RESTRICTED  
  
WT/BFA/W/ 631 
 
1 May 2023 
(23-3054) Page: 1/9 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration    
 
2022  ANNUAL REPORT ON GRADING STRUCTURE  
IN THE WTO SECRETARIAT  
1  INTRODUCTION  
This document provides an update on staffing and post  related statistics in the WTO Secretariat 
as at 31 December 20 22. The report  includes detailed data on the composition of the WTO workforce  
by grade as well as the evolution of the grading structure for professional and support staff since 
1995. Statistics  are also provided on post and staffing allocation, as well as internal staf f mobility.  
The report also summarizes  data on staff recruitment as at 31 December 20 22, including the 
overall number of positions advertised through vacancy notice s, as well as the number of separations 
and appointments. Detailed  data is included on the n umber of staff promoted by grade through the 
annual promotions exercise , as well as on a competitive basis through vacancy notice s. 
2  UPDATE ON STAFFING AND POST RELATED STATISTICS IN THE SECRETARIAT AS AT 
31 DECEMBER 2022  
2.1  Grade Structure  
2.1.  The WTO grade struc ture in the professional staff category ranges from grade 6 to grade 10, 
with support grades ranging from grade 1 to grade 7. Director level positions are all at grade 11.  
The number  of staff in professional positions surpasses the number in support positi ons in 
2022. As illustrated in Chart 1, 414 staff members (63%)  are in the professional category  
(grade  6 to grade 12), while 244 staff members (37%)  are in support positions  (grade 1 to grade  7). 
In the  professional staff  category , the highest number of staff members continues to be at grade  9. 
For support staff, the highest number of staff members continues to be at grade  5. 
Chart 1 also compares  the grading structure against the  peak level for each grade since 1995. 
The largest d ecrease at the professional level continues to be at  grade  10. The overall number of 
staff in the support category has gradually  reduce d over time  as positions have evolve d and 
organizational priorities have require d more resources at the professional leve l. 
Chart 2 shows the breakdown of staff in each grade by gender. The number of female staff in 
the support grades continues to be higher than that of male staff at 68%. In the professional 
category, the number of female and male staff remains relatively ba lanced, at 48% female and 
52%male. Overall, 55% of staff were female and 45% male in 2022.  
Chart 3 depicts grade structure evolution since 1995. The  percentage of staff members at the 
most senior professional levels (10 – 12) has decreased since 1995, part icularly at grade 12 which 
reached a peak of 16 in 2008, and now stands at 1 staff member. Conversely, there has been a  
steady  inflow of staff in the grade 6 professional category since 2010 , with staff in this grade now 
representing around 12% of all prof essional staff. The largest increase in professional staff can be 
observed  in grade 7 (with an increase from 2.9% in 1995 to 17% as at 31  December 2022).  WT/BFA/W/ 631 
 
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  Chart 1 Grading Structure Comparison for Professional and Support Staff, as at 
31 December 2 2 
 
 
Total Professional staff - (G6P -G12):    414 Total Support staff - (G2-G7S) :     244 
Percentage of total staff:                        63% Percentag e  of total staff:                37% 
  
Chart 2 Grading Structure for Male and Female Staff, as at 31 December 20 22 
 
In the support staff  category, the trend since 2006 has been a steady decrease in the  number 
and percentage of staff  as compared to the professional staff category . The total headcount 
decreased to 244 in 2022 , the lowest number since 1995. T he highest number of staff continues to 
be at the grade 5 level, representing 3 5% of total support staff . In contrast to the profe ssional 
grades,  the average grade for support staff has increased narrowly since 2015 . 
 
 
WT/BFA/W/ 631 
 
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  Chart 3 Grading Structure Evolution for Professional and Support Staff, from 1995 to 
31 December 20 22 
 
 
 
2.2  Post and Staffing Allocation  
The majority of WTO staff are  financed by the regular budget of the organization. As illustrated 
in Chart 4, the WTO employed a total of 658 staff as at 31 December  2022, with 94% (620 staff) 
funded from the regular budget and 6% (38 staff) from  extra-budgetary trust funds1. This latter 
category is referred to as L -posts2. These figures exclude temporary staff as well as interns and 
Young Professionals.  
From a total  of 620 staff funded from the regular budget, 615 are on regular/fixed -term 
contracts  and 5 are on project post contracts3.  
Chart 5 below  shows the breakdown of all staff members funded from the regular budget by 
division  as at 31 December 2022 . 
Chart 6 below s hows staff funded from extra -budgetary trust funds by Division in 2022 , with 
29 out of the 38 staff working in the Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation, the Agriculture 
and Commodities Division, and the Enhanced Integrated Framework, which is h osted by the WTO.  
 
1 Extra -budgetary trust funds are targeted to wards  Technical Assistance Programmes for Members . 
2 L-posts are limited in duration and financed from extra -budgetary funds.  
3 Project posts contracts are utilized to engage additional resources to cover a temporary peak in 
demand, or a specialized task, for periods exceeding 11 months, but which is not of an ongoing nature. The 
total duration of a Project -Post may not exceed three years.  
WT/BFA/W/ 631 
 
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  Chart 4 Staffing Under Regular Budget and Extra -Budgetary Trust Funds, as at 
31 December 20 22 
  
Of the 620 staff on the regular budget:  
 
• 615 are on regular/fixed -term 
contracts  
 
• 5 are on  project post contracts  
 
 
 
 
 
Chart 5 Number of Staff by Contract Type for Divisions under Regular Budget, as at 
31 December 2022 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
38
620Extra
Budgetary 
6%
Regular 
Budget 
94%
9
65
22
13
20
35
28
28
36
32
14
19
97
31
21
3
8
14
36
17
15
521
1
1
20 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Accessions Division
Administration and General Services Division
Agriculture and Commodities Division
Council and TNC Division
Development Division
Economic Research and Statistics Division
Human Resources Division
Information and External Relations Division
Information Technology Solutions Division
Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation
Intellectual Property, Government Procurement and…
Knowledge and Information Management, Academic…
Language and Documentation Services Division
Legal Affairs Division
Market Access Division
Office of Internal Oversight
Office of the DDGs
Office of the Director-General
Rules Division
Trade and Environment Division
Trade in Services and Investment Division
Trade Policies Review DivisionRegular/Fixed Term
Project PostWT/BFA/W/ 631 
 
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  Chart 6 Number of Staff by Contract T ype for Divisions Under Extra-Budgetary Trust 
Funds, as at 31 December 2022 
 
 
 
2.3  Internal Staff Mobility  
Internal staff mobility provides an opportunity for staff members within the organization to 
move laterally at the same grade , either for a temporary period or on a permanent basis . Chart 7 
below shows the number of internal transfers of staff members between Divisions i n 2022 (49 in 
total).  
Chart 7 Internal Staff Mobility by Division, from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 20 22 
 
 
 
4
9
1
10
10
1
2
10 2 4 6 8 10 12
Administration and General Services Division
Agriculture and Commodities Division
Economic Research and Statistics Division
Executive Secretariat for the Enhanced
Integrated Framework
Institute for Training and Technical
Cooperation
Intellectual Property, Government
Procurement and Competition Division
Market Access Division
Trade Policies Review DivisionL-Posts
WT/BFA/W/ 631 
 
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  3  RECRUITMENT ACTIVITY AS AT  31 DECEMBER 2022  
3.1  Positions  Advertised  through Vacancy Notice s 
3.1.  Table 1 below shows  the number of positions advertised by division and grade level  in 2022. A  
total of 46 vacancy notices were issued  during the year, of which 77 % were for professional 
positions.  
Table 1 Positions Advertised by Division , from 1 January to 31 December 2022 
Division  Grade  
3 4 5 6S 7S 6P 7P 8 9 10 11 Total  
Accessions Division       1      1 
Administration and General 
Services Division         2    2 
Agriculture and Commodities 
Division       1      1 
Council and TNC Division            1 1 
Development Division       1  1    2 
Economic Research and Statistics 
Division       1   1  1 3 
Human Resources Division    1      1  1 3 
Information and External 
Relations Division  1     1     1 3 
Information Technology Solutions 
Division         1    1 
Institute for Training and 
Technical Cooperation   1     1     2 
Intellectual Property, Government 
Procurement and Competition 
Division             - 
Knowledge and Information 
Management, Academic Outreach 
and WTO Chairs Programme          1   1 
Language and Documentation 
Services Division    1    3 1 2   7 
Legal Affairs Division   1          1 
Market Access Division       1      1 
Office of the Director -General          1   1 
Rules Division    1 1     1   3 
Trade and Environment Division         1    1 
Trade in Services and Investment 
Division          1   1 
Trade Policies Review Division  1  1   1 1   1  5 
Grand Total  2 2 4 1 0 7 5 6 8 1 4 40 
 
