UNDP hires personnel through international or local recruitment. It applies several types of contracts depending on a number of criteria, such as legal basis and duration of services. The standard types of contracts are:

• Fixed Term Appointment (FTA) – nationals and international
• Temporary Assignment (TA) – nationals and internationals
• Service Contracts (SC) – nationals only
• Individual Contracts (IC) – nationals and internationals

Fixed Term Appointments (FTA)
FTAs are concluded for the staff members contracted under Staff Rules. Salary scale for national staff is based on the best prevailing local conditions. Salary scale for international staff is based on the best comparator civil service.

Temporary Appointments (TA)
TAs are concluded for the staff members under TA Guidelines. Maximum duration of the contract is 364 days. Salary scale for national staff is based on the best prevailing local conditions; Salary scale for international staff is based on the best comparator civil service.

Service Contracts (SC)
SCs are for personnel governed by explicit terms of service. The duration of the contract must be more than 6 months. Salaries are based on local market conditions for specific jobs.

Individual Contract (IC)
IC is a legal instrument used for procurement of services of an individual to perform non-staff tasks in connection with clear and quantifiable deliverables listed in the contract and linked to payment. Individual Contractor is intended solely to deliver time and deliverable-bound services. The services can be intellectual in nature (requiring a consultant) or support services (requiring a contractor). The principle for setting the fees is nature of the assignment, complexity, difficulty and extent of the work to be performed and the degree of expertise required to accomplish it.