Organizational chart Some tips for writing a good job description Suggestions for completing the job description

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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SYSTEM FOR THE CLASSIFICATION OF POSTS

1. Request for the classification or reclassification of a post

1.1 Requests for the classification or reclassification of a post shall be made by the Executive Officer, the head of Administration at offices away from Headquarters, or other appropriate official in the following cases:

(a) When a post is newly established or has not previously been classified;

(b) When the duties and responsibilities of the post have changed substantially as a result of a restructuring within an office and/or a General Assembly resolution;

(c) Prior to the issuance of a vacancy announcement, when a substantive change in the functions of a post has occurred since the previous classification; and

(d) When required by a classification review or audit of a post or related posts, as determined by the classification or human resources officer concerned.

1.2 The Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM), or the local Human Resources office in those cases where authority for classification has been delegated, shall provide classification advice when departments submit, with their budget requests, job descriptions for new posts and for the reclassification of existing posts.

1.3 Incumbents who consider that the duties and responsibilities of their posts have been substantially affected by a restructuring within the office and/or a General Assembly resolution may request OHRM or the local human resources office to review the matter for appropriate action under section 1.1 (d).

2. Procedure for classification or reclassification

2.1 Requests for classification or reclassification of posts shall be submitted to:

(a) The Assistant Secretary-General, OHRM, in the case of:

(i) posts in the Professional category and at the Principal Officer (D-1) and Director (D-2) levels, except when authority for classification of such posts has been delegated to the Head of Office, in which case the request shall be submitted to the head of that office,

(ii) posts in the Field Service category,

(iii) posts in the General Service and related categories at Headquarters,

(iv) posts in the General Service and related categories in small and medium-sized duty stations, except where posts at such duty stations are administered by the offices indicated in subparagraph (b) below.

(b) The Chief of the respective Human Resources office in the case of posts in the General Service and related categories administered by ECA, ECLAC, ESCAP, ESCWA, UNOG, UNON, and UNOV, up to and including the G-7 level.

2.2 Such requests shall include:

(a) A complete and up-to-date job description for the post in question, using standardized job descriptions, where applicable;

(b) An up-to-date organizational chart showing the placement of the post in question and of other posts that may be affected by the classification or reclassification requested;

(c) A valid and available post number confirming the existence of a post approved at the appropriate level in the budget, unless the request is submitted for advice prior to a budget submission. When available, the IMIS post number must be used.

2.3 The classification analysis shall be conducted independently by two classification or human resources officers on the basis of the classification standards set in section 3 below. The decision regarding the classification of the post will be taken by or, on behalf of, the Assistant Secretary-General, OHRM, or the head of office. The head of office will make the decision in the case of posts in the General Service and related categories administered by ECA, ECLAC, ESCAP, ESCWA, UNOG, UNON and UNOV, up to and including the G-7 level, and in the case of any other posts for which classification authority has specifically been delegated.

2.4 A notice of the classification results, including the final ratings and/or comments on the basis of which the decision was taken, shall be sent to the requesting executive or administrative office, which will keep it in its records and provide a copy to the incumbent of the post.

3. Classification standards

3.1 Posts shall be classified:

(a) In accordance with the applicable classification standards established by the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) for posts in the Professional category and at the D-1 and D-2 levels and for posts in the General Service and related categories at the duty station concerned, except as provided in subparagraph (b) below, and

(b) In accordance with the classification standards approved by the Secretary-General for posts:

(i) in the Field Service category, and

(ii) in the Security Service category at Headquarters.

4. Implementation

4.1 Classification decisions shall become effective as of the first of the month following receipt of a classification request fulfilling the conditions of section 2.2 above. When a classification request is submitted for advice prior to a budgetary submission, the classification shall become effective once the reclassification has been approved in the budget.

4.2 The classification of a post shall not negatively affect the existing contractual status, salary or other entitlement of the staff member encumbering the post. Staff members whose posts are classified at a level below their personal grade level will retain their current grade and salary level, on the understanding that every reasonable effort will be made to reassign them to a post at their personal grade level.

4.3 Staff members whose posts are classified at a level above their current personal grade level in the same category may be considered for promotion in accordance with established procedures, including issuance of a vacancy announcement, where applicable.

5. Appeal of classification decisions

The decision on the classification level of a post may be appealed by the head of the organizational unit in which the post is located, and/or the incumbent of the post at the time of its classification, on the ground that the classification standards were incorrectly applied, resulting in the classification of the post at the wrong level.

6. Appeal Procedure

For information on the appeal procedure, please refer to the UN Secretariat Administrative Instruction ST/AI/1998/9 of 6 October 1998 on the System of the Classification of the Posts. To view the document, please click here (PDF Format).

 

© 2003 United Nations Office of Human Resources Management - All rights reserved.