Regional Director, Africa

About the Organization

In its Resolution A/RES/72/279, the United Nations General Assembly endorsed the transformation of the Development Operations Coordination Office (DCO) as a stand-alone coordination office within the United Nations Secretariat. DCO exercises managerial and oversight functions of the resident coordinator system under the oversight of the Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG).

In 2026, DCO undertook a recalibration to ensure the RC system remains optimally configured to support the acceleration of the 2030 Agenda, and fully embodies the UN 2.0 shift—anchored in data, digital, innovation, behavioral science, strategic foresight, and a mission driven organizational culture. The Regional Director reports to the Assistant Secretary-General (ASG)/Director, Development Coordination Office (UNDCO), under the overall leadership of the Chair of the UNSDG/Deputy Secretary-General as a second reporting officer.

Job Summary

The Regional Director leads DCO’s interface at the regional level, ensuring effective horizontal collaboration across the UN Development System. The Regional Director performs a key strategic role in advancing the collaboration across regional mechanisms, including the Regional Platforms for Integration, and provides field-facing support to regional and country offices, in close collaboration with the Regional Economic Commission.

The Regional Director supports the Resident Coordinator system by enabling effective coordination with all parts of DCO to deliver coherent, timely, and high-quality support for the implementation of DCO’s mandate. As a core member of the UNDCO senior leadership team, the Regional Director leads DCO’s regional coordination support to Resident Coordinators.

The Regional Director works closely with the Director of the Partnerships and Engagement Division, the Director of the SDG Coordination, Integrated Policy and Programme Division, the Chief of the RC System Leadership Branch, the Chief of Staff and the strategic units in the Office of the ASG, as well as with the Secretariat’s OneEO, to promote coherent, timely and system wide SDG delivery. The position is located in the United Nations Development Coordination Office (UNDCO) in Addis Ababa.

Key Responsibilities

The Regional Director is a team & thought leader, convenor, facilitator and broker of partnerships and strategic analyst on sustainable development. The Regional Director is also an experienced development practitioner, and an accomplished Representative, with strong strategic and management capacities. The role is primarily outward facing on regional, sub-regional and country-support-led strategic support to RCs and is supported by a regional team. Within delegated authority, the Regional Director will be responsible for leading the Regional Office in the following areas:

Regional Sustainable Development Thought leadership, partnerships and convening for SDG impact:

• Leads Regional thought leadership on strategic regional issues pertinent to SDG acceleration both regionally and at the country level for countries within the region and across regions (in collaboration with peer Regional Directors and DCO HQ-NY)–convening the regional “development arena” and priorities to drive SDG acceleration.
• Convenes and provides strategic direction at the regional level in collaboration with Secretariat entities (Regional Economic Commissions, other regional structures, International Financial Institutions and UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes (AFPs) both at the regional, sub-regional and country level (the latter in support of RC leadership).
• Strengthens collaboration and partnership with Regional Economic Commissions, other regional mechanisms, and sub-regional bodies, leveraging innovative financing, digital partnership tools and multi-stakeholder platforms to unlock SDG acceleration opportunities.
• Leads the development of regional, multi-country and special partnerships to deliver on regionally- identified priorities.
• Leads the integration of development approaches, taking account of conflict and crises, prevention and peacebuilding, human rights, humanitarian needs as well as other complexities, applying scenario planning, risk analytics and foresight to strengthen organizational resilience and preparedness in close coordination with OCHA, OHCHR and DPPA, as well as providing advice to RCs on the exercise of preventive diplomacy.
• Leads in influencing stakeholders on appropriate actions, deploying UN 2.0 skills such as foresight, behavioral science and data/evidence, that promote innovation and SDG acceleration.
• Coordinates communications and strategic messaging for RC system at regional level including regional efforts on information integrity, countering mis/dis information and advising RCs on strategic communications, in close collaboration with the Strategic Partnerships and Engagement Division.
• Supports RC efforts for joint resource mobilization and investment and partnering efforts to support joint programmes and pooled funds at country and regional levels.
• Engages in and facilitating links to global and regional joint funding mechanisms, in support of RC/UNCT efforts to link these to country level Agenda 2030 initiatives.
• Works with the Strategic Partnerships and Engagement Division to translate partnership and engagement opportunities at regional and country level into dynamic, co-created initiatives that leverage cross-sector capabilities and digital innovation.
• Supports the Chair of the Regional UNSDG in providing leadership and quality assurance for UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks (UNSDCFs) and joint program development, ensuring alignment with regional bodies, supporting cross-border strategies, and driving innovation to accelerate SDG progress.
• Supports country delivery of UNSDCFs, integrating lessons, and integrated approaches across UNCTs.
• Provides strategic guidance to Resident Coordinators (RC) and UN Country Teams (UNCT) to ensure quality and timely support to Member States in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, including support to RC decision-making in complex settings, promoting adaptive, forward looking leadership aligned with UN 2.0 capabilities.
• Provides regular reporting on regional results and oversees backstopping support to RCs, UNCTs, and RCOs in the region on planning, monitoring and reporting results.
• Supports, tracks and reports on implementation of UN reform and efficiency initiatives in the region, in line with policies and guidance from the High-Level Committees on Programmes and Management of the Chief Executives Board (CEB), the Secretary-General, and Deputy Secretary-General and Chair, UN Sustainable Development Group.
• Provides a facilitating role with host Governments, donors and counterparts; chairs meetings and seminars on substantive issues; represents the Organization at international, regional, inter-agency meetings, seminars and conferences, providing expertise, as needed.

