RESTRICTED  
  
WT/BFA/W/331  
 
23 June 2014  
(14-3636)  Page: 1/10  
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration   
 
 JULY 2014 HUMAN RESOURCES UPDATE ON GRADING STRUCTURE AND PROMOTIONS  
1  INTRODUCTION 1.  This document presents a Human Resources Update on staffing and post related statistics in 
the WTO Secretariat as of 31 May 2014. Key information covered includes detailed data on the 
composition of WTO staff by grade as well as the evolution of the grading structure for professional and support staff since 1995. Moreover, statistics are also provided on post and staffing allocation, 
as well as internal staff mobility.  
2.  The report also includes data on staff recruitment as of 31 May 2014, including the overall 
number of positions advertised through vacancy notice, as well as the number of separations and appointments. Furthermore, detailed data is included on promotions through the annual 
promotions exercise from 1996 to 2014, as well as on a competitive basis since 2007 .  
2  UPDATE ON STAFFING AND POST RELATED STATISTICS IN THE SECRETARIAT AS OF 
31 MAY 2014 
2.1  Grading Structure  
3.  The WTO grade structure 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 at grades 11 and 
12. Over the last few years, the policy of the orga nization has been to increasingly recruit staff at 
entry-level, with professional staff appointed mainly at grades 6 and 7. Recruitment may be above entry-level grades when (1) a position requires  additional years of experience; and where (2) 
there is a demonstrated need for additional expertise or a managerial/supervisory role.  
4.  In terms of the WTO grade structure as of  31 May 2014, the number in professional positions 
continues to surpass the number of staff in support positions. As illustrated in Chart 1, 381 staff members (57%) are in the professional category , while 286 staff members (43%) are in support 
positions. Looking specifically at professional staff and the inclusion of all grades at this level, the 
highest ratio of staff members are in grade 9. For support staff, the highest ratio of staff members are in grades 3 and 4 (combined). WT/BFA/W/331 
 
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  Chart 1 Grading Structure for Professional  and Support Staff, as of 31 May 2014 
12
11
10
9
8
6 & 7Professional  Staff
4
17
100
112
65
83
7
65
3 & 4
2Support Staff
29
62
91
101
3
Total Professional  (G6P‐G12): 381
Percentage  total staff: 57%Total Support (G2‐G7S): 286
Percentage  total staff: 43% 
 
5.  In terms of the grade structure evolution fo r professional staff since 1995, the percentage of 
staff members in more senior positions has been steadily decreasing, specifically in 
grades 8 and 10 (Chart 2). Staff members in grade 10 are now at the lowest percentage of professional staff since 2001, at 26% (see Annex 1). At the same time, the significant inflow of 
staff in grade 6 professional since 2010 can be  clearly observed. While grade 6 professionals 
consistently represented 1% or less of total professional staff until 2009, there are now 40 staff in this category as of May 2014, representing 10% of professional staff. The staffing data set out in Annex 1 further illustrates how the average grade of professional staff, in part driven by this 
increase in entry-level professional staff in the Secretariat, has gradually decreased since 2008 
and is now at its lowest level since 1995 (from 9.24 in 1995 to 8.67 in May 2014). 
6.  In the grade structure evolution for support staff since 1995, the trend is a decreasing number 
of support positions in grade 7, whereas the greate st overall increase can be shown at the grade 5 
level. In contrast to the professional grades, the average grade for support staff has increased from 4.76 in 1995 to 4.90 in May 2014, as illustrated in Annex 2. 
Chart 2 Grading Structure Evolution for Prof essional and Support Staff, from 1995 to 
31 May 2014 
 
020406080100120140
1995
1999
2000
200120022003
2004
2005200620072008
2009
201020112012
2013
201412
11
10
9
8
7P
6P
 020406080100120
1995
19992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320147S
6S
5
4
3
2
 
 Professional  Grades  Support Grades WT/BFA/W/331 
 
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  2.2  Post and Staffing Allocation  
7.  The majority of WTO staffing is covered by the regular budget of the organization. As 
illustrated in Chart 3 below, the WTO employs a total of 739 staff, with 94.2% (696 staff) funded from the regular budget and 5.8% (43 staff) from extra-budgetary trust funds
1.  
Chart 3 Staffing Under Regular Budget an d Extra-Budgetary Trust Funds, as of 
31 May 2014 
Of the 696 staff on the regular 
budget:
634  are on regular/fixed ‐
term  contracts
13 are on project‐based 
contracts
49  are on short‐term 
contracts
Of the 43 staff on extra budgetary  
funding:
39 are on fixed‐term 
contracts
4 are on short‐term 
contracts
43
696Extra 
Budgetary
5.8%
Regular 
Budget
94.2%
 
