Editorial
Tagged: career guides
Plain-English explainers for navigating UN job titles, contract types, agencies, and application strategy — written for people actually applying, not for agency comms teams.
Working at UNOPS: staff posts and Individual Contractor Agreements
UNOPS relies heavily on Individual Contractor Agreements alongside staff appointments. Its ICS framework maps levels without making every ICA holder a staff member.
Working at ICAO: staff appointments, grades and aviation job families
ICAO recruits Professional and General Service staff and also uses consultants, contractors and seconded personnel under separate arrangements.
Working at the ILO: international, local and development cooperation jobs
ILO recruitment separates international, local, development cooperation and temporary work, with external collaborators handled as independent contractors.
Working at WHO: staff appointments and non-staff arrangements
WHO recruits three main staff categories and also engages consultants and local Special Services Agreement holders for defined programme needs.
Working at UNESCO: staff categories, project appointments and temporary work
UNESCO recruits international, national and local staff and uses separate project, temporary and external-expertise arrangements.
Working at FAO: staff streams and non-staff assignments
FAO recruits international and local staff and maintains a broad affiliate workforce for technical, project and short-term assignments.
Working at UN Women: staff categories and project-based personnel
UN Women recruits internationally and locally across staff and non-staff arrangements, with many roles tied to country programmes and specific projects.
Working at WIPO: appointments, grades and contractor services
WIPO publishes clear staff appointment terms and separately engages independent contractors through Individual Consultant or Contractor Services.
Working at UNIDO: staff posts, project appointments and ISA consultancies
UNIDO recruits international, national and local staff, while project appointments and Individual Service Agreements meet time-limited programme needs.
Working at ITU: appointments, grades and consultant contracts
ITU recruits international, national and local staff and distinguishes project and short-term staff appointments from non-staff consultant agreements.
UN Volunteer assignments: categories, allowances and application routes
UN Volunteer assignments are governed by their own conditions of service. Current categories cover community through expert roles.
UN internships: eligibility, pay and what an internship actually offers
UN internship rules vary by organization. Here is how Secretariat eligibility, duration and costs compare with programmes such as UNICEF's.