General Service (HQ & Field)
Standard recruitment process
Standard recruitment requirements
UNESCO applies the following standard recruitment requirements, as a general rule, for minimum educational requirements combined with a minimum number of years of relevant work experience. The required qualifications for each post are specified in the individual vacancy notices. The standard recruitment requirements for General Service posts are as illustrated as follows:
- Professional experience
- Education
For the General Service category posts, candidates are required to be graduated from a secondary, technical or vocational school and, in some cases, have secretarial, business or commercial qualifications.
- Legal entitlement
Candidates for General Service position are entitled to work in the country of the duty station
- Languages
Excellent knowledge English or French (the two working languages of UNESCO) is required. Good knowledge of the other language is an asset. Knowledge of one of the official languages of UNESCO (Arabic, Chinese, Spanish or Russian) is an additional asset.
Benefits
General Service staff members are paid on a local basis. The salaries, allowances and conditions of employment of locally recruited staff are established through periodic, comprehensive local salary surveys carried out at every duty station, normally every four or five years.
Pension and Insurance
UNESCO is a member of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund that provides retirement, death, disability and related benefits for staff upon cessation of their services.
Staff are covered in case of death and disability from the beginning of their appointment and upon separation from service, they may be entitled to a lifetime pension benefit based on their age and length of contributory service.
See the UNJSPF brochure for further information.
UNESCO also offers a medical benefits fund that provides medical insurance benefits to existing and former staff members and their eligible family members. Coverage is worldwide and provides for the reimbursement of a major portion of the expenses for medical health care.