Pay system, contracts & programmes

How pay and appointments work at UNHCR.

UN common system

Salaries, post adjustment, allowances and benefits are set by the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) — broadly consistent across UN agencies, funds and programmes. How UN pay works ›

Beyond common-system staff posts, UNHCR relies on an Affiliate Workforce (deployment/standby arrangements, partly UNOPS-administered), consultancies and UN Volunteers — a major route into field operations.

Contract modalities

FTA · Fixed-Term Appointment TA · Temporary Appointment CA · Continuing Appointment IC · Consultant / Individual Contractor UNV · UN Volunteer Intern · Internship

Entry & talent programmes

JPO · Junior Professional Officer

All contract types

What UNHCR typically hires at

Based on 494 postings in the last 12 months. Net base = annual salary before post adjustment/allowances.

Grade	Share of postings	Est. net base / year
G-level	30%	Local scale — varies by duty station
NO-level	5%	Local scale — varies by duty station
D-1/D-2	0%	$117,953 – $153,845
Consultant	1%	Daily fee (varies)
Internship	11%	Stipend (varies)
Other/Unspecified	52%	—

Main duty station: Budapest. Take-home changes with post adjustment & hardship there.

Estimate take-home

Contract types

The contract mix shapes benefits eligibility — staff posts (P/GS) carry pension, health and allowances that consultancies and volunteer roles usually don’t.

Staff position · 74% Volunteer · 12% Internship · 11% Short-term · 1% Consultancy · 1% Fellowship · 1% Talent Pool · 0%

Estimate take-home pay at UNHCR

A UN salary is not one number. Net base, post adjustment for the duty station and hardship where it applies go on; pension and health insurance come off. The calculator builds that stack layer by layer on the live ICSC scale.

Open the UN take-home calculator

UN salary scale data last synced 1 Oct 2026 · Source: ICSC.

About UNHCR

Geneva, Switzerland
Founded 1950
United Nations System

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