO Members, with the ultimate goal of broadening their representation in the WTO and/or other regional and international organizations.

What's involved:

This programme offers selected young professionals the opportunity to gain work experience in the WTO. It is a one-year programme without possibility of extension. 

The selected Young Professional will be placed in a specific Division of the WTO Secretariat in accordance with the needs and priorities of the Organization; and based on the identified areas of interest of the Young Professional. Each Young Professional may express interest in no more than three areas of WTO work; and should state their order of preference.

The areas of work may include, inter alia, the following (in alphabetical order):

- Accessions

- Agriculture

- Communications and External Relations

- Competition Policy

- Council and Trade Negotiations

- Digital Trade

- Dispute Settlement

- Economic Research and Statistics

- Fisheries Subsidies

- Government Procurement (GPA)

- Intellectual Property Rights

- Investment Facilitation for Development

- Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs)

- Market Access (tariffs and non-tariff barriers)

- Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures

- Technical Barriers to Trade

- Trade and Development

- Trade and Environment/Climate Change

- Trade Facilitation

- Trade Finance

- Trade and Gender

- Trade in Services and Investment

- Trade Policy Analysis

- Trade-Related Technical Assistance.

- Trade Remedies (anti-dumping and countervailing duties)

Key criteria:

Required qualifications:

  • Advanced university degree in economics, econometrics, international relations, law, environment studies, or other trade-related subjects relevant to the work of the WTO (e.g. international investment law, trade and gender, etc.). Applicants must have obtained their advanced university degree by the time they submit their application.
  • General knowledge of the work of the WTO.
  • Technical knowledge in one or more of the areas of work indicated above.
  • Good drafting skills in English. Ability to draft in French and/or Spanish would be an advantage.
  • Ability to work independently and as part of a team, in a multicultural environment.
  • Demonstrated strong interest in international trade and the multilateral trading system.
  • Commitment and passion for trade or WTO-related work.
  • Minimum two (2) years of professional experience relevant to the work of the WTO.
  • Fluency in English. A good working knowledge of either French or Spanish would be an advantage.
How to apply:

Follow the link for more information and please cite Ripple Opportunities in your application. 

YEP - IT'S A DISCLAIMER
Oh look! A legend is here reading some fine print! At Ripple our mission is to democratise access to purpose-driven opportunities. As a small team that curates hundreds of opportunities each week we do our best to share all the key information and juicy details. We often link out to the original listing and can't guarantee all details are included on our page, or the full accuracy as application windows and role descriptions may be changed by companies with short notice. If you're unsure of any details or closing dates, it's best to reach out to the organisation directly.
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