Regional Director, Arab States (Temporary)

Org. Setting and Reporting

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. 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 Amman.

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 th...