Draft Mobility and Career Development Framework
(21 June 2012)
The policy proposed in this paper, meets the three main objectives of mobility, namely:

it should enable the Organization to better retain and deploy a dynamic,
adaptable and global workforce that can effectively meet current and future
mandates and evolving operational needs;

it should provide staff with broader opportunities for career development and
contribution to the Organization, and enable the further acquisition of new skills,
knowledge and experience within and across departments, functions and duty
stations; and

it should ensure that staff have equal opportunities for service across the United
Nations and, for relevant functions, a fair sharing of the burden of service in
difficult duty stations. These objectives will contribute to ensuring the
Organization’s global relevance, enhancing its credibility, and furthering the goal
of “serving as one UN”.
Mobility is defined1 as changes of position throughout a career. A position change can
involve one or a combination of the following:
 a change of role;
 a change of function;
 a change of department;
 a change of duty station; and
 a move from the Secretariat to a fund, programme or an agency.2
Scope
The mobility policy applies to all UN Secretariat3 internationally recruited professional
and above and field service staff on fixed term, continuing and permanent
appointments, who have been recruited through a competitive process and whose
appointments are not limited to service within a specific Department/Office or mission,
except staff on non-rotational posts.
A “non-rotational” position is one that requires an advanced level of expertise,
knowledge and qualifications in a technical field and where there is no comparable
position at the same level in another organizational unit or duty station in the UN
Secretariat. All other posts are considered “rotational” and are subject to post
occupancy limits and any relevant network-specific mobility requirements.
There is a need to create a glossary and define: career development, geographic mobility, roles,
responsibilities, non-rotational posts, job family, job network, post occupancy limit, internal applicants,
and functional mobility.
2 If a Secretariat staff members goes on “loan” or “secondment” to a UN Common System organization
they are treated as internal staff members when applying to Secretariat posts. If the Secretariat staff
member goes on a “transfer” to such an Organization then they are treated as an external when applying
to Secretariat posts.”
3 The issue of the Tribunals and other entities is addressed in the section on job security.
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Staff on non-rotational posts can opt-in by applying to and being selected for a
rotational post.
When a staff member is within five years of the mandatory age of separation they will
be exempted from geographic mobility, except if the staff member in question
specifically requests to be geographically mobile.
Job Networks
Job networks are groupings of job families. In a job family, the same or relatively
similar work is performed, a similar skill set is required and it is possible to move
within the job family with minimal training. The current job networks (MAGNET,
ECONET etc.) will have to be redefined so that the job families they contain truly reflect
shared experience, competence and subject matter. The breadth of a redefined job
network would be such as to ensure that they contain enough job families to maximize
opportunities for mobility within and across job networks while ensuring that there are
a manageable number of job network boards (i.e. plus or minus 12 job networks).
Job families are defined as a collection of functions. As outlined in the section on
selection/reassignment, determination of suitability for a post is based on whether a
staff member’s career profile (which outlines the candidate’s substantive skills,
competencies, experience, expertise and performance record) meets the job
requirements. Cross-functional mobility, where staff members apply and meet the
minimum job requirements for posts in other job families, shall be encouraged and the
appropriate career development support (as outlined in the Career Development
section below) shall be provided.
Each job network has a “Job Network Board” made up of representatives of staff and
management in equal numbers and HR/OHRM to review selection and assignment of
staff at the FS and P3 to P5 levels. Representatives of staff and management on the
Boards must be at the level of the posts being considered and from the relevant
Network. P2 staff who were not appointed through the YPP/NCRE will also be included.
The system described below will apply to staff at the D1 and D2 levels (i.e., posts are
advertised in batches/compendia and staff apply). However, recommendations for
selection and assignment of staff at the D1 to D2 levels will be conducted by a single
“Senior Review Board” comprised of USGs and ASGs, with prior experience in the UN
Common System as a staff member, to the extent possible. Representatives of staff will
not be members of the Senior Review Board.
