UN-DESA calls it a "temporary job"the one awarded to Elia Yi Armstrong, the current Ethics Director of UNDP. No selection was necessary, and sources at UN-DESA say that the process was already pre-arranged since last September 2011.
Elia Yi Armstrong, who came to UNDP from UN-DESA, held her old job at DESA a P5 post for almost 3 years. She was supposed to return to her post as P5, as per UN rules. But being a Korean (South) and an accomplished pianist (her BA is in Piano Pedagogy/Music) she deserves a D1, barely 4 years into her P5 (including the years at UNDP as Ethics Director).