Department of Operational Support

Part-Time Language Teachers (Chinese) - Candidate Pool

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Duty station
🇺🇸 New York, United States
Country / area
United States
Region
Americas
UN system
Secretariat
Level
CON
Category
Affiliate Personnel – Consultants/Individual Contractors
Title
Part-Time Language Teachers (Chinese) - Candidate Pool
Organization
Department of Operational Support
Work Location
New York or remote
Posted
5/22/2026, 4:00:00 AM
Closes
5/22/2027, 3:59:59 AM

About this role

The Department of Operational Support is seeking Part-Time Language Teachers (Chinese) to join a candidate pool for the Language and Communications Training Unit. These individual contractors will promote multilingualism by teaching Chinese language and communication skills to UN staff at all levels. Responsibilities include preparing and facilitating lessons via in-person, online, or hybrid modalities, correcting assignments, monitoring student progress, and administering assessments. Teachers must use Learning Management Systems like Moodle and develop new course materials and proficiency exams. The role requires a minimum of five years of teaching experience, including three years in curriculum development or exam design. Candidates must hold an advanced university degree in a relevant field or possess a first-level degree with two additional years of experience. Fluency in Chinese and advanced English is mandatory. The contract duration aligns with the language learning calendar, and work can be performed in New York or remotely.

Key requirements

  • Master's degree or equivalent in relevant field
  • 5+ years teaching Chinese to adults
  • 3+ years curriculum/exam design experience

Nice to have

  • Degrees emphasizing theory/practice of teaching second language
  • Post-degree training in second/foreign language teaching
  • Experience using e-learning tools and social media

Requirements at a glance

Min. experience
A minimum of five years of experience teaching Chinese as a foreign or second language to adults in a multi-cultural setting, including at least three years of recent experience in curriculum development, language examination design, and/or language teacher training.
Required degree
Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in language area studies, language teaching, applied linguistics, communication or education/pedagogy or related area is required. A first-level university degree in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
Languages
Chinese, English

Result of Service

Part-time teachers are expected to prepare and facilitate each lesson of assigned courses as scheduled, to correct assignments and homework in a timely manner, and to monitor their students’ progress and suggest useful learning strategies on a weekly basis.

Part-time teachers provide group and individual feedback, and administer, assess and grade evaluation tasks, tests and exams as scheduled.

Once an assigned course is finished and by the end of the language learning term, part-time teachers must provide students’ final evaluations and report on students’ attendance. The yearly calendar and language learning terms dates are specified in the Terms and Conditions of Service at the Language and Communications Training Unit at Headquarters.

Part-time teachers may participate in the development of language or communication skills projects. When assigned to a specific project, part-time teachers are expected to periodically report on the progress of their work, and then to integrate the feedback received from their supervisors to ensure the quality of deliverables and completion of assignments by the established deadline.

Work Location

New York or remote

Expected duration

The contract will be linked to the language learning calendar and, specifically, to the length of courses and pedagogical activities assigned.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Language and Communications Training Unit (LCTU) at the Capacity Development and Operational Training Services (CDOTS), Office of Support Operations (OSO), Department of Operational Support (DOS), promotes linguistic balance and multilingualism within the Secretariat and improves the language abilities of staff, as mandated by the General Assembly in its resolutions A/RES/78/330, 2480 B (XXIII), 43/224D and 50/11. To do so the LCTU offers language and communication skills courses in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish to staff members at UN Headquarters in New York and also in the Global Secretariat.

Personnel who are hired as language teachers in the LCTU are distributed across the six language programmes to work in the development, delivery and the assessment of language and communication skills offerings aligned with organizational goals and priorities, and according to General Assembly mandates, UN policies and instructions on learning, and the Secretary-General´s recommendations on multilingualism.

To attend to the demand of language learning these language teachers are unable to cover, the LCTU would need to hire additional teachers as individual contractors on a part-time basis. The number of contractors to be hired varies depending on the demand and the budget available. These teachers can also work on language projects, such as updating and/or design and development of language and communication skills courses and materials, as required.

The duties of Chinese part-time language teachers are to promote multilingualism and to help UN staff develop more effective work-related communication skills in Chinese.

These duties include the following:

- Prepare and teach Chinese language and communication skill courses at all levels via in-person, online, or hybrid modality, assess students’ performances and provide feedback.

- Use Learning Management Systems (such as Moodle) and e-learning tools in course preparation and delivery.

- Administer the course in the Learning Management System, including maintaining attendance and grading records.

- Develop new Chinese language and communication skills courses (including self-study courses) and learning materials, using innovative instructional technology.

- Design Chinese language learning assessments, construct and grade language proficiency exams following specific guidelines.

Qualifications/special skills

Academic Qualifications:

-Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent degree) in language area studies, language teaching, applied linguistics, communication or education/pedagogy or related area is required.

-Degrees with special emphasis on the theory and practice of teaching a second or foreign language to adult learners are desirable.

-A first-level university degree in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

-Post-degree training in second or foreign language teaching is highly desirable Experience:

-A minimum of five years of experience teaching Chinese as a foreign or second language to adults in a multi-cultural setting (corporate, academic or other professional setting), is required. Of these, at least three years of recent experience in curriculum development, language examination design, and/or language teacher training is required.

-Experience using a variety of e-learning tools, learning management systems, online collaboration tools and social media platforms to teach a second or foreign language is desirable.

-Experience at an international level in a multicultural environment is highly desirable.

Language:

-English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat.

-Expert level of competence in Chinese is required (oral and written) according to the UN Language Framework (https://languages.un.org/en/un-language-framework).

-Advanced knowledge of English is required. Knowledge of other UN official languages is an advantage.

Additional Information

Not available.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.

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