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UNITED NATIONS ST/AI/1999/7

Secretariat 25 August 1999(Consolidated text)

Administrative instruction

CONSOLIDATED TEXT OF ST/AI/1999/7 AS LAST A!ENDED "#ST/AI/1999/7/Amend$1 e%%ective 1 A&ri' ())*

Consu'tants and individua' contractors

The Under-Secretary-General for Management, pursuant to section !2 of Secretary-General"s #ulletin

ST$SG#$199%$1, and for the purpose of implementing General Assem&ly resolution 5'$221 of % April 1999, here&y

promulgates the follo(ing)

I$ +enera' &rovisions

Section 1

De%initions

The follo(ing definitions shall apply for purposes of the present instruction)

*a+ A consultant is an indiidual (ho is a recognied authority or specialist in a specific field, engaged &y the

United .ations under temporary contract in an adisory or consultatie capacity to the Secretariat! A consultant must

hae special s/ills or /no(ledge not normally possessed &y the regular staff of the 0rganiation and for (hich there

is no continuing need in the Secretariat! The functions of a consultant are results-oriented and normally inole

analysing pro&lems, directing seminars or training courses, preparing documents for conferences and meetings or

(riting reports on the matters (ithin their area of epertise on (hich their adice or assistance is sought

*&+ An indiidual contractor is an indiidual engaged &y the 0rganiation from time to time under temporarycontract to proide epertise, s/ills or /no(ledge for the performance of a specific tas/ or piece of (or/ against

payment of an all-inclusie fee! An indiidual contractor need not (or/ on United .ations premises! The (or/

assignment may inole full-time or part-time functions similar to those of staff mem&ers, such as proision of

translation, editing, language training, pu&lic information, secretarial$clerical and part-time maintenance serices, or

other functions that could &e performed &y staff mem&ers!

1

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*c+ The epression 3any office of the 0rganiation" shall include any premise used &y the 0rganiation for its

official &usiness, (heresoeer located!

,Section 1 -c. as amended 0 ST/AI/1999/7/Amend$1 e%%ective 1 A&ri' ())*

II$ Consu'tants

Section (

+enera' &rinci&'es

4onsultants may &e hired only (hen the follo(ing conditions are met)

*a+ The assignment is of a temporary nature and the tas/s capa&le of &eing performed (ithin a limited and

specified period of time

*&+ The need for the reuired serices cannot &e met from (ithin the staff resources of the Secretariat for lac/ of

specialied /no(ledge and$or epertise! 6n areas (here consultants are freuently hired for a period of more than

one year, the head of department or office should su&mit proposals, (here necessary, for the esta&lishment of posts

to &e filled &y staff mem&ers

*c+ The consultant is selected from among highly ualified candidates in their specific field of epertise, on the

&asis of a reasoned and documented process

*d+ The serices to &e performed clearly relate to actiities in the (or/ programme of the department or office

concerned and$or to a specific legislatie or programming decision

*e+ The serices to &e performed do not duplicate (or/ or actiities already done, &eing done or a&out to &e done

&y other indiiduals, departments or offices of the Secretariat

*f+ 4onsultants shall not perform functions of staff mem&ers of the 0rganiation or hae any representatie or

superisory responsi&ility

*g+ 4onsultants shall &e selected as the most competent person for the (or/ from as (ide a num&er of

nationalities as possi&le, from a roster of ualified male and female candidates! They shall normally not receie any

training at the epense of the 0rganiation!

Section 2

Terms o% re%erence

'!1 7eads of departments and offices shall ensure that detailed terms of reference descri&ing the (or/ to &e performed

are prepared (ell in adance of the engagement of the consultant, and su&mitted in a timely manner to the eecutie oradministratie office for processing!

'!2 The proposed (or/ assignment of a consultant shall coer all the functions to &e performed, and may not include

functions (hich hae &een assigned to staff mem&ers in the recent past or are intended to &e so assigned in the near future!

8euests to hire a consultant may not &e processed, nor a contract of engagement issued, unless the head of the department

or office certifies that this condition has &een met!

2

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'!' The terms of reference shall form part of the contract! They shall &e clear and specific and include)

*a+ 0&ecties and targets

*&+ Tangi&le and measura&le outputs of the (or/ assignment

*c+ 8ealistic deliery dates and details as to ho( the (or/ must &e deliered *e!g! electronic su&mission, hard

copy, (hat computer program should &e used, etc!+

*d+ :erformance indicators for ealuation of results *e!g! timeliness, alue of the serices rendered in relation to

their cost+!

