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The appointment of senior leaders is one the most significant responsibilities of the Secretary-General, in his capacity as the Chief Administrative Officer of the Organization. The Secretary-General attaches the utmost importance and exercises with great care, the discretionary authority that is vested in him by the General Assembly for the appointment of senior leaders.

The Secretary-General has established a recruitment and selection process to advertise and search for the most suitable person for a particular leadership position. The process carefully balances the need for securing the transparency and impartiality of the process with the need to share information with Member States and the public, while protecting the confidentiality and privacy of the candidates.

The Secretary-General is also committed to ensuring that there is gender parity among his senior leadership team and that senior leaders who fall under his direct authority are appointed from as wide a geographical basis as possible: in the Departments and Offices of the Secretariat, Peacekeeping Operations and Special Political Missions, the Regional Commissions, Funds and Programmes and Other Entities.

While the Secretary-General has in most cases the ultimate authority to make the final selection, some senior positions are governed by specific General Assembly and Security Council resolutions with stipulations placed on their appointment process ranging from term limits to consultations with intergovernmental bodies, Member States and Board Members upon nomination by the Secretary-General.