8.  As provided in Chart 4 below, out of a total of 696 staff, 634 are on fixed-term/regular 
contracts, 13 are on project-based contracts fo r dispute settlement lawyers and 49 are on short-
term contracts. The 13 project-based lawyers were hi red to assist with the high increase in dispute 
settlement cases. The staffing figures outlined above represents 94.2% of overall WTO staff as of 
31 May 2014. 
Chart 4 Number of Staff by Contract Type for Divisions under Regular Budget, as of 
31 May 2014 
541810121771611322135361745301840191316187412
742
11311111114311212122
0 2 04 06 08 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 1 4 0 1 6 0Trade Policies ReviewTrade in ServicesTrade and EnvironmentStrategic Review and PlanningStaff CounsellorRulesOffices of DDGsOffice of the Director‐GeneralOffice of Internal AuditMarket AccessLegal AffairsLDIMDITTCIntellectual  PropertyInformation  Technology  SolutionsInformation  and External RelationsHuman ResourcesEconomic  Research  and StatisticsDevelopmentCouncil and TNCAppellate  Body SecretariatAgriculture  and CommoditiesAdministration  and General ServicesAccessions
Regular/Fixed ‐term
Project‐Based
Short‐term
 
 
 
 
                                               
1 Extra-budgetary trust funds are targeted to Technical Assistance Programmes for Members. WT/BFA/W/331 
 
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  9.  As shown in Chart 5 below, out of a total of  43 staff hired from extra-budgetary funds, 39 are 
on fixed-term L-Post contracts and 4 are on short- term contracts. This represents 5.8% of overall 
WTO staff as of 31 May 2014. 
Chart 5 Number of Staff by Contract Type for Divisions under Extra-Budgetary Trust 
Funds, as of 31 May 2014 
1112211363
211
02468 1 0 1 2 1 4Trade Policies ReviewITTCIntellectual  PropertyInformation  Technology  SolutionsHuman ResourcesEIFEconomic  Research  and StatisticsAgriculture  and CommoditiesAdministration  and General Services
Fixed‐term
Short‐term
 
 
 
2.3  Internal Staff Mobility 
10.  As illustrated in Chart 6 below, 45 inter-divisional staff movements were made from 
1 January 2013 to 31 May 2014. Out of these 45 staff moves, 28 took place during 2013 and 
17 during 2014. 
Chart 6 Internal Staff Mobility by Divi sion, from 1 January 2013 to 31 May 2014 
‐7‐6‐5‐4‐3‐2‐101234567
Import
Export
 
 
 WT/BFA/W/331 
 
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  3  RECRUITMENT AS OF 31 MAY 2014 
3.1  Positions Advertised through Vacancy Notice 11.  From 1 January 2013 to 31 May 2014, a total of  46 vacancy notices were released. In six of 
these vacancy notices, more than one position was advertised, thereby bringing the total number 
of positions advertised to 54. Of these, 40 were  for professional positions, of which 27 were 
advertised at professional grades 6 and 7.  This  represents 75% of professional posts advertised, 
excluding director positions advertised at grad e 11. Table 1 below shows the number of positions 
advertised by division and the respective grade levels. 
Table 1 Positions Advertised by Division, from 1 January 2013 to 31 May 2014 
Division 3 4 5 6S 6P 7S 7P 8 9 10 11 Total  
Accessions         1             1 
Admin. and General Services 3 1         1 1       6 
Appellate Body             5 1       6 
Council and TNC         1             1 
Development Division         1       1     2 
Econ. Research and Statistics         1   2       1 4 
EIF                  1   1 2 
Human Resources         1   1         2 
Inf. and External Relations  1   1         1       3 
Intellectual Property         1             1 
ITSD       1               1 
ITTC    1 1       2 
LDIMD  1       1       2 1   5 
Legal Affairs       1     3   1     5 
Market Access         1             1 
Office of Internal Audit     1       1 
Office of the Director-General   1         1 
Rules             3         3 
TPRD 1     2             1 4 
Trade and Environment          1           1 2 
Trade in Services     1       1 
  Total 6 1 2 5 12 - 15 3 5 1 4 54 
 3.2  Separations and Appointments 
12.  Table 2 below shows staff separations since 2007 raging from grades 3 through 12. The 
highest number of staff separations from the Secretariat since 2007 can be observed in the grade 10 category, totalling 39. This is followed by staff in grade 7, totalling 30. In 2013, there 
were a total of 37 separations. This includes the outgoing Director-General Pascal Lamy, as well as 
the four Deputy Directors-General. Since 1 January 2014, 10 additional staff members have departed. From 2013 to 31 May 2014, 61.7% of all separations were due to retirements, while resignations and end of contacts account for the remaining number of departures.  
Table 2 Staff Separations by Year, from 2007 to 31 May 2014 
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 37 
May 2014 - - - 2 1 - 1 4 1 1 10 
Total 9 12 18 22 30 18 15 39 7 14 189 
 WT/BFA/W/331 
 