Section 3

Se'ection &rocess

Greater competitiveness of the selection process

!1 ;epartments and offices shall use the central roster of candidates &eing deeloped &y the 0ffice of 7uman

8esources Management as soon as it is operational!

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Medical clearance

!% #efore commencing (or/, a consultant (ho is epected to (or/ in any office of the 0rganiation or is reuired to

trael &y the 0rganiation shall &e reuired to su&mit a statement of good health and to ta/e full responsi&ility for the

accuracy of that statement, including confirmation that he or she has &een informed regarding inoculations reuired for thecountry or countries to (hich trael is authoried! 4onsultants (or/ing from their residence shall &e reuired to su&mit a

statement of good health only (hen reuired to trael &y the 0rganiation!

,Section 3$7 as amended 0 ST/AI/1999/7/Amend$1 e%%ective 1 A&ri' ())*

Section 4

Contractua' terms and conditions

Type of contract

5!1 4onsultants shall &e engaged under consultant contractsB entered into &y the 0rganiation directly (ith each of the

indiiduals concerned! The terms and conditions of the ne( contract are contained in anne A to the present instruction!

Special serice agreements preiously used for that purpose shall &e discontinued!

Duration of contract

5!2 4onsultants shall &e reuired to perform specific, results-oriented functions (ithin a prescri&ed time-frame

consistent (ith the (or/ plan of the department or office concerned! ;uration of the contract shall &e directly lin/ed to the

terms of reference and (or/ assignment of the consultant, as set out in the contract!

5!' 6n order to limit the repeated use of the same consultant*s+, either to perform different tas/s (ithin the (or/ plan or

a series of tas/s (ithin the same proect, no consultant shall proide serices for more than 2 months in a '@-month

period!

egal status

5! 4onsultants shall sere in a personal capacity and not as representaties of a goernment or of any other authority

eternal to the United .ations! They are neither staff mem&ersB under the Staff 8egulations of the United .ations nor

officialsB for the purposes of the 4onention on the :riileges and 6mmunities of the United .ations of 1' =e&ruary 19@

*4onention+! They may, ho(eer, &e gien the status of eperts on missionB (ithin the meaning of article C6, section 22

of the 4onention! 6f they are reuired to trael on &ehalf of the United .ations, they may &e gien a United .ations

certificate in accordance (ith article C66,section 2@,of the 4onention!

!tandards of conduct

5!5 4onsultants shall respect the impartiality and independence of the United .ations Secretariat and shall neither see/

nor accept instructions regarding the serices performed under the consultant contract from any Goernment or other

authority eternal to the 0rganiation! ;uring the period of their serice for the United .ations, consultants shall refrainfrom any conduct that (ould adersely reflect on the United .ations and shall not engage in any actiity that is

incompati&le (ith the aims and o&ecties of the 0rganiation!

5!@ 4onsultants shall eercise the utmost discretion in all matters relating to the performance of their functions! Unless

other(ise authoried &y the appropriate official in the office concerned, consultants may not communicate at any time to

the media, or to any institution, person, Goernment or other eternal authority, any information that has not &een made

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pu&lic and (hich has &ecome /no(n to them &y reason of their association (ith the United .ations! 4onsultants may not

use such information (ithout the (ritten authoriation of the 0rganiation!

5!@ &is! 4onsultants shall &e proided (ith a copy of Secretary-General"s &ulletin ST$SG#$2>>'$1',entitled 3Special

measures for protection from seual eploitation and seual a&use", and shall &e reuired to su&mit a (ritten underta/ing

indicating their agreement to a&ide &y the standards of conduct contained in that &ulletin!

,Section 4$* is$ as amended 0 ST/AI/1999/7/Amend$1 e%%ective 1 A&ri' ())*

"emuneration

5!% The leel of remuneration paya&le to a consultant shall &e determined on the &asis of the follo(ing elements)

*a+ The leel of gross salary, that is, ecluding post adustment, for staff in the :rofessional and higher categories

*&+ Deels of epertise and professional capacity, lin/ed to grades in the salary scale

*c+ Special circumstances, including hardship inoled in the performance of the (or/ assignment!

The 0ffice of 7uman 8esources Management shall proide detailed formula and policy guidelines for the determination

of the appropriate leel of remuneration!

