text: 197.Inthediscussion ofthereport onstaffing andhumanresource management in UNICEF (E/ICEF/1986/AB/L.8), manyusefulsuggestions weremadeforimproving the information onstaffing tobeprovided atfutureBoardsessions. 198.Several delegations raisedvarious pointswithregardtorecruitment. The secretariat responded thatalthough UNICEFdidnotfollow astrictquotasystemfor nationalities, thelevelofgovernmental contributions toUNICEF wasamajor factor. Inaddition, preference wasgiventounder-represented countries. UNICEF alwaysattempted toselectthemostqualified personforeveryavailable postand hadawell-developed selection process. Allappointments bytheExecutive Director werebasedonexisting policies andprocedures. Wherever possible, vacantposts werefilled byinternal candidates. 199.Onedelegation requested clarification withregardtosupernumeraries, staff agaInst abolished postsandstaffintransit. Thesecretar iatinformed theBoard thatallthoseexpressions referred tothesamesituation, and no~edthata definition ofandpolicy onthose"staffawaiting reassignment" wouldbeprovided innextyear's budgetsubmission. 200.Inresponse toarequest fromseveral delegations formoreinformation with regardtotheincrease inthenumberofproject personnel, thesecretariat stated thatoverthepasttwoyearstheoverall numberofproject personnel hadincreased byapproximately 26percent. Thatwasduemainlytothecreation of50emergency postsinAfricatohelprespond totheemergency situation, totheconversion of postsrelated toproject support communications, watersupply andsanitation, and totheconversion ofthosepostsdeployed todistrict sub-offices, asendorsed by theExecutive Board. Inaddition, theCommittee wasinformed thatthemajority of project postswerefunded fromgeneral resources. 201.TheissueofInternational Professional project postsatUNICEFheadquarters wasraised bytwodelegations. Thosepostswerespecifically established to support programme implementation, andtheExecutive Director assured delegations thatUNICEF wouldkeepthenumberofproject postsatheadquarters assmallas possible atalltimes. Theestablishment ofproject postsatheadquarters would continue tobereviewed bytheAdvisory Committee onAdministrative andBudgetary Questions andreported totheExecutive Boardduringthebudgetprocess. -30- 202.Manydelegations raisedtheissueoftheuseofconsultants byUNICEF. The secretariat pointed outthattheaverage duration ofaconsulting assignment at UNICEF waslessthanthreemonths. Inmostcases,thehiringofconsultants was themosteconomical waytofillashort-term needforspecialized expertise. The secretariat had,however, notedthecaution oftheCommittee onthatmatterand,in fact,hadreduced allocations forconsultants byabout40percent. 203.Manydelegations notedtheExecutive Director's authority toreclassify and redeploy postsduring abiennial budgetperiodbuturgedcaution inexercising that authority. Thesecretariat explained thatgreatcarewasbeingtakentoensure thatthepyramid ofpostsauthorized bytheExecutive Boardwasfollowed. Reclassifications hadresulted inadownward trendintheaverage classification of International Professional coreposts. Theprocess hadgivenUNICEF aflexibility torespond promptly tochanging priorities andhadmaintained thefocusonthe dutiesofthepostratherthanonthepersonal gradelevels (seeparas. 64-67 above). One-time installation costsforUNICEF House 204.TheCommittee reviewed therecommendations oftheExecuti.ve Director regarding thefinancing ofone-time installation costsatUNICEF House(E/ICEF/1986/L.l), the reportoftheAdvisory Committee onAdministrative andBudgetary Questions on UNICEF House(E/ICEF/1986/AB/L.3) andthenoteoftheChairman oftheExecutive Board(E/ICEF/1986/CRP.IO). 205.Themajority ofdelegations speaking ontheitemfeltthattheinformal discussions arranged bytheChairman oftheBoardexpedited asatisfactory solution toreducing thelevelofestimates withrespect totheone-time installation costs, takingintoaccount therecommendations oftheAdvisory Committee onAdministrative andBudgetary Questions. 206.Thesecretariat notedtheconcern expressed bysomedelegations that continuing efforts should bemadetoensurethatexpenditures weremonitored soas toensurethatcostswerefurther reduced wherever feasible.
analysis: The text discusses various aspects of human resource management and budgeting within the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). It touches on topics such as staffing, recruitment, and budgeting, but does not explicitly relate to specific sectors like economic development, natural resources, or industry. The text's focus on human resource management and budgeting suggests a connection to employment and humanitarian aid, which are crucial aspects of UNICEF's work.