General
10 Promotion is the advancement of a staff member with a continuing or fixed-term appointment to a position of a higher grade either by appointment to another position or by reclassification of current duties. A staff member with a continuing or fixed-term appointment is not ordinarily promoted to another position unless the staff member has been selected competitively for the position after it has been announced to all appropriate groups of staff and there has been a satisfactory recent performance report on their work. Staff members promoted or reassigned to another post while still on probation are normally required to begin a new probationary period (see III.4
Appointment procedures/Probation).
20 Promotion from the General Service to the Professional category does not take place unless the staff member formally acknowledges their readiness to accept assignment to any activity or office of the Organization throughout the world.
30 If an occupied position is reclassified by one grade within the same category, the incumbent is promoted, subject to having the necessary qualifications and a record of satisfactory performance.
40 In accordance with Staff Rule
560.3, if an occupied position is reclassified from the general service to professional category, or by more than one grade within a category, the position will be advertised and a candidate selected on a competitive basis in accordance with the requirements set out in Staff Regulation
4.4 and the process described in
III.2 Position Classification. If the staff member with a continuing or fixed-term appointment occupying the advertised position does not apply or is not selected for the resultant vacancy at the higher level, the staff member will be reassigned to a position for which they are qualified at the same grade as that of the position before its reclassification. Any such cases will be monitored by
Coordinator TAM/DAF.
50 The staff member with a continuing or fixed-term appointment occupying the advertised position may be granted acting pay as from the fourth consecutive month of the effective date of the reclassification calculated in accordance with the provisions of, and with due regard to the period specified in, Rule
320.4.
60 Promotion shall be effective from the date of entitlement of any increase (see Staff Rule
380.3). In the case of reclassification of the position, the effective date of promotion of the incumbent shall be the date of the approval by the second level supervisor on the final position description submitted in
the
ERP system.
70 When a promotion is concurrent with reassignment (see
III.5 Reassignment), the effective date should first be agreed to between the releasing and receiving unit in consultation with the staff member concerned, but should normally not be more than three months beyond the date when the staff member was notified of their reassignment. A delay in the reassignment and promotion of more than three months should occur only in agreement with the staff member and the receiving unit and, the
RHRM; if the reassignment is from or to a unit at headquarters, with the concurrence of the Director, Human Resources and Talent Management (HRT).
80 On promotion to a higher grade, the step in the grade of promotion and the date of the next within-grade increase are fixed in accordance with Staff Rule
320.2.
Pensionable Remuneration on Promotion from the General Service to the Professional Category
90 At some official stations the pensionable remuneration used to determine rates of contribution to the Pension Fund (PR/C) of a staff member in the General Service category may be higher than it would be after promotion to the Professional category. These staff members are required to retain the higher pensionable remuneration until it is overtaken by the PR/C applicable to their grade and step in the Professional category. The pensionable remuneration retained is the dollar equivalent of the local currency amount converted at the Organization's exchange rate in effect at the date of promotion. Both the staff member and the Organization continue to make their contributions accordingly. No adjustment is made for future changes in the rate of exchange or increases in the pensionable remuneration of the General Service category which come into effect after the date of promotion to the Professional category.
100 In accordance with the provisions of Staff Rule
320.4, a staff member with a continuing or fixed-term appointment may be officially designated to assume temporarily the full responsibilities of an established position of a higher grade than that which the staff member occupies for a maximum period of twelve (12) months unless otherwise decided by the Director-General. The position against which a staff member acts must be an established long term position. Acting arrangements should not be against temporary positions.
110 HR planning and early recruitment action must be undertaken by supervisors for scheduled separations and vacant positions to avoid the need to request staff members to undertake acting arrangements for more than 3 consecutive months. Where approved acting arrangements continue, acting pay shall be due from the fourth consecutive month of assuming acting duties at a higher grade than the staff member’s own position.
Approval of acting arrangements
120 Before designating a staff member to assume the full responsibilities and duties of a position at a higher grade for any duration, a written request must be made by the position owner to the approving authority explaining:
- the reason the acting arrangement is required, particularly whether selection procedures are underway or selection for the position is not expected to be completed or other valid reason;
- the estimated duration of acting arrangements including whether acting is expected to go beyond 3 consecutive months which will imply acting pay; and
- the name of the proposed staff member for the acting arrangements with relevant particulars on position numbers and comments on qualifications and experience of the proposed acting staff member.
130 The approval authorities for acting arrangements are as follows:
| | i) up to 12 months & up to P5; and/or ii) only one grade above | i) up to 12 months against positions at P6 level & above & WRs; and/or ii) more than one grade above | Extensions beyond 12 months (for all grades) |
| HQ * | ADG | DG | DG |
| Regions | RD or designate | DG | DG |
* For HQ, all requests must route through Director, HRT prior to submission to ADG or DG for decision.
140 Upon approval by the relevant authority, the supervisor shall request the staff member in writing by memorandum to assume the acting duties and the staff member should confirm agreement before acting commences. The document should be attached to the HRAP. In communications of documents referring to a staff member so designated, expressions such as "X will act as (title of position) …" and "X will be Acting (title of position) …" may be used. Staff members who are officially designated as acting, shall add the initials “a.i.” (ad interim) after the acting title, e.g. Director or Team Lead a.i.
150 HR and budgetary planning action is taken in the ERP system by the staff member’s employing unit to record the period(s) of approved acting arrangement without, and if relevant with, acting pay. The approval memorandum and staff member’s agreement are required for both administrative actions. The HR approver (HR Business Partner HQ (HBP) or Regional HR Manager (RHRM)) reviews and validates the submission. The Global Human Resources (GHR) Administrator implements in the HR system. See III.3.3 Salaries for Implementation and Determination of Acting Pay.
Extension of acting arrangements
160 If an extension of the acting arrangement is required beyond the initial approved period, a new request “for extension” shall be submitted in all cases. The appropriate approval authority must be sought taking the combined duration of the acting arrangement periods into consideration. Any break in acting arrangements of less than one month prior to a new request being made will be considered as a continuation of the original acting arrangement and the appropriate approval authority must be sought.
Exceptional extension beyond 12 months
170 Extention of acting arrangements beyond the twelve (12) months stipulated in Staff Rule 320.4, must be avoided to enforce sound Human Resources planning and career management and to prevent unintended consequences linked to varying step periodicities. Only in the most exceptional circumstances, where a selection or lateral reassignment has not been possible to fill a vacant position, a written request for consideration of an exceptional extension shall be submitted by the supervisor to the Director-General, through Director HRT, for consideration at least one (1) month prior to the end of the twelve (12) month period. The request must include a detailed explanation of the reasons warranting an extension beyond twelve (12) months and the proposed length of extension. Upon receipt of the Director-General's decision, HRBP/RHRM informs the staff member, supervisor and the GHR Administrator for appropriate administrative action to continue the acting pay.
End of acting arrangements
180 Acting arrangements cease upon the return to the position of the staff member for whom the ad interim is acting, or upon the successful filling of the position through recruitment. Any handover period between the position incumbent and the acting staff member is no longer considered as acting ad interim and acting pay will cease. See also III.3.3 Salaries.
Other acting arrangements
190 A staff member who takes charge of a team or organizational unit during the short term temporary absence of the team lead or head of the unit is not entitled to acting pay. In communications of documents referring to the latter, expressions such as "X will be in charge of the (name of the team/unit) in the absence of Y on home leave" and "X will act for Y …" should be used. The term ad interim (a.i.) shall not be used in this case.