5!? The remuneration to &e paid shall &e the minimum amount necessary to o&tain the serices reuired &y the

0rganiation! Amounts paid in connection (ith trael underta/en &y the consultant in accordance (ith section 5!1% &elo(

shall not &e ta/en into account for remuneration purposes!

5!9 A supplementary amount may &e authoried &y the 0ffice of 7uman 8esources Management (hen that is necessary

to o&tain the epertise reuired and the mar/et rates for highly specialied and technical serices eceed the remuneration

leels determined on the &asis of section 5!% a&oe! A fully documented ustification shall &e su&mitted at the same time as

any reuest for such authoriation!

5!1> 4onsultants may &e paid at a daily, (ee/ly or monthly rate, or on a lump-sum &asis, (hich represents the total alue

of the serices to the 0rganiation! The currency of payment shall &e specified in the contract!

5!11 :ayment of fees esta&lished on a lump-sum &asis shall normally ta/e place upon certification &y the authoried

official of satisfactory completion of the (or/! 6f the contract proides for instalments on completion of clearly identified

phases of the (or/ to &e performed, payment shall &e made upon certification &y the authoried official that each phase

has &een successfully completed! .o payment shall &e made if the consultant fails to complete the serice specified in the

contract to the satisfaction of the United .ations! 6f the serice is carried out partially, a determination shall &e made as to

(hat amount, if any, is to &e paid, &ased on that part of the (or/ completed!

5!12 The total remuneration paya&le to a consultant &y the United .ations shall &e specified in the contract in terms of

gross amounts! :ayment of any taes shall &e the sole responsi&ility of the consultant, (ho shall not &e entitled to

reim&ursement &y the United .ations of any taes he or she may &e reuired to pay or to any other &enefits, payments orsu&sidies, ecept as epressly stated in the contract! The United .ations shall not proide any medical or life insurance for

the consultant!

#erformance evaluation

5

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5!1' The performance of all consultants shall &e ealuated on form :!1>@$A, and a summary rating shall &e recorded in

the central roster maintained &y the 0ffice of 7uman 8esources Management as a reference for consideration of future

consultant contracts! .o single tas/ and consultant contract should eceed a period of si months (ithout a formal

ealuation of the (or/ performed!

5!1 The ealuation shall measure the uality of the (or/ performed and ta/e into account the goals esta&lished in theterms of reference, as (ell as compliance (ith contracted deliery dates! A targeted and detailed response (ith respect to

the uality of performance and the results (ill &e reuired from the ealuating officer! 6f goals hae not &een met

satisfactorily, no further contracts (ill &e granted to the consultant!

5!15 The 0ffice of 7uman 8esources Management shall hae the authority to ta/e a final decision on (hether further

contracts should &e a(arded in the case of an unsatisfactory performance ealuation &y a programme manager!

Termination of contract

5!1@ Unsatisfactory performance or failure to conform to the standards of conduct set out a&oe shall lead to termination

of serice for cause, at the initiatie of the United .ations!

Travel

5!1% Ehen the department or office concerned determines that trael is necessary in order for a consultant to perform his

or her assignments, trael shall &e authoried on the &asis of United .ations standards! 4onsultants authoried to trael

shall receie an amount euialent to the daily su&sistence allo(ance that (ould &e paid to staff mem&ers underta/ing

similar trael for official purposes!

III$ Individua' contractors

Section *

+enera' &rinci&'es

@!1 The proisions contained in section 2 a&oe shall apply in the case of indiidual contractors, as defined in section 1*&+, ecept as indicated &elo(!

@!2 6ndiidual contractors may perform functions similar to those of staff mem&ers, ecept that they may not discharge

representatie or superisory functions! Section 2 *f+ a&oe shall not apply!

Section 7

Terms o% re%erence

The proisions contained in section ' a&oe shall apply in the case of indiidual contractors, ecept for section '!2!

Section 5

Se'ection &rocess and contractua' terms and conditions

?!1 The proisions contained in sections and 5 a&oe shall apply in the case of indiidual contractors, ecept as

indicated &elo(!

?!2 An indiidual contractor shall &e engaged under a contract for indiidual contractorB entered into &y the

0rganiation directly (ith the indiidual! Special serice agreements preiously used for that purpose shall &e

@

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discontinued! The terms and conditions of the ne( contract are contained in the anne to the present instruction! Section

5!1 a&oe shall not apply!

