Working at UNDP

The paramount consideration in the recruitment and selection of UNDP staff members is “the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity”, as set forth in Article 101, paragraph 3, of the UN Charter and UN Staff Regulation 4.2.

The recruitment and selection of staff members at UNDP is guided by the following five principles:

1. Competition: Selection will follow a visible and fair competitive process for all vacancies.
2. Objectivity: Screening is conducted with professional rigor, with candidates measured against clearly articulated criteria, job skills and competencies and corporate priorities.
3. Transparency: The recruitment and selection criteria and all phases of recruitment processes are transparent to staff and candidates to the fullest extent possible. 
4. Diversity: The United Nations Development Programme is committed to workforce diversity. Women, persons with disabilities, other ethnic or religious minorities, persons living with HIV, as well as refugees and other non-citizens legally entitled to work at UNDP, are particularly encouraged to apply.
5. Accountability: Hiring managers are accountable both for their selection proposals and the manner in which they have followed the processes leading up to them.

UNDP hires personnel through international or local recruitment. It applies several types of contracts depending on a number of criteria, such as legal basis and duration of services. The standard types of contracts are:

• Fixed Term Appointment (FTA) – nationals and international;
• Temporary Assignment (TA) – nationals and international;
• Service Contracts (SC) – nationals only;
• Personnel Services Appointment – nationals and international.

Fixed Term Appointment (FTA). FTA is concluded for the staff members contracted under Staff Rules. Salary scale for national staff is based on the best prevailing local conditions. Salary scale for international staff is based on the best comparator civil service.

Temporary Appointment (TA). TA is concluded for the staff members under TA Guidelines. Maximum duration of the contract is 364 days. Salary scale for national staff is based on the best prevailing local conditions; Salary scale for international staff is based on the best comparator civil service.

National Personnel Service Agreement (NPSA). NPSA is a contract modality, established by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in order to engage the services of individuals to provide a time-limited service to UNDP under a service-based contract. The duration of the NPSA contract is from 1 day to 6 months (short-term contract) or from 6 months-to 1 year (regular contract). The two types of contracts have the flexibility of being both office and/or home-based. 

International Personnel Services Agreement (IPSA). IPSA is a contract modality, established by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in order to engage the services of individuals to provide a time-limited service to UNDP under a service-based contract. An IPSA Holder is normally a person engaged to perform specialist functions in a country other than their home country or place of permanent residence. An IPSA may be issued for up to 12 months at a time, and may be renewed for up to 4 years, however, not to exceed the maximum duration of the project. The maximum period for the use of an IPSA is normally for the duration of the project and/or its expected funding period.

Application Procedure for Fixed Term Appointments (FTA) and Personnel Services Agreement:

To apply for a vacant position, please submit your application through the vacancy links below.

Other relevant information:

Vacancies are posted in UNDPs eRecruitment platform (Oracle). The application is filled in and submitted online.

View current vacancies

How to apply?

Subscribe to a personal job alert newsletter to stay up to date with jobs at UNDP. This service is provided by Impactpool.

If you are experiencing difficulties with online job applications, please contact IT support.

UNDP is currently aware of fictitious vacancy announcements that are being circulated through email messages and different web sites. The purpose of such fraudulent activity is to deceive an individual and convince him/her to send a "registration/visa/booking/other fee" prior to "hiring". UNDP does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process (application, interview, processing, training, visa or other fee). Since logos, emblems, forms, names and addresses are publicly available and can be easily copied or reproduced, applicants are strongly advised to take particular care in applying for vacancies, including undertaking all appropriate measures to protect against such advanced fee frauds. If you believe that you became a victim of such fraud, you may wish to report it to local law enforcement authorities for appropriate action.

By accessing this website, certain information about the user, such as Internet protocol (IP) addresses, navigation through the website, the time spent, along with other similar information, will be stored on UNDP servers. These will not specifically identify the user. The information will be used internally only for website traffic analysis. If the user provides unique identifying information, such as name, address and other information on forms stored on this website (e.g. job applications), such information will be used only for purposes stated and will not be shared with parties outside of UNDP or published for general access. UNDP, however, assumes no responsibility for the security of this information. For any questions about how UNDP discloses its information, please see the Information Disclosure Policy.