The staff representative bodies will determine how representatives of staff to the job
network boards are selected.
HR/OHRM will have a robust oversight and support role and will participate in the Job
Network Boards to ensure consistent decision-making across all Boards.
Career Development
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Staff should complete a career development plan, with appropriate guidance from the
HR capacity in the relevant job network, identifying how they see their careers
developing over the medium term. These plans would look at career development in a
broad sense, also identifying needs for geographical and functional mobility in the
relevant network. Each job network could create templates for the career development
plans.
Job Networks will have Network Staffing Officers who provide guidance/support to staff
in that network in developing a career development plan.
The Network Staffing Officer has HR expertise and has knowledge of the particular Job
Network. The Network Staffing Officer is fully familiar with the Network-specific
Requirements and means by which staff members can attain the competencies,
substantive skills and expertise to fulfill those requirements, for instance through
different types of experience, learning, and different types of mobility (change in roles,
functions or duty stations).
Bearing in mind the objective to select/reassign the most suitable applicant for each
position, the Network Staffing Officer will act as advisor to staff members applying for
job openings and will ensure that the qualifications and career aspirations of eligible
staff members are brought to the attention of the Job Network Board.
The Organization will re-examine its learning strategy and priorities so that career
development and learning are linked. The aim of the revised career development and
learning strategy shall be to provide staff members with a variety of opportunities to
build knowledge, skills, competencies and experience that will allow them to navigate
careers within their Job Network, move across different Job Families or Networks if
appropriate and desirable, and build core managerial skills and competencies as they
take on increasing supervisory and managerial roles. In re-examining the learning
strategy, OHRM will review the possibility of creating a self-paced
development/assessment process to foster managerial capacities of internal staff
members. In addition there will be an assessment process to measure the managerial
capabilities of external candidates applying to positions at the P5, D1 and D2 levels.
Performance Management
The system of performance management will need to be adapted to a mobile
organization and staff. The SMC Inter-sessional Working Group on Performance
Management will develop the necessary criteria.
Post Occupancy Limits
All staff are subject to minimum and maximum post occupancy limits. Occupancy of a
post is governed by three marks:

Mark 1: minimum post occupancy of 1 year. Staff are eligible to apply to new
positions after reaching Mark 1.
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
Mark 2: staff who have reached Mark 2 (12 months before their maximum post
occupancy for B to E and 24 months before H and A) will be given priority
consideration (see below) when applying for posts.

Mark 3: maximum post occupancy – 7 years for H/A, 4 years for B/C and 3 years
for D/E. Staff and their post are placed in a “reassignment pool.”
o For staff who reach the maximum and cannot be reassigned they can be
extended for an additional year.
Geographic, Functional and Lateral Mobility Requirements
During the preparation phase, the job network boards, comprising representatives of
staff and management and OHRM representatives, will define any network-specific
mobility requirements, (geographic, functional and/or lateral), over and above the post
occupancy limits, for their respective networks. OHRM will ensure consistency in the
application of the criteria for all networks. Any network-specific geographic mobility
requirement should be based on the availability and distribution of the posts, in the
various Secretariat duty stations, of each of the network's job families.
The job network boards will make recommendations to OHRM which will make
recommendations to the SMC for agreement on the requirements for each job network.
The specific requirements of the job networks would be periodically reviewed by the
job networks, in consultation with OHRM and forwarded to the SMC for agreement.
Staff Selection & Reassignment
Vacant positions will be internally advertised in batches/compendia on a quarterly
basis (Networks with higher vacancy rates/surge needs could advertise more
frequently). Vacant posts will be open to eligible UN Secretariat staff members. Only
vacancies, which have not been able to be filled by staff members after one round of
advertisement in the relevant batch/compendium, will be open to external candidates.
Staff should apply for, and be considered for posts based on their transferable skills and
with relevance to their career development plan and not solely on technical expertise.
