Applications must be submitted to UNFPA via email at unfpa-dedp@sri-executive.com by Monday 16 February  2026  (midnight New York time).  

How you can make a difference

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.

The Position

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 and Experience 

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. 

Human Rights Screening

Individuals who seek to serve with the United Nations in any individual capacity will be required, if short-listed, to complete a self-attestation stating that they have not committed, been convicted of, nor prosecuted for, any criminal offence (excluding minor traffic offences); have not been involved, by act or omission, in the commission of any violation of international human rights law or international humanitarian law; have not committed, been investigated for, been prosecuted for, had a finding against for, or been convicted of an offence for, engaging in sexual exploitation and/or abuse and have not been the subject of a workplace disciplinary process or other similar process or a workplace investigation or similar process. Individuals who have been prosecuted but not convicted are required to provide information regarding the prosecution concerned.   

Conflicts of interest screening

All United Nations staff members are expected to uphold the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity.  Senior leaders in particular, have the responsibility to serve as role models in upholding the organization’s ethical standards.  

A conflict of interest occurs when, by act or omission, a staff member's personal interests interfere with the performance of his/her official duties and responsibilities, or call into question his/her integrity, independence and impartiality.  Risk for conflicts of interest may arise from a staff member's engagement in outside (non-UN) employment or occupation; outside activities, including political activities; receipt of gifts, honours, awards, favours or remuneration from external (non-UN) sources; or personal investment.  In particular, no staff member shall accept any honour, decoration, favour, gift or remuneration from any Government (staff regulation 1.2 (j)).  

Where a real or perceived conflict of interest does arise, senior leaders are obligated to disclose this to the organization without delay.  In order to avoid real or perceived family influence or preferential treatment and conflicts of interest that could stem from such situations, the UN Staff Rules provide that appointments “shall not be granted to anyone who is the father, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister of a staff member” (staff rule 4.7 (a)).

Short-listed individuals will also be required to complete the pre-appointment declaration of interests for senior positions to identify possible conflicts of interest that may arise and to proactively prevent and manage, as much as possible and in a timely manner, situations in which personal interests may conflict or appear to conflict with the interests of the United Nations, should the individual be appointed to this position.

Compensation and Benefits:

This position offers an attractive remuneration package including a competitive net salary plus health insurance and other benefits as applicable. 

UNFPA Work Environment: 

UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, diversity, integrity and healthy work-life balance. We are committed to ensuring gender parity in the organization and therefore encourage women to apply. Individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community, minority ethnic groups, indigenous populations, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply. UNFPA promotes equal opportunities in terms of appointment, training, compensation and selection for all regardless of personal characteristics and dimensions of diversity. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is at the heart of UNFPA's workforce - click here to learn more. 

Disclaimer:

Selection and appointment may be subject to background and reference checks, medical clearance, visa issuance and other administrative requirements. 

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process and does not concern itself with information on applicants' bank accounts. 

Applicants for positions in the international Professional and higher categories, who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment.