Deputy Director

Role Overview

The Deputy Director serves as a strategic advisor to the Director, providing counsel on technical, operational, and functional matters to enhance the Division’s effectiveness and broader organizational impact. This leadership role involves overseeing various programmatic and administrative functions, including budgeting, resource management, donor engagement, and workforce planning.

Key Responsibilities

• Advise the Director on strategic matters to boost operational impact within the Division and the wider organization.
• Oversee budget preparation, financial reporting, and management of resources and donor relationships.
• Manage workforce planning and staff development initiatives.
• Provide secretariat support to the Budget Steering Committee advising on UNEP’s core and earmarked resource projections and monitoring.
• Review and ensure UNEP’s Supplementary Financial Rules align with UN Financial Regulations and internal policy frameworks.
• Represent the organization in inter-agency budget and finance networks, staying abreast of developments and proposing customized solutions.
• Lead organization of meetings, seminars, and forums on substantive and strategic topics.
• Mentor, develop, and manage staff while overseeing enterprise-wide corporate training efforts.
• Promote effective communication and collaboration within the Division and across organizational boundaries.
• Participate in process reviews and redesigns to increase efficiency, simplify procedures, and fortify internal control systems.
• Ensure outputs from the Division and supervised sections meet high standards of quality, clarity, objectivity, and alignment with mandates.
• Develop and refine processes for priority setting, resource allocation, and timely delivery of outputs.
• Lead preparation and coordination of reports and documents for intergovernmental bodies such as CPR, UNEA, ACABQ, CPC, ECOSOC, and the UN General Assembly.
• Collaborate across the UN system supporting reform initiatives and strategic partnerships.
• Drive data collection, analysis, and knowledge-sharing initiatives to support evidence-based decision making and performance management.

Required Experience

• Over 15 years of progressively responsible experience in financial management, administration, budgeting, and internal controls.
• At least 10 years overseeing Implementing Partners, multi-stakeholder Trust Funds, and managing financial and budgetary reviews.
• Extensive experience applying UN Financial Regulations or equivalent frameworks.
• Minimum 5 years leading organization-wide financial strategies, including change management and Programme Support Costs frameworks.
• Experience in reporting to various internal and external stakeholders.
• At least 10 years managing multidisciplinary professional teams in budget and financial management.

Desirable Experience

• Five or more years applying IPSAS standards, contributing to related policies, and preparing annual financial statements for UN or similar international entities.
• Three years supporting intergovernmental budgetary and policy procedures, such as budget preparation, financial documentation, and support for bodies like UNEA, ACABQ, CPC, and the Fifth Committee.
• Experience in environmental agreement negotiations.
• Two or more years designing and delivering financial and legal training programmes for Implementing Partners.
• Familiarity with ERP systems, BI tools, financial and accounting software, and donor reporting and analytics platforms.
• Competency in data analytics or related fields.

Education & Language

• Advanced degree (Master’s or equivalent) in Business Administration, Public Administration, Finance, Accounting, Management, or Social Sciences is required.
• A first-level degree plus two additional years of relevant experience may substitute an advanced degree.
• Additional qualifications in Data Analytics, Business Analytics, or Data Science are advantageous.
• Fluency in English is mandatory; knowledge of French or Spanish is considered a plus.