Staff can apply for all posts advertised in the batch/compendium at the same level or
one level above in the same or different job family anywhere in the United Nations
Secretariat. Recommendations and selection (or reassignment at Mark 3) of candidates
will be made by the job network board. Managers will have an opportunity to describe
the needs and critical requirements of the post. The process is set out below:
Career Development Plan
Step 1. The staff member defines his or her career development plan in
consultation with the Network Staffing Officer.
Preparation to fill Vacancies and Posts up for Reassignment
Step 1. Manager will determine the job’s critical requirements, based on the
generic job profile.
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Step 2. A staffing officer will verify the job requirements and build a job opening
to be included in the compendium.
Application and Selection/Reassignment Process
Step 1. Those interested in a post apply to the compendium with an updated
career profile, which contains the following elements:
•
•
•
•
•
Competencies
Substantive skills - internal certificates, coursework, learning, training
Expertise - knowledge assessment (relevance, similarity, depth, breadth)
Language requirements
Performance record - validation of work done, competencies, skills and
knowledge
Step 2. OHRM. Pre-screens to determine eligibility of applicants.
Step 3. Network Staffing Officers. Will review the eligible candidates and
provide a short list of candidates deemed suitable to the manager.
Step 4. - The Manager4 – Shall be invited to transmit in writing to the Network
Staffing Officer any additional information or views on how the candidates meet
the criteria set out in the job requirements. The Manager shall not indicate
preferences.
Step
5.
Network
Staffing
Officers.
Makes
the
preliminary
selection/reassignment recommendations to the Job Network Board based on
staff career development plans, manager views, and mobility framework
priorities [1,2,3,4]. The submission will also include those candidates deemed
not suitable.
Step 6. Job Network Board. Makes the final recommendations for
selection/reassignments to the Secretary-General for selection/reassignment,
taking into consideration the needs of the Organization.
Recommendation of Candidates for Selection/Reassignment
Job Network Boards and the Senior Review Board will review all applicants, taking into
account the critical requirements of the post, preliminary recommendations of the
Network Staffing Officer, and the organizational needs and recommend selection of an
applicant for the position. The Boards will recommend selection (or reassignment at
Mark 3) of the most qualified candidate bearing in mind the following priorities and
with a view to a fair sharing of the burden of service in difficult duty stations:
The Manager is usually the director accountable for the delivery of the subprogrammes where the post
is located.
4
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Priority 1: Mark 2 staff applying from a non-H duty stations to another duty
station or staff on a post to be abolished who are at any mark and are applying to
a vacant post at their current grade level;
Priority 2: Mark 2 staff applying from a H duty station to another duty station or
applying to a different function from the same or another duty station;
Priority 3: Any other Mark 2 staff; and lastly,
Priority 4: Staff who are between Mark 1 and Mark 2 applying from another
duty station.
Staff members can also be laterally reassigned within a Department/Mission by a Head
of Department/Head of Mission without consideration by a job network board;
however, for staff members who are reassigned under the delegation of authority of the
Department/Mission the post occupancy limits will continue to count from the time of
the previous selection/assignment. Staff members who are selected for a new post
through the job network boards start counting time towards mark 1, 2 and 3 from the
start of the new assignment.
After Mark 3
Once per year, one of the quarterly batches/compendia will include staff members who
have reached Mark 3 and are placed in a “reassignment pool”. Their posts, along with
that quarter’s vacant posts, are advertised and all staff may apply.
Job Network Boards will review all qualified applicants, taking into account the critical
requirements, preliminary recommendations of the Network Staffing Officer, and the
organizational needs and recommend selection of an applicant for the position.
In that quarter:
 Staff members who have reached Mark 3 may be reassigned by the board (to a
post they applied to or another suitable post) in consultation with the staff
member and based on the recommendations of the Network Staffing Officer.
 Staff members who have reached Mark 3 may express interest in jobs in another
job network, in which case their reassignment would be handled by the relevant
job network board(s), subject to availability. If they are not reassigned to a job,
their reassignment would be handled by their original job network.
 Other staff who apply (those who have not reached Mark 3) will not be
reassigned, but may be selected for a post to which they applied. In that case
their post may be used to reassign a Mark 3 staff member.
In the interests of the staff member and the Organization, the relevant Job
Network/Senior Review Board will make best efforts to select/reassign staff members
serving in a D/E duty station who pass Mark 3 to a non D/E duty station.
In general, reassignment may be to the same or a different duty station depending on
availability of posts. The staff member’s wish to stay in the duty station or to change
duty station should be taken into consideration.
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Should there be no appropriate reassignment option, the staff member would remain on
the same post and participate in the following reassignment exercise (i.e., the next
reassignment batch/compendium), unless selected for another post in the meantime.
Subject to the requirements of the relevant Job Network, staff members who have
undergone at least 7 geographical moves of one year or longer will be rewarded with
the right to choose if they want to be geographically mobile.
Criteria for Eligibility for Senior Posts at the Managerial Level
To be eligible for managerial posts at the P5, D1 and D2 level, staff members must
demonstrate competence and the necessary managerial skills. OHRM will review the
possibility of creating a development/assessment process to ensure the managerial
capabilities of candidates at the P5, D1 and D2 levels.
To be eligible for P5, D1 and D2 levels, staff members must have at least one prior
geographic move of one year or more in their UN common system career.
Special Constraints Panel
Staff members may request the Special Constraints Panel, made up of staff and
management representatives in equal numbers, to remain in the same duty station for
their reassignment, based on clear criteria that could include:



medical reasons of the staff member, subject to certification by the UN Medical
Services Division;
compelling personal circumstances that a change of duty station would create an
undue hardship (this would be weighed against the interest of the Organization
and bearing in mind a consistent process for exceptions); and,
any additional criteria identified in the Guidelines of the Special Constraints
Panel.
Exceptions to remain in the duty station are time-bound but if the reason for the
exception remains, subsequent exceptions can be granted.
For staff members engaged in projects for which mobility would harm the success of
that project, the manager may request jointly with the staff member that the Special
Constraints Panel recommend that the staff member remain on the same post until the
fulfillment of that project. Periodic review of the exception will be made by the Special
Constraints Panel.
Recommendations of the panel will be submitted to the ASG/OHRM for approval.
Measures to Address Job Security Concerns
At the conclusion of the reassignment and selection exercise, when vacant posts exist in
the compendium, staff (who have been regularized through endorsement by a Central
Review Body and who have served for at least five years as of 1 July 2009) affected by
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abolishment of their positions in the Tribunals (ICTR/ICTY/IRM), under the provisions
of ST/AI/2010/3, shall be given priority consideration by the review board before
external candidates.
Management will also complete the regularization process of former 200 series
Secretariat staff.
Staff in downsizing missions/offices will be subject to the policy on downsizing
missions/offices and the terms and conditions for placement of staff in accordance with
Staff Rule 9.6(e). Where posts are discontinued/abolished, staff members shall be
retained in the order of preference set out in Staff Rule 9.6(e).
All staff on fixed-term appointments who move to a D/E duty station will be awarded at
least a three-year fixed-term appointment, organizational needs permitting.
Measures to Support Staff Members and Their Families in Geographic Mobility
The Organization is committed to assisting staff and their families. OHRM will review
various options including those put forward in the staff paper. The outcomes of
negotiations with staff on this issue will form an integral part of the framework which
will be further developed by the working group on mobility and career development
and submitted to the SMC for agreement. To support the work of the group on this
issue, OHRM will review best practices of other international organizations and foreign
services.
Inter-Agency Mobility
The Secretary General supports inter-agency mobility and will work towards gaining
agreement with the Executive Heads of the Agencies, Funds and Programmes on
concrete measures to increase such mobility.
Locally-Recruited Staff Members
A framework on mobility/career development for locally-recruited staff members is
also being developed.
Transitional Measures
Assuming the General Assembly adopts a resolution on a new mobility framework by 31
December 2012, the following will apply. Should the date of adoption fall after 1
January 2013, the dates envisaged below will be adjusted accordingly.