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  13.  In regards to fixed-term/regular staff a ppointments since 2007, 54 staff members have been 
appointed for grade 6 positions, the highest number of staff appointments throughout grades 3 through 12 (Table 3). The 31 total appo intments in 2013 include the incoming Director-
General Roberto Azevêdo, as well the four Deputy  Directors-General having begun their terms of 
office in October 2013. 
Table 3 Staff Appointments by Year, from 2007 to 31 May 2014 
Year Grade 
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Total 
2007 5 4 3 1 8 10 5 2 2 - 40 
2008 1  2 - 2 8 4 1 - 1 - 19 
2009 5 3 6 3 8 7 1 - 2 - 35 
2010 1  2 3 18 5 2 4 - 1 - 36 
2011 3 2 2 13 2 4 3 - 2 - 31 
2012 3  2 1 3 - 2 2 1 2 - 16 
2013 4 1 1 10 4 1 1 2 1 1 31 
May 2014 2  - 1 4 2 1 - - - - 10 
Total 24 16 17 54 37 31 17 5 11 1 218 
 4  PROMOTIONS AS OF 31 MAY 2014 
14.  Table 4 below shows the number of staff promotions through the annual promotions exercise. 
With the current freeze introduced in 2012, there have been no such promotions since 2011. The 
annual budget for post re-gradings
2 was approximately CHF 217,000 per annum. 
15.  In accordance with the Staff Rules, it is also defined as a promotion when a staff member is 
selected to fill a job at a higher grade for which there has been a vacancy notice. Shown in Table 5 is the number of promotions that haven taken place on a competitive basis since 2007. Since the 
introduction of the freeze on promotions, a compet itive selection process has been the only avenue 
for staff to attain a higher grade.  
Table 4 Promotions by Grade, from 1996 to 2011 
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 
Total 17 103 123 102 59 105 160 107 776 
                                               
2 The number of post re-gradings were increased from 25 to 5% of regular posts in 2007 
(WT/BFA/SPEC/171). WT/BFA/W/331 
 
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Table 5 Promotions on a Competitive Ba sis by Grade, from 2007 to 31 May 2014 
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  10 to 11 Total 
2007 - - - - - - - - 1 1 
2008 - - - - - - - - - - 
2009 - 1 1 - - 1 - - - 3 
2010 - - - 2 - - 3 - - 5 
2011 - - - - - 1 - - 1 2 
2012 - - 1 - - 1 1 1 2 6 
2013 - - - 1 1 1 3 - - 6 
May 2014 - - - 1 2 1 5 1 - 10 
Total - 1  2 4 3 5 12 2 4 33 
 WT/BFA/W/331 
 
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  LIST OF ANNEXES 
Annex 1: WTO Grade Structure Evolution, Professional Staff by Grade (1995 – May 2014) Annex 2: WTO Grade Structure Evolution, Support Staff by Grade (1995 – May 2014) 
_______________ 
 
  
 
   WT/BFA/W/331 
 
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ANNEX 1 
WTO GRADE STRUCTURE EVOLUTION, PROFESSIONAL STAFF BY GRADE (1995 – 31 MAY 2014) 
  12/D2 11/D1 10/P5 9/P4 8/P3 7P/P2 6P TOTAL Avg. Gr Growth 
31/12/1995 6 16 43 59 42 5 0 171 9.24   
%-age 3.5% 9.4% 25.1% 34.5% 24.6% 2.9% 0.0% 100%     
31/12/1999 7 27 53 79 54 34 1 255 9.01 49% 
%-age 2.7% 10.6% 20.8% 31.0% 21.2% 13.3% 0.4% 100%     
31/12/2000 12 22 65 76 61 31 1 268 9.07 5% 
%-age 4.5% 8.2% 24.3% 28.4% 22.8% 11.6% 0.4% 100%     
31/12/2001 11 22 75 79 65 30 3 285 9.06 6% 
%-age 3.9% 7.7% 26.3% 27.7% 22.8% 10.5% 1.1% 100%     
31/12/2002 13 19 90 82 74 41 1 320 9.03 12% 
%-age 4% 6% 28% 26% 23% 13% 0% 100%     
31/12/2003 11 19 89 91 72 38 3 323 9.01 1% 
%-age 3% 6% 28% 28% 22% 12% 1% 100%     
31/12/2004 16 12 98 85 79 50 5 345 8.93 7% 
%-age 5% 3% 28% 25% 23% 14% 1% 100%     
31/12/2005 14 12 100 89 82 40 3 340 8.99 -1% 
%-age 4% 4% 29% 26% 24% 12% 1% 100%     
31/12/2006 13 12 108 92 77 35 4 341 9.04 0% 
%-age 4% 4% 32% 27% 23% 10% 1% 100%     
31/12/2007 12 12 107 97 81 41 3 353 8.99 4% 
%-age 3% 3% 30% 27% 23% 12% 1% 100%     
31/12/2008 9 16 113 95 84 40 1 358 9.01 1% 
%-age 3% 4% 32% 27% 23% 11% 0% 100%     
31/12/2009 8 15 115 97 81 42 5 363 8.97 1% 
%-age 2% 4% 32% 27% 22% 12% 1% 100%     
31/12/2010 9 15 118 104 75 38 15 374 8.94 3% 
%-age 2% 4% 32% 28% 20% 10% 4% 100%     
31/12/2011 9 16 114 107 75 38 28 387 8.84 3% 
%-age 2% 4% 29.5% 28% 19% 10% 7% 100%     
31/12/2012 6 19 106 107 72 39 32 381 8.78 -2% 
%-age 2% 5% 28% 28% 19% 10% 8% 100%     
31/12/2013 5 17 102 110 69 40 39 382 8.70 0% 
%-age 1% 4% 27% 29% 18% 10% 10% 100%     
01/05/2014 4 17 100 112 65 43 40 381 8.67 0% 
%-age 1% 4% 26% 29% 17% 11% 10% 100%     WT/BFA/W/331 
 
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  ANNEX 2 
WTO GRADE STRUCTURE EVOLUTION, SUPPORT STAFF BY GRADE (1995 – 31 MAY 2014) 
  7G 6G 5 4 3 2 1 TOTAL Avg. Gr Growth 
31/12/1995 26 43 63 72 36 3 0 243 4.76   
%-age 10.7% 17.7% 25.9% 29.6% 14.8% 1.2% 0.0% 100%     
31/12/1999 19 59 56 66 48 6 0 254 4.67 5% 
%-age 7.5% 23.2% 22.0% 26.0% 18.9% 2.4% 0.0% 100%     
31/12/2000 23 62 58 68 44 8 0 263 4.73 4% 
%-age 8.7% 23.6% 22.1% 25.9% 16.7% 3.0% 0.0% 100%     
31/12/2001 26 54 71 63 44 11 0 269 4.71 2% 
%-age 9.7% 20.1% 26.4% 23.4% 16.4% 4.1% 0.0% 100%     
31/12/2002 32 50 76 59 44 6 0 267 4.81 -1% 
%-age 12% 19% 28% 22% 16% 2% 0% 100%     
31/12/2003 34 59 77 58 40 5 0 273 4.90 2% 
%-age 12% 22% 28% 21% 15% 2% 0% 100%     
31/12/2004 36 58 86 49 45 7 0 281 4.89 3% 
%-age 13% 21% 31% 17% 16% 2% 0% 100%     
31/12/2005 36 57 91 48 37 5 0 274 4.97 -2% 
%-age 13% 21% 33% 18% 14% 2% 0% 100%     
31/12/2006 36 68 87 62 50 7 0 310 4.86 13% 
%-age 12% 22% 28% 20% 16% 2% 0% 100%     
31/12/2007 37 64 90 69 42 6 0 308 4.89 -1% 
%-age 12% 21% 29% 22% 14% 2% 0% 100%     
31/12/2008 41 65 88 65 39 5 0 303 4.96 -2% 
%-age 14% 21% 29% 21% 13% 2% 0% 100%     
31/12/2009 39 64 92 66 29 4 0 294 5.02 -3% 
%-age 13% 22% 31% 22% 10% 1% 0% 100%     
31/12/2010 41 61 96 64 31 3 0 296 5.03 1% 
%-age 14% 21% 32% 22% 10% 1% 0% 100%     
31/12/2011 37 64 98 60 32 3 0 294 5.02 -1% 
%-age 13% 22% 33% 20% 11% 1% 0% 100%     
31/12/2012 35 64 96 61 34 3 0 293 4.99 0% 
%-age 12% 22% 33% 21% 12% 1% 0% 100%     
31/12/2013 31 62 92 62 37 3 0 287 4.93 -2% 
%-age 11% 22% 32% 22% 13% 1% 0% 100%     
01/05/2014 29 62 91 62 39 3 0 286 4.90 0% 
%-age 10% 22% 32% 22% 14% 1% 0% 100%     
 
 
__________