?!' The serices of an indiidual contractor shall &e limited to si or, in special circumstances, nine (or/-months in any

period of t(ele consecutie months, ecept for indiidual contractors engaged to perform language functions on a unit-

cost &asis! Section 5!' a&oe shall not apply!

?! 6n addition to the proisions of sections 5!% to 5!12 a&oe, the follo(ing shall apply)

*a+ =ees of indiidual contractors may &e lin/ed to the salary scales for locally recruited United .ations staff at

each duty station, as appropriate

*&+ An indiidual contractor engaged to perform language functions may &e paid in accordance (ith an agreed

rate &ased on unit costs applica&le to such (or/!

I6$ es&onsii'it0 o% o%%ices concerned

Section 9

Im&'ementation o% t8e &resent instruction

9!1 7eads of departments and offices (here the serices of a consultant or indiidual contractor are reuired shall &e

responsi&le for)

*a+ !1 The present instruction shall enter into force on 1 Septem&er 1999!

1>!2 The proisions of the present instruction shall preail upon any inconsistent proision contained in administratie

instructions ST$A6$295and Amend!1on temporary staff and indiidual contractors, and ST$A6$29@andAmend!1on

consultants and participants in adisory meetings, pending reision of those t(o instructions!

%

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*!igned+ Foseph

Under-Secretary-General for Management

?

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Anne

U N I T E D N AT I O N S N AT I O N S U N I E S

CONTACT FO T:E SE6ICES OF ACONSULTANT O INDI6IDUAL CONTACTO

40.T8A4T T:

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"0 si=nin= e'o> and initia''in= to t8e ri=8t I t8e Contractor ac?no>'ed=e and a=ree t8at I

8ave read and acce&t t8e terms o% t8is Contract inc'udin= t8e +enera' Conditions o% Contracts

set %ort8 on t8e %o''o>in= &a=es >8ic8 %orm an inte=ra' &art o% t8is Contract and t8at I 8ave

een &rovided >it8 a co&0 o% 8ave read and understood and a=ree to aide 0 t8e standards o%

conduct set %ort8 in t8e Secretar0

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U N I T E D N AT I O N S N AT I O N S U N I E S

+ENEAL CONDITIONS OF CONTACTS FO T:E SE6ICES OFCONSULTANTS O INDI6IDUAL CONTACTOS

1! D

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;$1)3 -2

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o&ligations under the 4ontract! Su&ect to and (ithout any (aier of the priileges and

immunities of the United .ations, the 4ontractor may disclose 6nformation to the etent

reuired &y la(, provided that the 4ontractor (ill gie the United .ations sufficient prior

notice of a reuest for the disclosure of 6nformation in order to allo( the United .ations to

hae a reasona&le opportunity to ta/e protectie measures or such other action as may &e

appropriate &efore any such disclosure is made! The United .ations may disclose 6nformationto the etent as reuired pursuant to the

;$1)3 -2

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The 4ontractor may not assign, delegate, transfer, pledge or ma/e any other disposition of

the 4ontract, of any part thereof, or of any of the rights, claims or o&ligations under the

4ontract ecept (ith the prior (ritten authoriation of the United .ations, and any attempt to

do so shall &e null and oid! The terms or conditions of any supplemental underta/ings,

licences or other forms of agreement concerning any goods or serices to &e proided under the

4ontract shall not &e alid and enforcea&le against the United .ations nor in any (ay shallconstitute an agreement &y the United .ations thereto, unless any such underta/ings, licences

or other forms of agreement are the su&ect of a alid (ritten underta/ing &y the United

.ations! .o modification or change in the 4ontract shall &e alid and enforcea&le against the

United .ations unless proided &y means of a alid (ritten amendment to the 4ontract signed

&y the 4ontractor and an authoried official or appropriate contracting authority of the United

.ations!

%!SU#40.T8A4T08S

6n the eent that the 4ontractor reuires the serices of su&contractors to perform any

o&ligations under the 4ontract, the 4ontractor shall o&tain the prior (ritten approal of the

United .ations for any such su&contractors! The United .ations may, in its sole discretion,reect any

;$1)3 -2

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or anyone directly or indirectly employed &y them in the performance of the 4ontract, (hich

gie rise to legal lia&ility to anyone not a party to the 4ontract, including, (ithout limitation,

claims and lia&ility in the nature of a claim for (or/ers" compensation!

1>! 6.SU8A.4