New staff members: New staff members joining the Organization on or after 1
January 2013 on a fixed-term appointment will be subject to the mobility policy as of
their joining the Organization.
Preparation period: There will be a two-year preparation period starting from 1
January 2013 to 31 December 2014 to allow for the implementation of the mobility
policy. During this period, the current staff selection system (currently
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ST/AI/2010/3 as amended)5 will remain in force for all staff members. As a
transitional measure, within the current staff selection system staff members
applying from another duty station will be given priority at all levels, particularly
those staff applying from D/E duty stations.
Phased implementation: The implementation of the mobility system will be phased
by Job Networks beginning from 1 January 2015.
Staff become subject to the mobility system when the Job Network they belong to
becomes operational.6 Until their Job Network is operational, staff may continue to
apply for job openings under the current staff selection system (ST/AI/2010/3 as
amended). Staff who have reached or are approaching their maximum post
occupancy should apply to job openings even if their Job Network is not yet
operational. Should they not be selected for a job opening, they will be subject to
reassignment during the second year after their Job Network is operationalized in
the mobility system (i.e. they will not be subject to reassignment in the first year
that their Job Network is operationalized.).
Eligibility for promotion from P4 to P5: Currently serving staff at the P4 level who have
met the lateral move or waiver requirements for eligibility to apply for posts at the P5
level by 31 December 2012 will continue to be eligible to apply to job openings at the P5
level in accordance with section 6.3 of ST/AI/2010/3 for four years from the
implementation date (1 January 2015) until 31 December 2018.
As a transitional measure, staff on board as of 31 December 2012 at the P5 level will be
exempt from the requirement for at least one geographic move when applying to job
openings at the D1 level for four years from the implementation date (1 January 2015)
until 31 December 2018.
Financial issues
The Organization is expected to incur expenditure for staff mobility in the current
biennium 2012-13 based on current patterns of mobility among staff. This trend is
expected to continue in 2014, during the preparation phase of global staff mobility. As
implementation of the mobility policy will be phased-in, any additional resources
required above current expenditure levels will be presented to Member States at the
appropriate time.
The Secretary-General will not use introduction and/or
implementation of the mobility policy as a means of separating staff, cutting posts, or
reducing entitlements and benefits. The entitlements that accrue to staff from mobility
are managed by the ICSC within the framework of the UN Common System.
The Way Forward
The current staff selection system will be amended to reflect the changes discussed during SMC1,
including post occupancy limits, priority for staff applying from other duty stations, and the requirement
of one geographic move for eligibility to P5 and above.
6 A Job Network is operationalized once all the mechanisms are in place for the Job Network Board to
begin the selection and reassignment process.
5
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Up to, and following adoption of the General Assembly of the mobility framework
presented by the Secretary-General, the implementation modalities and details of the
mobility framework will be developed. SMC members will have the opportunity to
identify, examine and resolve policy issues as provided for in staff regulation 8.1(a) and
ST/SGB/2011/6. The following will be referred to SMC:
1. Management will provide information to the SMC Secretariat on implementation
phases by 30 September 2012.
2. The SMC Inter-sessional Working Group on Performance Management will
review the performance management system to adapt it to a mobile
organization.
3. SMC will constitute an inter-sessional working group on mobility and career
development framework. OHRM will bring proposals to the working group on
the following:
 The SMC will agree on the criteria to be used by the job networks in
determining any additional geographic, functional and/or lateral mobility
requirements.
 The specific requirements of the job networks would be periodically
reviewed by the job networks, in consultation with OHRM and with the
agreement of SMC.
 The terms of reference and rules of procedure for the Job Network Boards
will be submitted to the SMC for agreement.
 The terms of reference and guidelines of the Special Constraints Panel
will be submitted to the SMC for agreement.
 OHRM will review various options for support to staff and families
including those put forward in the staff paper to be submitted to SMC for
agreement.
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