Understanding UN job categories

One of the first challenges of landing a job with the United Nations can be understanding the organization’s job categories and levels. These are indicated by a combination of letters and numbers, which reflect the responsibilities and requirements of the position. Jobs are organized into five categories: professional and higher categories; general service and related categories; national professional officers; field officers; and senior appointments. There are also eight job networks within the U.N., which are flexible groupings of job families with common, related, and interrelated fields of work and functions. These are management and operations support; economic and social development; political, peace, and security; information systems and communication technology; legal; public information and external relations; conference management; and safety and security. Devex takes a look at the different job categories within the U.N. and the requirements for each. See where you fit within the organization. Language requirements One basic requirement for any job with the U.N. is an excellent knowledge of English or French — the two working languages. Arabic, Chinese, Russian, and Spanish are also official U.N. languages and knowledge of one, in addition to the working languages, is beneficial but not always required. For some jobs, such as language positions, there may be additional requirements. Professional and higher categories (P and D) Professional and higher job openings can be found at all duty stations across the global U.N. secretariat and staff. These positions are expected to serve at different duty stations throughout their career, and are usually recruited internationally. While an advanced degree is normally required for professional- and director-level positions, a first-level university degree along with qualifying work experience may suffice. However, positions in certain job families — such as military, civilian police, or medical — can have different educational standards or require candidates to have specialized studies. Generally, professional category jobs require a high degree of analytical skills, hands-on expertise, and proven managerial leadership skills. The U.N. looks for candidates who have work experience relevant to the position; for mid-career and senior-level positions, this should involve some level of progressive responsibility. The minimum work experience required: Entry level P-2: minimum 2 years P-3: minimum 5 years Examples of jobs at this level: associate programme management officer, project coordinator, or field security officer. Mid-level P-4: minimum 7 years P-5: minimum 10 years Examples of jobs at this level: senior legal officer, special assistant for administration, or human rights officer. Senior-level P-6/ D-1: minimum 15 years P-7/ D-2: more than 15 years Examples of jobs at this level: chief of protocol or chief of innovative finance and capital markets. Senior professionals at the P-6 and P-7 level generally work as senior advisers or experts, with several years of analytical and research experience. Finally, directors — D-1 and D-2 levels — manage a program at the U.N. Staff in these positions are expected to provide leadership in formulating and implementing the work of a program office, determine priorities, and allocate resources for timely delivery. National professional officer (NPO) These jobs are found in nonheadquarters duty stations; staff are usually recruited locally. Qualifications for these positions require a first-level university degree. Similarly, candidates should have relevant work experience, and for mid-career and senior level positions, this should involve some level of progressive responsibility. The required work experience for the five levels of national professional officers, from A through E is: A: minimum 1-2 years B: minimum 2-3 years C: minimum 5 years D: minimum 7 years E: over 7 years NPOs are nationals of the country they are serving in, and their jobs must have a national context — such as experience or knowledge of the national language, culture, institutions, and systems. Examples of this position: human rights officer, political affairs officer, child protection officer, interpreter, civil engineer, administrative officer, or logistics and coordination officer. General service and related categories (G, TC, S, PIA, LT) Jobs within this category span the eight job networks and include administrative, secretarial, and clerical support, as well as specialized technical functions such as printing, security, and buildings maintenance. General service staff support the running of the organization; jobs tend to be procedural, operational, or technical. General service staff can gain in-depth knowledge of subjects and develop high-level skills through experience and familiarity with procedures, regulations, and projects. Staff are generally recruited locally but can be of any nationality, and will not be expected to move between duty stations. Jobs within this category require candidates to be a minimum age of 18 and have a high school diploma or equivalent. Candidates must meet the specified language requirements, based on the job and location, and have the years of relevant work experience as specified. They must also pass the global general service test and may be required to take additional tests. Job titles within this category include: finance and budget assistant, program management assistant, logistics assistant, and desktop publishing assistant. General service jobs at HQ Duty stations may list general service jobs differently. In New York, jobs such as drivers, building management, and printing staff come under the related category known as trades and crafts (TC), and tour guides fall under public information assistants (PIA). Security officer jobs are advertised as a separate category called security (S) and candidates applying for security jobs in New York must also pass the security officer test. Another related category is language teachers (LT), these positions can only be found in New York and Geneva. Field services (FS) Field service staff are normally recruited internationally. Field services staff are expected to be highly mobile and serve in different locations during their U.N. careers. These positions provide administrative, technical, logistical, and other support services to the U.N. field missions. Candidates are required to have a high school diploma or equivalent, and some positions may require a technical or vocational certificate. Examples of field service jobs: logistics officer, human resources officer, and movement control officer. The work experience for the four levels of the field service, FS-4 through FS-7, are as follows: Mid-level field service FS-4: minimum 6 years FS-5: minimum 8 years Senior-level field service FS-6*: minimum 10 years FS-7*: minimum 12 years For FS-6 and FS-7, the minimum number of years of relevant experience is reduced for candidates who possess a first-level university degree to 5 years and 7 years respectively. Senior appointments (SG, DSG, USG, ASG) These positions are the highest in the secretariat and are appointed by either the organization’s legislative organs or chief administrative officer. These include the secretary-general, deputy-secretary-general, under-secretary-general, and the assistant-secretary-general. The secretary-general, appointed by the U.N. General Assembly, on recommendation of the Security Council, has wide authority to appoint senior staff at the ASG and USG levels as well as special envoys at all levels. The deputy-secretary-general is appointed by the secretary-general following consultations with member states.