Corporate Management and People Leadership:

• Directs, manages and is accountable for the UNDCO Regional office:
  • a) Formulates and implements the substantive strategy and work programme and budgets of the Regional office under his/her supervision, determining priorities, allocating and monitoring resources for the delivery of outputs, and reporting on results;
  • b) Oversees the management of activities undertaken by the Regional office, ensuring that programmed activities are carried out in a timely fashion and co-ordinates work in the different areas both within the Regional office, and with other organizations of the United Nations System, regional bodies and partners;
  • c) ensures delivery against all applicable results frameworks, including annual integrated planning and reporting frameworks, and supports delivery on UN efficiency targets (BOS, CBO, CP), ensuring all key performance indicators are met,
  • d) drives efforts on digital transformation and process simplification to improve management agility and efficiency in support of Resident Coordinator leadership.
• Supports day-to-day operations of the RC system in the region, including addressing RC/UNCT queries and requests for support, guidance and strategic advice; approves RC travel, mission and leave requests. Managing dispute resolution and facilitates trouble shooting; arranges for Regional UNSDG support missions, and convenes RCs as needed.
• Demonstrates the adoption of systems thinking and integration of UN 2.0 competencies–strategic foresight, behavioral science, data, digital and innovative approaches into the content, systems and approaches to DCOs work at regional and country level.
• Leads on the integration of risk management and foresight into all aspects of DCO’s work at regional level.
• Identifies and advocates for surge support as appropriate across countries in the region and facilitates and enables timely cross-regional surge support in collaboration with RCS corporate surge mechanisms.
• Role models and promotes matrix linkages across functions, with countries and with HQ divisions and branches as well as facilitates this across regions, encouraging collaborative leadership behaviors and support to the matrix management of functions in the Regional Office in collaboration with relevant DCO HQ Division Directors.
• Contributes to strategic senior leadership talent identification and management in collaboration it the RC System Leadership Branch, including support to RC and Head of RCO recruitment and RCS-wide strategic workforce planning.
• Supports the performance management of Resident Coordinators and contributes to performance management of Heads of Resident Coordinators’ offices.
• Ensures compliance with UN policies on gender equality, disability and youth inclusion, staff well- being, safety and duty of care requirements.
• Supports RCs, UNCTs and Resident Coordinator Offices (RCO) on Business Innovations.
• Contributes to the formulation of UNDCO strategies and policies by participating in various committees, preparing documents on policy issues, and acting, as required, in an advisory capacity to the ASG and Deputy Directors of UNDCO; contributes to the overall management of the Office’s activities and operations as an SMT member.
• Co-ordinates, oversees and contributes to the preparation of regional reports for presentation to interagency and intergovernmental bodies such as the UNSDG Inter-Agency Advisory Panel, High- Level Committees on Programmes and Management of the Chief Executives Board (CEB), Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budget Questions, Committee for Programme Coordination, Economic and Social Council, the General Assembly and other policy-making organs, as appropriate.
• Oversees the recruitment of staff for the Regional Office, taking into account geographical and gender balance and other UN principles; manages, guides and trains staff under his/her supervision; fosters teamwork and communication among staff in the Regional Office and across organizational boundaries.
• Performs other related duties as requested by the senior management of the Organization.

