What is a job grade in an international organisation?
A grade classifies the level, responsibility and often the pay scale of a post. The meaning is organisation-specific: a UN P-3 is not the same label as World Bank GF or NATO G15.
Career grade directory
International organisation job grades explained
Compare grade systems without treating unlike labels as equivalents. Each system and exact-grade page explains the career level, recruitment context and current vacancies associated with that code.
11grade systems198grade pagesDailyjob updates
Browse by institution
Grade systems and contract levels
Start with the organisation. This prevents identical-looking codes from different employers being merged incorrectly.
UGStaff grades
United Nations common grades
Understand Professional, General Service, National Officer, Field Service, Director and senior UN leadership grades.
Explore 26 levels →ULContract levels
UNOPS ICA contract levels
Explore UNOPS Local ICA (LICA) and International ICA (IICA) contract levels.
Explore 16 levels →UPContract levels
UNDP personnel service agreement levels
Browse National (NPSA) and International (IPSA) Personnel Services Agreement levels used by UNDP.
Explore 22 levels →WBInstitutional grades
World Bank Group grades
Understand the World Bank Group's GA–GJ staff levels, from administrative through executive work.
Explore 10 levels →IGInstitutional grades
International Monetary Fund grades
Explore IMF A-grade support and professional levels and B-grade managerial levels.
Explore 20 levels →AGInstitutional grades
Asian Development Bank grades
Explore ADB Young Professional, Technical Local, Technical International and Management levels.
Explore 17 levels →NGInstitutional grades
NATO grades
Browse NATO's current G1–G24 Single Salary Spine and understand each grade's official category.
Explore 24 levels →CGInstitutional grades
CERN staff grades
Explore CERN staff grades 2–7, their current minimum entry salaries and how responsibility increases by grade.
Explore 6 levels →IGInstitutional grades
INTERPOL grades
Browse INTERPOL grades 1–14 and current vacancies tagged with each official salary grade.
Explore 14 levels →EGInstitutional grades
European Union institution grades
Explore EU Administrator, Assistant, Secretary/Clerk and Contract Agent grade structures.
Explore 33 levels →IBInstitutional grades
ICRC bands
Browse ICRC A–D bands found in vacancies indexed by IGO Jobs.
Explore 10 levels →How to read a posting
Grade, level and step are different
TermMeaning
GradeThe classified responsibility level of a post, such as UN P-3, World Bank GF or NATO G15.
Contract levelA level within a non-staff modality, such as UNOPS IICA-2 or UNDP NPSA-8.
StepA pay point within one grade. Appointment and progression rules vary by organisation.
Career stageAn IGO Jobs interpretation used to help compare broad seniority; it is not an official replacement for the grade.
Questions answered
Grade-system FAQ
Are UN grades and contract levels the same thing?
No. P, D, G, NO and FS are staff-grade families in the UN common system. UNOPS IICA/LICA and UNDP IPSA/NPSA are contract levels and do not make the holder a UN staff member.
Does a grade guarantee a salary or years-of-experience requirement?
No. Grade pages provide practical benchmarks, but salary depends on the organisation, duty station, step and appointment type. The official vacancy notice is always the final authority.
Can two organisations use the same grade code differently?
Yes. Codes can overlap. IGO Jobs keeps each grade inside its organisation's system so an ICRC D-1 vacancy is not mixed with a UN D-1 vacancy.