Is an EU AD7 similar to a UN P-4? Is a World Bank Group GG above or below a P-3? Should you filter out General Service roles if your aim is an international Professional post?
These questions come up because international organisations do not share one grade system. A UN P-4, a World Bank Group GG, an EU AD7, an OSCE S2, a UNDP NPSA-9, and an IUCN A3 may all describe serious professional work. They still come from different employment systems, contract types, salary structures, and career tracks.
This is why dotint.careers no longer tries to solve the problem with one universal equivalence table. It sounds useful, but it gives a false sense of precision. In Preferences, you can now set a minimum grade separately for each system you care about, or mark a system as not relevant to your search.
That is less straightforward than saying "P-4 equals X everywhere". It is also closer to how the market actually works.
Why grade matters
Grade is not just about pay or status. It is usually a clue to the level of responsibility expected by the organisation: junior contribution, independent delivery, specialist expertise, team leadership, senior management, or institutional representation.
It can also affect your next move.
This matters most when people cross grade families. The classic example is the move from General Service to Professional roles in the UN system. A person on a General Service post may do work that is functionally close to a Professional post, but HR screening rules may still treat that experience differently. This becomes even more important where relevant experience is counted only after the candidate met the education requirement for the role.
The same broad risk can appear elsewhere: local or national roles, assistant tracks, service-contract roles, consultancies, or junior contracts can all be useful entry routes. But they are not automatically risk-free. If you can afford to be selective, do not accept a role far below your level just because it sits inside a well-known international organisation. Ask what it does for your next step.
How to read the numbers below
The tables below show the grade systems currently available in dotint.careers Preferences. The percentages are based on 12,781 vacancies historically processed by dotint.careers as of 11 June 2026.
The first percentage is the grade's share of all historical vacancies in the dotint.careers dataset.
The second percentage is narrower: it looks only at graded vacancies from organisations that have used that grade system at least once in the dotint.careers dataset. Ungraded and unclassified vacancies are excluded from the denominator. The rows will not usually add up to 100%, because the remaining graded vacancies from those organisations belong to other grade systems.
Some entries show 0.0% because the grade has not appeared in the processed data. Entries shown as <0.1% did appear, but made up less than 0.05% of all historical vacancies.
The education and experience columns are not equivalence rules. They combine public research with what dotint.careers has seen in processed vacancies. Where public sources or many recent vacancies point in the same direction, the table says so. Where the organisation does not publish a clear grade-by-grade rule, the table says whether the guidance comes from recent vacancies or only from vacancies already processed by dotint.careers.
Some systems, especially UN Professional grades and EU staff categories, have fairly stable public patterns. Others, including World Bank Group, OSCE, Green Climate Fund, IUCN, and many local or contract grades, are better read through the actual vacancy notice. Education is shown as the minimum accepted level where alternatives are present; for example, a vacancy asking for an advanced degree but accepting a first-level degree plus additional experience is counted as first-level degree. The vacancy notice always controls.
The main grade systems
UN Professional
The UN Professional track is the best-known international grade family. It is used across many UN Secretariat and UN-system roles. The usual ladder is P-1 to P-5, then D-1 and D-2 for director-level roles, with ASG and USG at the top of the senior leadership structure. dotint.careers also handles rare source labels such as P-6 where they appear in data.
Many Professional vacancies require an advanced university degree, although a first-level degree plus additional experience is often accepted. Typical experience expectations rise from early-career levels at P-2 to around five years at P-3, seven at P-4, ten at P-5, and fifteen or more for D-level roles. UN Careers is the main reference point for UN vacancy rules and application processes; the ICSC salary scales show the common-system grade families.