Required Qualifications

Education

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in international relations or public administration, law, social sciences or related area.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience

• A minimum of fifteen (15) years of progressively responsible experience in development cooperation coordination is required, including at least ten (10) years in senior leadership roles in international settings involving interagency and/or inter-organizational collaboration.
• A minimum of five (5) years of field experience in development cooperation is required, along with demonstrated experience in leading strategy and/or policy formulation in the area of development coordination. Substantive international development experience is required, including demonstrated engagement with public-private sector interfaces, SDG financing, and innovation.
• Experience in leading organizational reform and/or change management is required, including performance management of senior managers in multicultural environments and integrating gender equality/inclusion.
• Experience in overseeing both programmatic and administrative functions necessary for the effective operation of a large and complex organizational unit is required. Experience in managing budgets in a development cooperation context, with demonstrated risk awareness and exposure to complex, humanitarian and/or conflict settings, is desirable.
• Experience as a United Nations Resident Coordinator or demonstrated substantive knowledge of the UN Resident Coordinator system, the United Nations system more broadly, or a comparable international organization, is desirable.
• Experience working in the Africa region is an advantage.
• Experience in the application of digital, data, foresight, and/or behavioral science tools and approaches in development contexts is desirable.
• Experience in strategic resource mobilization and partnership-building, including with governments, the private sector, international financial institutions, and/or civil society, is desirable.
• A minimum of five (5) years of experience in a regional or sub-regional capacity, coordinating development actions across multiple countries and involving interagency and/or inter-organizational collaboration, is desirable.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this job opening, English is required. French is desirable.

Required Languages:

| Language | Reading | Writing | Listening | Speaking | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | English | UN Level II | UN Level II | UN Level II | UN Level II |

Desirable Languages:

| Language | Reading | Writing | Listening | Speaking | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | French | UN Level II | UN Level II | UN Level II | UN Level II |

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise, which may be followed by competency-based interview.

Required Skills and Competencies

• Professionalism: Knowledge of the substantive field of work in general and of specific areas being supervised. Shows ability to produce reports and papers on technical issues and to review and edit the work of others. Shows ability to apply UN rules, regulations, policies and guidelines in work situations. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations.
• Accountability: Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honours commitments; delivers outputs for which one has responsibility within prescribed time, cost and quality standards; operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules; supports subordinates, provides oversight and takes responsibility for delegated assignments; takes personal responsibility for his/her own shortcomings and those of the work unit, where applicable.
• Client Orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

Managerial Competencies:

• Leadership: Serves as a role model that other people want to follow: empowers others to translate vision into results; is proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives; establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs and gain support; anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions; drives for change and improvements; does not accept the status quo; shows the courage to take unpopular stands. Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; demonstrates knowledge of strategies and commitment to the goal of gender balance in staffing.
• Judgement/Decision-making: Identifies the key issues in a complex situation, and comes to the heart of the problem quickly; gathers relevant information before making a decision; considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them; takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the Organization; proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information; checks assumptions against facts; determines the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision; makes tough decisions when necessary.

How to Apply

All applicants are strongly encouraged to apply on-line as soon as possible after the job opening has been posted and well before the deadline stated in the job opening. Online applications will be acknowledged where an email address has been provided. If you do not receive an email acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. In such cases, please resubmit the application, if necessary. If the problem persists, please seek technical assistance through the Inspira “Need Help?” link.

Internal Applicants: When completing the form, ensure ALL fields, ALL professional experience and contact information are completed and up-to-date. This information is the basis for the hiring manager to assess your eligibility and suitability for the position and to contact you. Individual contractors and consultants (Non-Staff Personnel) who have worked within the UN Secretariat in the last six months, irrespective of the administering entity, are ineligible to apply for professional and higher temporary or fixed-term positions and their applications will not be considered.

Special Notice: Appointment against this post is open for an initial period of one year and may be subject to extension subject to legislative body funding availability. Staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary General and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures. The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.

For this position, applicants from the following Member States, which are unrepresented or underrepresented in the UN Secretariat as of 30 September 2025, are strongly encouraged to apply: Andorra, Angola, Belize, Brunei Darussalam, China, Cuba, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Germany, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kiribati, Kuwait, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Libya, Liechtenstein, Malta, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Monaco, Nauru, Oman, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Qatar, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Vanuatu.

United Nations Considerations: According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment. Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible.

The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. By accepting a letter of appointment, staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). Further, staff members in the Professional and higher category up to and including the D-2 level and the Field Service category are normally required to move periodically to discharge functions in different duty stations under conditions established in ST/AI/2023/3 on Mobility, as may be amended or revised. This condition of service applies to all position specific job openings and does not apply to temporary positions. Applicants are urged to carefully follow all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira, and to refer to the Applicant Guide by clicking on “Manuals” in the “Help” tile of the inspira account-holder homepage.

The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted.