P vs G grades explained (and D, NO, FS…)

Every UN vacancy carries a grade that encodes its career track, seniority and salary system. Reading grades fluently is the fastest way to know whether a posting fits you.

P — Professional (international)

P-1 through P-5, internationally recruited. P-2 typically requires 2 years of experience plus an advanced degree, P-3 five years, P-4 seven, P-5 ten. Salaries follow a single global scale plus a duty-station cost-of-living multiplier ("post adjustment"). Most competitive entry point: P-2/P-3.

G — General Service (local)

G-1 through G-7, recruited locally and paid on local salary scales. Administrative, logistical and support roles. You generally need the right to work in the duty station country already — relocation is not part of the package.

The rest of the alphabet

• NO (NO-A…NO-E) — National Professional Officers: professional-level work, restricted to nationals of the duty station.
• D (D-1, D-2) — Director level; ASG and USG sit above as appointments.
• FS — Field Service, mission support in peacekeeping contexts.
• CON / Consultant — not a grade: a contract modality, time-limited, deliverable-based, no staff benefits.
• I-1/I-2 (Intern) — internships; in the Secretariat these are unpaid.

Practical filter strategy

On this site, the grade appears on every card in the metadata line. Filter by contract type to separate staff posts from consultancies and internships, and remember: a P post without the nationality restriction is open to any member-state national — the competition is global.