| Level | Count | Share of all vacancies | Share of graded vacancies from organisations using this system | Education guidance | Experience guidance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P-1 | 46 | 0.4% | 1.8% | Requirements vary; check the vacancy notice | No common public rule found |
| P-2 | 196 | 1.5% | 7.6% | Advanced degree; first-level plus extra years often accepted | 2 years |
| P-3 | 438 | 3.4% | 16.9% | Advanced degree; first-level plus extra years often accepted | 5 years |
| P-4 | 353 | 2.8% | 13.6% | Advanced degree; first-level plus extra years often accepted | 7 years |
| P-5 | 156 | 1.2% | 6.0% | Advanced degree; first-level alternative may add years | 10 years, often 12 with first-level degree |
| P-6 | 1 | <0.1% | <0.1% | Rare source label; check the vacancy notice | One vacancy in our data asked for 17 years |
| D-1 | 78 | 0.6% | 3.0% | Advanced degree; first-level plus extra years often accepted | 15 years |
| D-2 | 44 | 0.3% | 1.7% | Advanced degree; first-level plus extra years often accepted | 15+ years |
| ASG | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | Senior appointment, not a normal vacancy ladder | Use appointment-specific criteria |
| USG | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | Senior appointment, not a normal vacancy ladder | Use appointment-specific criteria |
UN National Officer
National Officer roles are professional roles recruited locally, usually for nationals of the country where the post is located. They can be substantive and senior in practice, but they are not the same employment track as international Professional posts. They are often strong options for candidates with country knowledge, national policy experience, local networks, and language skills. The requirements below are best read as vacancy patterns, not a single UN-wide public rule.
| Level | Count | Share of all vacancies | Share of graded vacancies from organisations using this system | Education guidance | Experience guidance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NO-A | 82 | 0.6% | 3.7% | Usually first-level university degree | 1-2 years in recent vacancy patterns |
| NO-B | 122 | 1.0% | 5.4% | Advanced degree or first-level plus extra years in some postings | 2 years |
| NO-C | 93 | 0.7% | 4.1% | Advanced degree or first-level plus extra years in some postings | 5 years, sometimes 7 with first-level degree |
| NO-D | 12 | 0.1% | 0.5% | Vacancies we processed usually asked for a first-level degree | Vacancies we processed usually asked for 7 years |
| NO-E | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | Check the vacancy notice | No common public rule found |
UN Field Service
Field Service roles support UN field operations and missions. They often require practical operational, administrative, technical, logistics, security, finance, ICT, or mission-support experience. The grade labels are not a simple substitute for Professional grades, so treat this as its own track. Public grade-by-grade rules are not as stable as the P/D pattern, so the table leans on vacancy evidence and dotint.careers extraction.
| Level | Count | Share of all vacancies | Share of graded vacancies from organisations using this system | Education guidance | Experience guidance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FS-1 | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | n/a | n/a |
| FS-2 | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | n/a | n/a |
| FS-3 | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | n/a | n/a |
| FS-4 | 6 | <0.1% | 0.5% | Vacancies we processed usually asked for secondary education | Vacancies we processed usually asked for 6 years |
| FS-5 | 13 | 0.1% | 1.2% | High school diploma in recent vacancy pattern | 8 years in recent vacancy pattern |
| FS-6 | 16 | 0.1% | 1.4% | High school plus technical/vocational evidence in recent vacancy pattern | 10 years; degree may reduce the requirement |
| FS-7 | 1 | <0.1% | 0.1% | One vacancy in our data asked for secondary education | One vacancy in our data asked for 12 years |
UN General Service
General Service roles are usually locally recruited support roles. They can be highly skilled and essential to how offices work, but they are a different category from international Professional posts. This is the grade family where career strategy matters most: a G role can be the right choice for some people, but it should not be treated as an automatic bridge into P roles.
