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Deputy Executive Director (Programme)

UNFPA
  • Location
    New York, New York
  • Sector
    Non Profit
  • Experience
    Mid Career
  • Posted
    Yesterday
  • Location Type
    Onsite

Position description

UNFPA is the lead United Nations agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is intended, every childbirth is safe, and every young person's potential is fulfilled. The UNFPA Strategic Plan for 2026-2029 articulates the organization’s response to a complex global environment, providing a roadmap for resilience and renewal. It is designed to accelerate the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. This mandate is pursued through a focus on four interconnected outcomes: ending the unmet need for family planning; ending preventable maternal deaths; ending gender-based violence and harmful practices; and adapting to demographic change through evidence and rights-based policies.

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction.

UNFPA is seeking candidates who transform, inspire, and deliver high-impact and sustained results and ensure effective external relations, communications, and partnership-building and resource mobilization in a rapidly changing development and funding landscape. We need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them, and who commit to delivering excellence in programme results.

For more information, visitwww.unfpa.org.

Role purpose

The Deputy Executive Director (Programme), along with the Deputy Executive Director (Management), is one of the two most senior members of the UNFPA leadership team working under the leadership of and in close collaboration with the UNFPA Executive Director. In support of UNFPA’s mandate and programmes, the Deputy Executive Director (Programme) is responsible for technical and strategic leadership, management and communication of the UNFPA programme and humanitarian response. The position also has responsibilities for building and maintaining partnerships with the UN and bilateral agencies and other partners on specific programme themes.

The Deputy Executive Director (Programme) holds the rank of United Nations Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) and leads a senior management team of eight Directors at the D-2 level. The Deputy Executive Director (Programme) proactively engages in UNFPA’s strategic direction to help implement the 2030 Agenda and the achievement of all 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

      • Normative leadership: Uphold UNFPA’s normative role and mandate on sexual and reproductive health and rights and role as custodian of the International Conference on Population and Development.
      • Strategic direction of the programme and humanitarian portfolio: Provide strategic direction and leadership across all of UNFPA’s programmatic functions, including humanitarian response. Supervise a senior leadership team of Directors (currently, the Director of the Programme Division, the Humanitarian Response Division, and six Regional Directors) to ensure the seamless integration of policy, strategy, technical expertise, and evidence-based programming to advance UNFPA's mandate in development and humanitarian settings and to ensure more coherent approaches across the humanitarian-development-peace continuum.
      • Strategic Plan and Vision: Lead the organization’s programmatic contributions and oversee implementation overall of the new UNFPA Strategic Plan, 2026-2029, driving its vision for resilience and renewal. Ensure the successful implementation of its four interconnected outcomes, including through country programme documents: ending the unmet need for family planning; ending preventable maternal deaths; ending gender-based violence and harmful practices; and adapting to demographic change through rights-based policies.
      • Investment and Financing: Champion and lead the strategic shift from traditional funding models to funding and leveraging sustainable financing and investment.
      • Demographic Foresight and Normative Leadership: Lead the organization's agenda on demographic change, ensuring that demographic intelligence and foresight inform rights-based policies and national development strategies. Uphold UNFPA’s normative role in advancing the ICPD Programme of Action.

Programme Execution and Oversight

      • Programme Quality and Impact: Direct UNFPA's work to achieve enhanced impact in programming at both country and regional levels. Improve the quality and control of country programmes by robustly strengthening systems, processes, and oversight structures to build resilience in a polycrisis world.
      • Programme and Humanitarian Coherence and Direction: Ensure that all relevant organizational units provide cutting-edge, integrated technical and policy guidance across the organization, in both development and humanitarian settings. Guide Regional Directors' visions to ensure effective oversight and quality assurance of programming, clarifying and strengthening accountabilities between regional, headquarters, and country levels.
      • Risk Management: Oversee programmatic performance and lead the development of related risk mitigation strategies. Support country teams as needed, and through regional offices, with strategic decision-making and programme alignment with the organization's core mission.
      • Humanitarian Mainstreaming and Leadership: Oversee UNFPA’s humanitarian response strategy, policies, and implementation. Ensure that the response to humanitarian crises, transition, and recovery is effectively mainstreamed within the organization’s programming and strategic positioning, with a focus on the Humanitarian-Development-Peacebuilding continuum.

Partnerships, Representation, and Resource Mobilization

      • High-Level Representation: Represent UNFPA at the highest levels of policy dialogue on programming and humanitarian matters with Executive Board Members, Member States, major international partners, and civil society organizations. Represent UNFPA at relevant meetings of the UN Sustainable Development Group, the High-Level Committee on Programming and the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC).
      • Coalition Building and Sustainable Financing: Lead technical, strategy, and advocacy coalition-building to drive the mobilization of diverse and sustainable financing for transformative investments, expanding beyond traditional ODA.
      • Strategic Partnerships: Build strong partnerships with governments, international financial institutions, civil society, philanthropy, and the private sector to expand and diversify funding. Leverage innovative best practices to build new and non-traditional financial partnerships to maximize investments in sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Team and Organizational Leadership

      • Talent Development: Systematically strengthen the capabilities of the senior programme leadership team and developing direct reports.
      • Change Management: Work closely with the Deputy Executive Director (Management) on change management initiatives that support UNFPA's programme aims.
      • Empowerment and Culture: Ensure clarity in roles, accountability, and decision-making, empowering the senior leadership team and country office heads to deliver results at a high level. Foster a culture of collaboration, adaptation, and innovation, strengthening relationships among headquarters programmatic units, Regional Offices, and Country Offices.
      • Safeguarding: Model highest standards of ethical behaviour and zero tolerance for any wrongdoing.
      • Support other activities, initiatives and priorities as determined and guided by the Executive Director.

Qualifications

Education

An advanced university Degree in Public Health, Social Sciences or related discipline, with additional qualifications in Business or Public Administration/ Management highly regarded.

Knowledge and Experience

      • Over 20 years of professional experience in increasingly responsible roles in public health, sustainable development or humanitarian response, with at least 10 years in a senior leadership capacity is required.
      • Substantial experience managing a complex, large-scale portfolio of development and humanitarian programmes at the global or regional level, including expertise in programme design, results-based management, and evaluation across diverse contexts, including settings in the humanitarian-development-peacebuilding nexus.
      • Strong experience in mobilizing resources and shaping financing strategies for development and humanitarian response, with exposure to diverse sources such as international financial institutions, domestic resource mobilization, and innovative financing mechanisms.
      • Demonstrated ability to utilize demographic data, population analysis, and foresight to inform the design and implementation of rights-based policies and development strategies.
      • Significant experience in advocacy, negotiation, and policy dialogue in high-level intergovernmental, multi-stakeholder, or similar fora.
      • A strong track record of establishing and cultivating effective strategic partnerships with senior leaders across governments, multilateral organizations, financial institutions, and civil society.
      • In-depth knowledge of the international development and humanitarian systems, gained through senior-level experience.

Language

Excellent knowledge of English is required; and working knowledge of other UN official languages is desirable.

Required Competencies

Values:

      • Exemplifying integrity
      • Demonstrating commitment to UNFPA and the UN system
      • Embracing cultural diversity
      • Embracing change

Core Competencies:

      • Developing people/Coaching and mentoring & fostering innovation and empowerment
      • Self management/Emotional intelligence
      • Communicating information and ideas
      • Results Orientation/Commitment to Excellence
      • Appropriate and transparent decision making
      • Analytical and strategic thinking and Results orientation/Commitment to excellence
      • Knowledge sharing/Continuous learning
      • Working in teams

Functional Competencies:

      • Global leadership and advocacy
      • Client orientation
      • Organizational leadership and direction
      • Global leadership and advocacy for ICPD goals
      • Ensuring Operational Effectiveness & Accountability for Results
      • External and internal communication and advocacy for results mobilization

Managerial Competencies:

      • Providing strategic vision and focus
      • Engaging internal / external partners and stakeholders
      • Leading, developing and empowering people / creating a culture of performance
      • Making decisions and exercising judgment

Application instructions

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