The path to personal excellence: A spotlight interview with Martin Desbiolles

Career growth and transitions are common challenges in the United Nations(UN) system, often involving complex shifts. Navigating these changes while staying aligning with long-term goals, personal values, strengths, and aspirations, alongside organizational priorities, can be both demanding and deeply meaningful. Coaching can play a critical role in helping individuals reflect on their direction, identity, transferable strengths, and take intentional steps toward growth, wherever their next move may lead.

In this spotlight Interview, UNSSC's Juan Pendavis speaks with Martin Desbiolles, a former Junior Professional Officer (JPO) with a strong commitment to international governance, political affairs and multilateral cooperation.

Martin first entered the UN system in 2019, working in New York with the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) . A long-time aspirant of the JPO Programme, he joined the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in 2022, where he is currently working as a consultant. In this interview, Martin shares how participating in UNSSC's Executive Coaching for JPOs programme has been beneficial for both his personal and professional growth at a critical time in his career.

Juan: With lots of changes in the UN system, JPOs can face uncertainty and feel lost in the system, how did the JPO Executive Coaching provide career clarity and guidance?

Martin: I took the JPO Executive Coaching programme at a time when I really needed guidance, both professional and neutral, to get an external perspective on myself and my career evolution since joining the UN as a JPO. I was already two and a half years in my JPO assignment and, as many know, that is a stage that comes with a lot of uncertainty. Hiring opportunities can be frozen or very limited, with much depending on regional assignments and headquarters, and it can feel hard to continue building up on your career.

The coaching really provided me with clarity. I benefited from the expert guidance of a former UN senior leader and, throughout the five sessions - one of which in person - he helped me structure my vision, assess where I stood skills-wise and what values I wanted to contribute to my organization, and develop as a professional.

The coaching was a mix of both very technical and personal advice: how to maintain career coherence, how to build successful networks of professional acquaintances and peers, and how to develop natural skills such as confidence. This guidance, which all focused on and was tailored to my needs and to my professional goals, has been very beneficial to my clarity. I must also highlight that I had an excellent rapport with the coach that UNSSC assigned to me.

Juan: Do you feel like the JPO Executive Coaching provided you with career agency?

Martin: To answer this question, I should first clarify that OPCW is not directly a UN body, but rather an independent international organization that partners with the UN. As a JPO at OPCW, you often hear about developments within the UN, but not necessarily at the headquarters level. As a result, you do not have easy access to insider advice and perspectives on what is happening behind the scenes. Receiving feedback from a former senior UN expert has been absolutely empowering for my career agency because it gave me a clearer view of my specific prospects and, in general, of the paths open to JPOs and professionals like myself.

The coach helped me gain a broader perspective on the potential outcomes for my career and also empowered me on a personal level. He helped me better understand where I currently stand and acknowledge what I have accomplished so far, which has been very important to me. The coach also guided me in refining my vision and development, provided effective and neutral feedback on how I perceived and articulated my own goals, and helped me realign my relationship with my career journey and successes. These exchanges greatly contributed to building my confidence and a stronger sense of career agency.