UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reiterated on Monday his call for a truly mobile, multi- functional UN staff.

The UN spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters at the daily briefing that Ban, during his meeting with Heads of Funds and Programs, stressed the need to ensure staff mobility between the Funds and Programs and the Secretariat, as a way to give real meaning to the concept of a truly mobile, multi-functional staff, serving one UN family, system-wide.

Ban told the Executive Heads he has decided to open a number of positions in his own office to expressions of interest from staff in all Funds and Programs, the spokesperson said, adding that the secretary-general proposed that the Funds and Programs respond with reciprocity to this initiative.

According to Montas, the Executive Heads welcomed the secretary- general's initiative, and promised to respond in a reciprocal manner by examining ways to open positions in Funds and Programs to Secretariat staff.

Ban announced on Friday that he would lead by example on staff mobility with a new practice of circulating positions in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General.

He invited all qualified Secretariat staff, in both headquarters and the field, to submit expressions of interest, and asked all Secretariat senior managers to follow suit and promote mobility among their staff in the same manner.

Source: Xinhua