| Level | Count | Share of all vacancies | Share of graded vacancies from organisations using this system | Education guidance | Experience guidance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G-1 | 8 | 0.1% | 0.3% | Secondary education | Vacancies we processed usually asked for 3 years |
| G-2 | 41 | 0.3% | 1.6% | Secondary education | Vacancies we processed usually asked for 2 years |
| G-3 | 33 | 0.3% | 1.3% | Secondary education | 2 years |
| G-4 | 92 | 0.7% | 3.6% | Secondary education | 3 years; degree may reduce the requirement |
| G-5 | 307 | 2.4% | 12.0% | Secondary education | 5 years; degree may reduce the requirement |
| G-6 | 301 | 2.4% | 11.7% | Secondary education | 7 years; degree may reduce the requirement |
| G-7 | 109 | 0.9% | 4.2% | Secondary education | 10 years; degree may reduce the requirement |
World Bank Group
The World Bank Group uses its own grade labels. In dotint.careers data, these commonly appear as GA to GJ. Public WBG requisitions expose the grade, but there does not appear to be a stable public table fixing education and years of experience for every grade. The public job description is therefore more useful than the grade label alone: read the duties, selection criteria, leadership expectations, and sector expertise. See the World Bank Group's career paths for the broader structure of its recruitment market.
| Level | Count | Share of all vacancies | Share of graded vacancies from organisations using this system | Education guidance | Experience guidance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GA | 2 | <0.1% | 0.9% | No common public rule found; one vacancy in our data accepted secondary education | One vacancy in our data asked for 5 years |
| GB | 5 | <0.1% | 2.2% | No common public rule found; vacancies we processed usually asked for a first-level degree | Vacancies we processed usually asked for 2 years |
| GC | 5 | <0.1% | 2.2% | Assistant and support roles may accept secondary education | Recent vacancies and our data suggest around 5 years |
| GD | 8 | 0.1% | 3.6% | No common public rule found; vacancies we processed usually asked for a first-level degree | Vacancies we processed usually asked for 5 years |
| GE | 40 | 0.3% | 17.8% | Recent vacancies range from bachelor's to master's or law degree | Recent vacancies and our data suggest 2-5+ years |
| GF | 78 | 0.6% | 34.7% | Recent vacancies often ask for a master's, or a bachelor's with extra experience | Often 5 years with advanced degree, or 7 with bachelor's |
| GG | 63 | 0.5% | 28.0% | Recent senior specialist vacancies usually ask for an advanced degree | Often 8-10+ years; some IFC roles ask more |
| GH | 21 | 0.2% | 9.3% | Recent manager and senior vacancies usually ask for an advanced degree | Around 12 years in recent public examples |
| GI | 3 | <0.1% | 1.3% | No common public rule found; one vacancy in our data asked for an advanced degree | One vacancy in our data asked for 15 years |
| GJ | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | Check the vacancy notice | No common public rule found |
EU Administrator
EU Administrator grades are used for policy, legal, economic, scientific, programme, administrative, and management roles in EU institutions and bodies. AD5 is often the entry administrator level; higher AD grades normally require more experience and responsibility. EU Careers explains the main EU staff categories, and the EU Staff Regulations set the broad minimum eligibility rules. Exact years above those minimums depend on the competition notice.
| Level | Count | Share of all vacancies | Share of graded vacancies from organisations using this system | Education guidance | Experience guidance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AD5 | 32 | 0.3% | 9.1% | Official minimum: completed university studies of at least 3 years, or equivalent | Entry administrator level |
| AD6 | 54 | 0.4% | 15.3% | Official minimum: AD5/AD6 university eligibility | Several years are often expected; check the competition notice |
| AD7 | 56 | 0.4% | 15.9% | Official minimum: 4-year degree, or 3-year degree plus 1 year experience | Depends on the vacancy; our data usually shows 6 years |
| AD8 | 25 | 0.2% | 7.1% | Same official minimum as higher AD grades | Depends on the vacancy; our data usually shows 9 years |
| AD9 | 15 | 0.1% | 4.3% | Same official minimum; often management or senior specialist work | Management experience is often required |
| AD10 | 17 | 0.1% | 4.8% | Same official minimum; often management or senior specialist work | Depends on the vacancy; our data usually shows 12 years |
| AD11 | 3 | <0.1% | 0.9% | Same official minimum as higher AD grades | Depends on the vacancy |
| AD12 | 7 | 0.1% | 2.0% | Same official minimum as higher AD grades | Depends on the vacancy |
| AD13 | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | Same official minimum as higher AD grades | Depends on the vacancy |
| AD14 | 10 | 0.1% | 2.8% | Same official minimum as higher AD grades | Senior management level; our data usually shows 15 years |
| AD15 | 2 | <0.1% | 0.6% | Same official minimum as higher AD grades | Depends on the vacancy |
| AD16 | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | Same official minimum as higher AD grades | Depends on the vacancy |
EU Assistant
EU Assistant grades cover administrative, technical, financial, communication, operational, and support functions. They are not "less important" roles, but they are a different track from AD posts. If your goal is policy or senior expert work, be careful about accepting an AST role without understanding the career implications.
| Level | Count | Share of all vacancies | Share of graded vacancies from organisations using this system | Education guidance | Experience guidance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AST1 | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | Official minimum: post-secondary diploma, or secondary education plus 3 years | Depends on the vacancy |
| AST2 | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | Same official minimum for AST roles | Depends on the vacancy |
| AST3 | 4 | <0.1% | 1.1% | Same official minimum for AST roles | Depends on the vacancy |
| AST4 | 7 | 0.1% | 2.0% | Same official minimum; our data often shows first-level degree | Depends on the vacancy; one vacancy in our data asked for 1 year |
| AST5 | 1 | <0.1% | 0.3% | Same official minimum for AST roles | Depends on the vacancy |
| AST6 | 4 | <0.1% | 1.1% | Same official minimum for AST roles | Depends on the vacancy |
| AST7 | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | Same official minimum for AST roles | Depends on the vacancy |
| AST8 | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | Same official minimum for AST roles | Depends on the vacancy |
| AST9 | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | Same official minimum for AST roles | Depends on the vacancy |
| AST10 | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | Same official minimum for AST roles | Depends on the vacancy |
| AST11 | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | Same official minimum for AST roles | Depends on the vacancy |
EU Function Group
EU Function Groups are used for contract staff. FG I is generally more manual or support-oriented, FG II clerical and secretarial, FG III assistant-level, and FG IV administrative, advisory, linguistic, or equivalent specialist work.
| Level | Count | Share of all vacancies | Share of graded vacancies from organisations using this system | Education guidance | Experience guidance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FG I | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | Official minimum: compulsory education | Depends on the vacancy |
| FG II | 2 | <0.1% | 0.6% | Official minimum: post-secondary diploma, or secondary education plus 3 years | Depends on the vacancy |
| FG III | 36 | 0.3% | 10.2% | Official minimum: post-secondary diploma, or secondary education plus 3 years | Depends on the vacancy; our data usually shows 3 years |
| FG IV | 77 | 0.6% | 21.9% | Official minimum: university studies of at least 3 years, or equivalent | Depends on the vacancy; our data usually shows 3 years |
OSCE
OSCE vacancies use several labels, including international seconded or professional roles and national professional roles. The exact meaning depends on the vacancy type, funding, duty station, and whether the role is seconded or contracted. We are listing what we have observed in vacancies processed by dotint.careers; for more information, see OSCE jobs
| Level | Count | Share of all vacancies | Share of graded vacancies from organisations using this system | Education guidance | Experience guidance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | 11 | 0.1% | 9.9% | Second-level degree or first-level plus extra years | usually 5 years |
| S2 | 12 | 0.1% | 10.8% | Depends on the vacancy | usually 6 years |
| S3 | 7 | 0.1% | 6.3% | Depends on the vacancy; recent examples ask for second-level degree | usually 6 years, but some roles ask more |
| NP1 | 11 | 0.1% | 9.9% | Vacancies we processed usually asked for a first-level degree | Vacancies we processed usually asked for 2 years |
| NP2 | 3 | <0.1% | 2.7% | One vacancy in our data asked for a first-level degree | One vacancy in our data asked for 4 years |
UNDP NPSA
UNDP National Personnel Service Agreement roles are local contract roles. NPSA levels run from junior support to senior specialist levels. They can be strong routes for national project, programme, operations, and technical work, but they should not be confused with international staff grades. UNDP explains its broader recruitment environment on its careers page. Recent UNDP vacancies show a fairly consistent pattern for NPSA levels, but there doesn't seem to be one public table that fixes the rule for every level, so the vacancy notice remains the authority.
| Level | Count | Share of all vacancies | Share of graded vacancies from organisations using this system | Education guidance | Experience guidance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NPSA-1 | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | secondary education | Up to 1 year may be desirable |
| NPSA-2 | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | secondary education | 2 years |
| NPSA-3 | 2 | <0.1% | 2.9% | secondary education | 3 years |
| NPSA-4 | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | high school or bachelor's | 4 years with high school, or 1 with bachelor's |
| NPSA-5 | 2 | <0.1% | 2.9% | high school or bachelor's | 5 years with high school, or 2 with bachelor's |
| NPSA-6 | 6 | <0.1% | 8.7% | high school or bachelor's | 6 years with high school, or 3 with bachelor's |
| NPSA-7 | 6 | <0.1% | 8.7% | high school or bachelor's | 7 years with high school, or 4 with bachelor's |
| NPSA-8 | 3 | <0.1% | 4.3% | master's or bachelor's | additional 2 with bachelor's in one example |
| NPSA-9 | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | master's or bachelor's | 2 years with master's, or 4 with bachelor's |
| NPSA-10 | 3 | <0.1% | 4.3% | master's or bachelor's | 5 years with master's, or 7 with bachelor's |
| NPSA-11 | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | master's or bachelor's | 7 years with master's, or 9 with bachelor's |
| NPSA-12 | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | Check the vacancy notice | No common public rule found |
Green Climate Fund
Green Climate Fund vacancies use C to G levels in the data dotint.careers sees. The grade is useful, but the substance of the role is essential: climate finance, accreditation, private-sector mobilisation, adaptation, mitigation, safeguards, portfolio management, and institutional delivery can sit at different levels. We reviewed current official vacancy examples, but not a public grade table with fixed education and experience rules. See the GCF careers page for current opportunities.
| Level | Count | Share of all vacancies | Share of graded vacancies from organisations using this system | Education guidance | Experience guidance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 4 | <0.1% | 0.3% | Recent vacancies use a master's or bachelor's plus extra years | 15 years in a recent public example |
| D | 14 | 0.1% | 1.2% | Recent vacancies use a master's or bachelor's plus extra years | 11 years in a recent public example; our historical data is lower |
| E | 10 | 0.1% | 0.9% | Recent vacancies use a master's or bachelor's plus extra years | 8-9 years in recent public examples; our historical data is lower |
| F | 8 | 0.1% | 0.7% | Recent vacancies use a master's or bachelor's plus extra years | 5 years in a recent public example |
| G | 7 | 0.1% | 0.6% | Vacancies we processed usually asked for a first-level degree | Vacancies we processed usually asked for 3 years |
IUCN
IUCN levels in the current data are less consistently documented than UN or EU grade families. We found no stable public IUCN-wide table of education and experience requirements for these labels. Use what we are providing below mainly to filter out levels you know are not relevant to you. See the IUCN vacancy list for current roles.
| Level | Count | Share of all vacancies | Share of graded vacancies from organisations using this system | Education guidance | Experience guidance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | 8 | 0.1% | 6.4% | Vacancies we processed usually asked for a first-level degree | Check the vacancy notice |
| A2 | 5 | <0.1% | 4.0% | Vacancies we processed usually asked for a first-level degree | Vacancies we processed usually asked for 2 years |
| A2-A4 | 19 | 0.1% | 15.2% | Vacancies we processed usually asked for an advanced degree | Vacancies we processed usually asked for 4 years |
| A3 | 32 | 0.3% | 25.6% | Vacancies we processed usually asked for a first-level degree | Vacancies we processed usually asked for 4-5 years |
| P1 | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | Check the vacancy notice | No common public rule found |
| SP | 8 | 0.1% | 6.4% | Vacancies we processed usually asked for an advanced degree | Vacancies we processed usually asked for 9 years |
| M1 | 3 | <0.1% | 2.4% | One vacancy in our data asked for an advanced degree | One vacancy in our data asked for 10 years |
How to use this in Preferences
Do not try to configure every system at first. Start with the systems you understand or the ones where you are seeing too many irrelevant roles.
If you are targeting international UN Professional roles, set a minimum in UN Professional. If General Service is not part of your strategy, mark UN General Service as "not interested." If you are also serious about World Bank Group roles, set a separate World Bank Group minimum rather than assuming it is automatically covered by your UN preference.
The same applies to EU roles. If you want administrator-level policy or specialist jobs, set EU Administrator. If you do not want assistant-track roles, mark EU Assistant as "not interested." If contract staff roles are acceptable only at a certain level, use EU Function Group separately.
For systems you do not yet understand, it is usually better to leave them open. Let the vacancies appear, inspect a few, and then decide whether a minimum grade or not-interested setting would save you time.
The practical rule is simple: use grade settings to protect your time and your career direction. A lower-grade role can be a smart move if it gives you the right system exposure, technical proof, location, or network. It can also slow you down if it places you in a track where later eligibility screeners do not read your experience the way you hoped.
Grades are imperfect clues. But they are still useful clues. Treat them with enough seriousness to avoid obvious dead ends, and enough caution not to let a neat-looking equivalence table make the decision for you.
Sources and source caution
The grade counts and percentages come from vacancies historically processed by dotint.careers as of 11 June 2026.
For public grade structures and requirement patterns, the main reference points used for this draft were ICSC salary scales, UN Careers, EU Careers staff categories, EU Careers contract staff, the EU Staff Regulations, World Bank Group career paths, OSCE jobs, UNDP careers, Green Climate Fund careers, and the IUCN vacancy list.
Some requirement patterns were checked against live vacancy notices. Those notices can expire or change, which is why this article avoids treating them as permanent rules unless the organisation publishes a stable rule for the grade family.
THIS ARTICLE MAKES NO CLAIMS WHATSOEVER ABOUT THE CONTENT, MEANING, APPLICATION, OR CURRENT VALIDITY OF ANY ORGANISATION'S STAFF RULES, RECRUITMENT RULES, GRADE STRUCTURES, SALARY STRUCTURES, CONTRACTUAL FRAMEWORKS, OR INTERNAL HR POLICIES. THIS OVERVIEW IS A PRACTICAL COMPILATION BASED ON EXPERT INPUT, OBSERVATIONS FROM VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENTS PROCESSED BY DOTINT.CAREERS, AND WEB RESEARCH OF PUBLICLY AVAILABLE EMPLOYER RESOURCES. READERS ARE GIVEN NO GUARANTEE WHATSOEVER THAT ANY INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE IS COMPLETE, CORRECT, CURRENT, OR APPLICABLE TO A PARTICULAR VACANCY, EMPLOYER, CONTRACT TYPE, DUTY STATION, OR INDIVIDUAL CANDIDATE SITUATION. READERS SHOULD DO THEIR OWN RESEARCH AND SHOULD ALWAYS RELY ON THE OFFICIAL VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE EMPLOYER'S OWN CURRENT RULES AND GUIDANCE.
If you represent one of the organisations mentioned here, or if you have a pointer to more precise public information about any of these grade systems, we would be happy to hear from you and to improve this overview.