On August 9, 2025, Vietnam’s Ministry of Home Affairs unveiled a sweeping proposal to redefine the work landscape for commune-level civil servants, outlining a comprehensive framework of 28 temporary job positions that promises to reshape public administration from the ground up. The announcement, delivered during a nationwide online training conference for commune-level officials and civil servants, marks a significant milestone in the country’s ongoing efforts to modernize its state management apparatus and bring greater clarity and efficiency to local governance.
At the heart of the proposal, as reported by Dân trí, are 8 leadership and management roles and 20 specialized professional positions, each carefully designed to reflect the evolving responsibilities of commune-level officials. Mr. Vu Hai Nam, Head of the Organization and Personnel Department (Vụ trưởng Vụ Tổ chức - Biên chế) at the Ministry of Home Affairs, emphasized that these positions represent a temporary but crucial step forward: “This is a temporary job position plan,” he stated, underscoring the government’s intent to iterate and refine these roles as reforms progress.
According to Dân trí, the Ministry’s approach is closely aligned with the 2025 Civil Servants Law, which itself marks a leap forward from previous frameworks. The law requires that job positions become the cornerstone of civil service reform, driving changes not just in recruitment, but also in management, usage, evaluation, and—perhaps most notably—salary payment. As Mr. Nam put it during the conference, “Job positions are central to civil service reform, including recruitment, management, usage, evaluation, and salary payment based on job positions.”
One of the most notable aspects of the proposal is its emphasis on uniformity and generalization across all levels of government. The positions are designed to be consistent from central to local levels, ensuring that every commune, regardless of its size or location, operates under a shared set of expectations and standards. “This time, job positions are built to be unified from central to local levels, ensuring the highest level of generalization and closely following the functions and duties of state management for each sector and field,” explained Mr. Nam, as quoted by Dân trí.
The Ministry’s plan divides the 28 positions into three broad categories, as stipulated by the new law: leadership and management; specialized professional and operational; and support and service. The 8 leadership and management positions are intended for senior officials responsible for overall direction, while the 20 specialized roles are distributed across a range of departments, each tailored to the unique needs of the commune.
Delving into the specifics, the Office of the People’s Council and People’s Committee will have three distinct positions—one each for office administration, justice, and foreign affairs. The Economic Department, which serves both communes and special zones, will encompass seven roles spanning finance, planning, construction, transportation, commerce, agriculture, natural resources, and environment. These positions are designed to address the increasingly complex economic and infrastructural challenges faced by local governments, especially as Vietnam’s economy continues to grow and diversify.
The Culture and Society Department will feature eight specialized roles, reflecting the breadth of responsibilities handled at the commune level. These include internal affairs, ethnicity, labor, education and training, culture, science, information, and health. The proposal also creates a position at the Public Administrative Service Center, dedicated to managing public administrative services—a nod to the government’s commitment to improving citizen access to essential services. Rounding out the list is a role for an Assistant to the Commune Military Command, ensuring that defense and security considerations are not overlooked in the broader push for administrative reform.
As Dân trí reports, the Ministry of Home Affairs is also keenly aware of the need for flexibility and adaptability. The People’s Committee of each commune will be responsible for determining the training requirements for specialized civil servants in accordance with their respective sectors and fields. This decentralized approach allows local authorities to tailor their workforce to the unique demands and priorities of their communities, while still adhering to the overarching framework established by the Ministry.
The proposal further stipulates that the arrangement of specialized civil servants—whether they serve exclusively in one role or take on multiple responsibilities—must align with the commune-level civil servant staffing framework as regulated by authorized levels. This is designed to ensure that every commune has the personnel it needs to fulfill its duties effectively, without unnecessary redundancy or gaps in expertise.
Mr. Nam was clear that the new framework is not set in stone, but rather a living document that will evolve as the government gathers feedback and monitors its implementation. “We will design job positions, job descriptions, and competency frameworks suitable to the requirements, nature, and complexity of the tasks,” he explained. The Ministry’s goal is to ensure that positions requiring higher levels of complexity and strategic input are classified at the senior level, while those focused on implementation and guidance are assigned to more specialized or operational ranks.
Legal backing for the reform is robust. The proposal draws on Decree 62 of the Government and 15 guiding circulars from various ministries and sectors, providing a solid legal foundation for the changes. The Ministry aims to ensure that every job description and competency framework is not just a bureaucratic formality, but a practical tool for improving performance, accountability, and service delivery at the grassroots level.
For many observers, the proposal is a welcome sign that Vietnam is taking concrete steps to professionalize its civil service and equip local governments to meet the challenges of the 21st century. By clarifying roles, responsibilities, and expectations, the Ministry hopes to create a more transparent, efficient, and responsive public sector—one that can better serve the needs of citizens in every corner of the country.
Of course, as with any major reform, the real test will come in the months and years ahead, as local authorities begin to adapt to the new framework and the Ministry fine-tunes its approach based on real-world experience. But for now, the proposal stands as a bold statement of intent—a clear signal that Vietnam is committed to building a modern, capable, and accountable civil service from the ground up.
