A total of 675 staff were in service on 31 December 2013, including 507 financed by the Regular Programme Budget, 69 by the Administrative and Operational Services Costs (AOSC) fund, and 99 by extra-budgetary funds. Of the total number of staff, 318 were in the Professional (P) and higher categories, and 357 in the General Services (GS) category. Eighty-four Member States were represented in the Secretariat in the Professional and higher categories.
The overall representation of women reached 30 per cent in the Professional and higher categories. At the senior level, representation stood at 10 per cent for D-1 posts and at 50 per cent for D-2 posts. The Organization continued to benefit from contributions of 9 secondees and 42 gratis personnel, obtained through partnership arrangements with Member States and aviation authorities. In 2013, 16 new gratis personnel were welcomed to the Organization.
In connection with the ongoing comprehensive review of Staff Regulations and Staff Rules, which is informed by the objective to increase operational efficiency and to further harmonize these Regulations and Rules with those of other United Nations Common System organizations, the Council approved amendments to The ICAO Service Code during the year.
The approved amendments included an increase in the mandatory age of separation to 65 for new staff joining the Organization on or after 1 January 2014. The conditions and criteria for the granting of continuing appointments in the Secretariat were endorsed by the Human Resources Committee and this subject will be presented to the Council in 2014. Procedures and tools for the implementation of the Staff Mobility Policy and to better support human resource planning and succession management activities were also developed.
Human Resources policies and related administrative processes for the recruitment and service conditions of individual consultants/contractors and seconded personnel were updated and enhanced.
As part of the Organization’s outreach efforts to assist in identifying and attracting qualified candidates of a high calibre from all Member States, the Young Aviation Professionals Programme was launched as a joint initiative with International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Airports Council International (ACI) and appointments were made from separate geographic regions. The selected candidates will commence their assignments in early 2014.
With regard to gender, a Memorandum of Understanding was also signed between ICAO and the International Aviation Women’s Association (IAWA), with the intention of promoting women’s development within the aviation industry and regulatory activities.
The opening of the ICAO APAC Regional Sub-office (RSO) in Beijing on 27 June 2013 was a milestone during the year. The Beijing RSO reports directly to the Regional Office, APAC and seeks to address strategic objectives relating to:
• Safety and efficiency of flight operations.
• Airspace capacity and efficiency.
• Air traffic management operations.
The Regional Sub-office is staffed primarily by gratis personnel, with the exception of the Chief. In total there are seven Professional and four General Services staff. The contributions made by Member States in this regard are very much appreciated and reflect a strong commitment to the mandate of the Organization.
The automation of human resources business processes has been progressing satisfactorily during the year in areas such as the document management system, which supports electronic filing and archiving of documents, numerous statistical reports regarding recruitment, the online reference aid for the preparation of job descriptions, the ICAOMed application, which allows for online appointment making and generation of statistical reports on the usage of the Medical Centre, and online leave administration.