3.2  Separations and Appointments  
Table 2 below s ummarizes  staff separations since 2007 by grade level . The highest number of 
staff separations from the Secretariat since 2007 continues to be at the grade  10 level, (94). In 
2022, a total of 34  staff members separated from the Secretariat.  
Table 3 below s ummarizes  the number of appointments since 2007. The highest number of 
staff appointments ha ve been at Grade 6 ( 128). In 2022, there were 49  appointments in total, 31 
of which were external and 18 internal.  
 
 
 WT/BFA/W/ 631 
 
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  Table 2 Staff Separations by Y ear, from 2007 to 31 December 2022 
Year Grade  
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Total  
2007 2 4 2 5 4 2 4 5 - 3 31 
2008 4 3 2 2 2 2 3 7 - 4 29 
2009 2 - 4 4 4 2 1 4 2 - 23 
2010 - 2 - 2 6 - 1 4 - 1 16 
2011 - 2 2 2 5 6 1 3 1 - 22 
2012 - 1 4 2 1 3 1 6 - 3 21 
2013 1 - 4 3 7 3 3 6 3 2 374 
2014 - - 2 4 1 2 3 9 2 1 24 
2015 2 6 5 13 6 3 3 7 1 - 46 
2016 1 3 6 4 7 2 8 7 4 - 42 
2017 2 2 - 2 4 2 4 2 1 2 225 
2018 1 - 4 3 4 2 4 7 1 - 26 
2019 1 - 2 5 3 1 4 12 - - 28 
2020 - 1 3 7 8 1 2 4 - - 276 
2021 - 1 4 2 6 1 4 6 1 - 297 
2022 - 2 4 7 5 - 6 5 4 1 34 
Total  16 27 48 67 73 32 52 94 20 17 457 
 
Table 3 Staff Appointments by Yea r, from 2007 to 31 December 2022 
Year Grade    
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Total  Internal  External  
2007 1 8 3 2 12 11 1 1 - - 39 15 24 
2008 6 3 - 1 6 6 3 2 2 - 29 11 18 
2009 1 3 1 4 8 4 1 - 1 - 23 6 17 
2010 4 4 1 9 6 - 1 - 2 - 27 10 17 
2011 4 - 5 15 6 2 2 - 1 - 35 16 19 
2012 2 3 - 7 - 2 1 - 1 - 16 3 13 
2013 4 1 1 10 4 1 1 2 1 1 318 12 19 
2014 4 - 1 10 6 1 2 - 2 - 26 14 12 
2015 3 3 2 12 10 2 4 - 2 - 38 15 23 
2016 5 8 4 8 6 1 1 1 - - 34 15 19 
2017 - 1 4 8 9 2 3 2 3 - 339 12 21 
2018 3 5 2 5 5 3 3 4 - - 3010 11 19 
2019 3 2 1 8 8 4 1 1 - - 28 8 20 
2020 2 5 1 8 4 2 3 1 - - 26 10 16 
2021 2 3 - 9 7 2 2 3 1 1 3511 11 24 
2022 1 5 7 12 3 9 6 4 2 - 49 18 31 
Total  45 54 33 128 100 52 35 21 18 2 499 187 312 
4  PROMOTIONS AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2022  
Table 4 below shows the number of promotions through the annual promotions exercise every 
year since 1996. Between 2012 and 2015, a freeze was introduced and no promotions were awarded.  
The 2022 promotions exercise has not yet been finalized and the relevant data  will therefore 
be contained in the next annual report on the grading structure.  
 
4 Figure includes 1 DG and 4 DDGs.  
5 Figure includes 1 DDG.  
6 Figure includes 1 DG.  
7 Figure includes 4 DDGs.  
8 Figure includes 1 DG and 4 DDGs.  
9 Figure includes 1 DDG, 1 staff member appointed to a regular budget post from an L -post contract at 
the same grade, and 1 staff member appointed as Director to Grade 11 on or after 31 March 2017 . 
10 Figure includes 2 staff member s appointed to regular budget posts from L -post contracts at the same 
grade, and 2 staff members appointed as Director to Grade 11 on or after 31 March 2017 . 
11 Figure includes 1 DG and 4 DDGs.  WT/BFA/W/ 631 
 
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  Table 4 Promotions by Grade , from 1996 to 2022 
Year Grade  
2 to 3  3 to 4  4 to 5  5 to 6  6 to 7  7 to 8  8 to 9  9 to 10  Total  
1996 4 14 4 18 1 1 5 5 52 
1997 5 3 11 5 1 4 14 4 47 
1998 - 12 5 5 2 5 13 4 46 
1999 - 6 12 11 2 11 14 4 60 
2000 - 10 5 6 2 11 7 10 51 
2001 - 8 12 1 7 8 12 10 58 
2002 - 6 7 5 9 5 12 10 54 
2003 2 7 8 9 3 6 10 6 51 
2004 - 3 14 6 6 7 5 10 51 
2005 2 7 6 3 4 10 9 7 48 
2006 - 4 6 9 2 9 13 7 50 
2007 1 6 7 4 6 5 12 5 46 
2008 1 5 7 9 7 6 8 10 53 
2009 1 6 8 4 3 6 13 9 50 
2010 1 3 7 3 3 7 11 6 41 
2011 - 3 4 4 1 4 2 - 18 
2012 - - - - - - - - - 
 
2013 - - - - - - - - - 
 
2014 - - - - - - - - - 
 
2015 - - - - - - - - - 
 
2016 - 7 12 3 10 6 3 2 43 
2017 - 3 5 3 7 3 2 1 24 
2018 2 3 5 3 7 3 2 1 26 
2019 - 2 2 4 6 6 2 1 23 
2020 - 2 2 4 6 6 2 1 23 
2021 - 2 3 4 6 4 2 3 24 
Total  19 122 152 123 101 133 173 116 939 
In accordance with Staff Rule 107.2, a promotion also occurs when a staff member is selected 
to fill a job at a higher grade for which there has been a vacancy notice and a competitive process 
(see below):  
"A promotion through competition occurs where a st aff member who applied for a 
vacant position advertised through a vacancy notice (whether internal or external) is 
selected through a competitive process and appointed to a position at a grade above 
his or her current grade. The Appointment Board shall mak e recommendations to the 
Director -General, who shall decide on the appointment to the post."  
Table 5 shows the number of promotions which  have occurred as an outcome of a competitive 
process  since 2007. During the freeze on promotions from 2012 and 2015, a competitive selection 
process was the only avenue for staff to obtain a higher grade. In 20 22, a total of 18 staff members 
were promoted through a competitive recruitment process.  
 WT/BFA/W/ 631 
 
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  Table 5 Promotions on a Competitive Basis  by Grade , from 20 07 to 31 December 2022 
Year Grade  
To 3 To 4 To 5 To 6 To 7 To 8 To 9 To 10  To 11  Total  
2007 - - - - - - - - 1 1 
2008 - - - - - - - - - 0 
2009 - 1 1 - - 1 - - - 3 
2010 - - - 2 - - 3 - - 5 
2011 - - - - - 1 - - 1 2 
2012 - - 1 - 1 1 1 1 2 7 
2013 - - - 1 1 1 3 - - 6 
2014 - - 2 3 3 1 6 1 - 16 
2015 1 3 2 5 7 4 4 - 2 28 
2016 - 1 1 6 2 4 2 4 - 20 
2017 - 1 3 2 2 3 2 3 - 16 
2018 - 3 2 2 1 5 - - - 13 
2019 - 2 3 1 5 4 5 2 - 22 
2020 - 1 3 2 2 5 2 5 - 20 
2021 - 1 1 1 2 3 2 1 - 11 
2022 - 1 2 1 1 6 5 2 - 18 
Total  1 14 21 26 27 39 35 19 6 188 
 
 
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