CHIEF OF BRANCH (Chief, Policy and Programming Branch)
United Nations Secretariat (UN)
Resident Coordinator System
New York (United States)

CHIEF OF BRANCH (Chief, Policy and Programming Branch), D1

Job Opening

Job Opening ID: 287109

Job Network : Economic, Social and Development

Job Family : Programme Management

Category and Level : Professional and Higher Categories, D-1

Recruitment Type : Temporary Opportunities

Duty Station : NEW YORK

Department/Office : Resident Coordinator System

Date Posted : Oct 23, 2026

Deadline : Oct 29, 2026

Org. Setting and Reporting

In its resolution A/RES/72/279, the United Nations General Assembly endorsed the transformation of the Development Coordination Office (DCO) into a stand-alone coordination office within the United Nations Secretariat. DCO exercises managerial and oversight functions over the Resident Coordinator system, under the collective ownership of the members of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG). The position is located in the DCO Headquarters in New York and reports to the Assistant Secretary-General for Development Coordination.

Responsibilities

The Chief, Policy and Programming Branch leads, guides and formulates the substantive work of the Branch. The Chief oversees the management of activities undertaken within the Branch and ensures that programmed activities are carried out in a timely fashion and co-ordinates policy, programming, data and digital work across the Resident Coordinator system. The Chief provides strategic vision, leadership, and oversight to the Branch, which includes: a) the Development Programme Cycle Section, b) the Complex Settings Section, c) the SDG Policy and Financing Section, d) the Data, Digital and Innovation Section. Within the limits of delegated authority, the incumbent is responsible for the following: • Supervises the work of the Policy and Programming Branch, • Provides overall leadership and guidance to ensure a coherent and integrated support package to Resident Coordinators (RCs), Resident Coordinator Offices (RCOs) and United Nations Country Teams (UNCTs) on sustainable development policy and implementation. • Provides strategic advice to DCO senior management on norm-based integrated sustainable development policy and implementation support matters. • Forges and maintains strategic partnerships with other entities of the United Nations Development System (UNDS), including through UNSDG mechanisms, and external partners with a view to ensuring the provision of strong system-wide support and cutting-edge expertise to RCs, RCOs and UNCTs on sustainable development policy, financing and implementation support matters. • Drives thought leadership within DCO and the UNSDG on sustainable development Policy and implementation support matters based on an effective policy-practice feedback loop that informs both Headquarters and field on these issues, while driving innovation and change in the operational support of the UNDS to the 2030 Agenda. • Leads the development of strategic, flagship sustainable development policy and implementation support products for presentation to intergovernmental bodies such as the Economic and Social Council, the General Assembly and other policy-making organs. • Reports to intergovernmental bodies on on programmatic/ substantive issues, particularly those presented in biannual and/or annual reports. • Leads the RC system’s digital transformation, including strategic oversight of digital public goods, AI-informed processes, data platforms (e.g., UN Info), and advanced analytics and innovation. • Ensures that RCs and UNCTs benefit from fit-for-purpose digital and data solutions, fostering a culture of continuous learning, experimentation and innovation across the system. • Ensures that all outputs produced by the Sections under his/her supervision meet required standards before completion to ensure they comply with the relevant mandates. • Assists the DCO Senior Management in preparing the work programme of the Department, determining priorities, and allocating resources for the completion of outputs and their timely delivery. • Undertakes or oversees the tasks necessary for the functioning of Branch including preparation of budgets, reporting on budget/programme performance, evaluation of staff performance, interviews of candidates for job openings, evaluation of candidates and preparation of inputs for results-based budgeting. • Oversees the RC system’s efforts to implement UN system-wide action plans on gender equality, disability inclusion and youth. • Oversees staff recruitment, taking due account of geographical balance. • Manages, guides, develops and trains staff under his/her supervision. • Fosters teamwork and communication among staff in the Branch and across organizational boundaries. • Oversees the organization of meetings, seminars, etc. on substantive issues. Manages the substantive preparation and organization of such meetings or seminars. • Participates in international, regional or national meetings and provides programmatic/substantive expertise on relevant issues, and holds programmatic/substantive and organizational discussions with representatives of other organizations/strategic partners. • Fosters cross-DCO teamwork, shared accountability, and a UN 2.0 leadership mindset across teams. • Represents the Branch and DCO at international, regional or national meetings.

Competencies

PROFESSIONALISM: Knowledge of the substantive field of work in general and of specific areas being supervised. Ability to produce reports and papers on technical issues and to review and edit the work of others. 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. CREATIVITY: Promotes stakeholder-centered design and appropriate risk-taking approaches for team. Leads in the identification of innovative solutions to facilitate and support scaling of UNDS innovations at country level. Actively seeks to improve programmes or services; offers new and different options to solve problems or meet client needs; promotes and persuades others to consider new ideas; takes calculated risks on new and unusual ideas; thinks “outside the box”; takes an interest in new ideas and new ways of doing things; is not bound by current thinking or traditional approaches. 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 VISION: Identifies strategic issues, opportunities and risks; clearly communicates links between the Organization’s strategy and the work unit’s goals; generates and communicates broad and compelling organizational direction, inspiring others to pursue that same direction; conveys enthusiasm about future possibilities. 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 that the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision; makes tough decisions when necessary.

Education

Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in business or public administration, finance, accounting, law, social sciences or related area. A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Job – Specific Qualification

Not available.

Work Experience

A minimum of fifteen years of progressively responsible experience in international development, managing and overseeing policy and programme development issues, is required A minimum of seven (7) years field experience in the area of sustainable development is required A minimum of five (5) years experience in coordination of operational activities for development is required. Experience in the United Nations system or a comparable international organization is desirable. Experience in the management of multicultural policy development teams at the country, regional, global levels is desirable. Experience leading teams on digital transformation, data and innovation 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. The table below shows the minimum required level for each skill in these languages, according to the UN Language Framework (please consult https://languages.un.org for details).

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 I	UN Level I	UN Level I	UN Level I

Assessment

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

Special Notice

Appointment against this post is open for an initial period of six (6) months 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. Pursuant to section 7.11 of ST/AI/2012/2/Rev.1, candidates recruited through the young professionals programme who have not served for a minimum of two years in the position of their initial assignment are not eligible to apply to this position. 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. At the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the recruitment and employment of staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, with due regard to geographic diversity. All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and organizational needs. The United Nations is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The United Nations recruits and employs staff regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds or disabilities. Reasonable accommodation for applicants with disabilities may be provided to support participation in the recruitment process when requested and indicated in the application. 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.

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 in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application. All external candidates recruited in accordance with section ‎2.2 (a) of ST/AI/2025/3 for a fixed term appointment without limitation and all external candidates recruited in accordance with section 2.2. (c) of ST/AI/2025/3 for a fixed term appointment limited to the entity are subject to an initial probationary period of one year under a fixed-term appointment. Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

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