A group of people in suits stand in four rows at the UN.

Strengthening Resident Coordinator Leadership

Photo: © UN

DCO works to make sure that we have:

  • The right Resident Coordinator (RC) in the right place at the right time. RCs are recognized SDG leaders, and their profile fits the country they serve in. 

  • RCs who look like the world. RCs are diverse, in particular in terms of gender, geographic origin and language, and bring to bear experience and expertise from a variety of backgrounds: various UN entities, government, civil society, the private sector.  

  • High-performing RCs. RCs live up to the expectations articulated in the RC Job Description and RC Leadership Profile.

Check out the key statistics on Resident Coordinators and the distribution of Resident Coordinators nationalities.

A group of children in a classroom where in the middle an older man sits on a small chair reading a book to them.
Caption: The Resident Coordinator in Ethiopia, Mr. Ramiz Alakbarov, visits internally displaced children supported by the UN with health, nutrition and education services.
Photo: © UN Ethiopia

To achieve our objectives, we work in four main areas: 

  • Talent Management: In partnership with OCHA, we have built a broad and deep pipeline of diverse candidates for RC and RC/HC positions: the RC/HC Talent Pipeline.
     

  • Selection: We manage the selection process of RCs. Please visit the Resident Coordinator Selection Process page for more information.
     

  • Leadership development: We want current and future RCs to be the best possible leaders. To achieve that, we provide them with individualized and just-in-time opportunities to learn, for instance through mentors, coaches, and peer exchanges. To make sure that UN Country Teams (UNCT) become more collaborative and innovative, we support them in running SDG Leadership Labs in collaboration with MIT’s Presencing Institute and other external partnerships. Check out this recent summary of leadership development activities.
     

  • Performance management: RCs are managed and supported on a daily basis by the DCO Regional Directors. We are working on a new system to manage RCs' performance and support the annual performance appraisal process. In the meantime, we have set up a system to allow UNCT members to provide feedback on RCs’ behaviours and we have made sure that RCs can appraise UNCT members on their contribution to joint UNCT results.