9/9/2026
When people ask about the seven levels of the UN job title hierarchy, they are often referring to the seven main Professional and Director-level grades used in the UN Secretariat: P-1, P-2, P-3, P-4, P-5, D-1 and D-2.
These grades generally progress from entry-level professional positions to senior director-level leadership. Official UN documents use these grades in recruitment and staff classification.
P-1 is generally the lowest professional grade.
Positions at this level are designed for candidates at the beginning of an international professional career, although specific education and experience requirements depend on the vacancy.
P-1 positions are less common than some higher professional grades.
P-2 is an early-career professional level.
Candidates typically need relevant academic qualifications and some professional experience, although certain recruitment programmes such as the Young Professionals Programme can provide entry routes into the UN at this level.
P-3 represents a more experienced professional level.
People at this grade may work as specialists, officers, advisers or programme managers and are generally expected to have several years of relevant professional experience.
P-4 is a senior professional level.
P-4 staff may have substantial responsibility for programmes, teams, policy areas or specialist functions.
P-5 is a high-level professional grade.
P-5 positions can involve significant technical expertise, programme leadership or management responsibilities.
D-1 is a director-level position.
Staff at this level generally have major management, strategic or organizational responsibilities.
D-2 is the highest of the seven standard Professional/Director grades.
D-2 positions involve very senior management and leadership responsibilities.
Above these grades, the UN also has senior appointed positions such as Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) and Under-Secretary-General (USG). These should not be treated as an eighth and ninth step of the ordinary P/D grading sequence.
No.
This is an important distinction.
The UN system includes other staff categories such as General Service, Field Service, National Professional Officers, Security Service and other categories.
UN agencies such as UNDP, WHO, UNICEF, FAO and UNESCO may also have their own classification structures.
Therefore, the seven grades above are best understood as the main UN Secretariat Professional and Director grades, not a universal hierarchy for every job in the entire UN system.
Generally, higher grades require greater levels of education, professional experience, responsibility and expertise.
For example, P-2 is normally associated with early professional careers, while P-5 and D-level positions involve substantially more experience and responsibility.
However, candidates should never assume that a certain number of years automatically qualifies them for a grade. Each vacancy specifies its own requirements.
Understanding UN grades makes it easier to evaluate job vacancies.
If you see a vacancy advertised as P-2, you know it is broadly an early-career professional position. A P-4 or P-5 position generally represents a considerably more experienced role.
For anyone researching UN job levels, UN career grades, or UN P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 D1 D2, these seven levels provide the basic professional-grade structure.
Unchannel - 9/10/2026