UNDP structural review ‘winding down’

Restructuring efforts at the United Nations Development Program are on track to be completed by the end of the year and will result with less top brass as well as improved career paths for entry- and mid-level positions. “The biggest part of the structural review is now winding down,” Jens Wandel, UNDP assistant administrator and director of the Bureau of Management, told Devex on the sidelines of the 2014 AidEx Conference in Brussels. “By the end of the year, all the main components will be in place.” In early June, the U.N. agency announced plans to create a leaner organization by cutting staff at headquarters and focusing more on country offices. This would entail flipping over the staff distribution ratio between headquarters and the field from 60/40 to 40/60, axing senior positions in New York and opening up more low- and middle-level regional positions. “We probably got a bit top-heavy,” Wandel said, noting that the turnaround will allow UNDP to establish a better career path for its employees, from entry level up. Many entry positions were previously filled through specific programs, such as the junior professional officers program, but the agency looks forward to the new steps it has created to bridge work in the field at national level up to the top of the organization. The new setup will also change the profiles of people UNDP plans to hire. “We are moving into new areas on sustainability that will require new sets of skills,” Wandel said. “Think of themes such as urban development, or the nexus between environment and poverty.” On the management side, more stress will be put on certification with a need for financial and procurement staff. The streamlining of activities has allowed the agency to remove duplications on the policy and the management side, Wandel explained. UNDP will form a single policy center, which will allow it to prepare for a more coherent policy dialogue on sustainable development and the post-2015 agenda. In 2015, expect more changes in UNDP management — the area that Wandel is heading — by way of a sharpened focus on cooperation. The plan is to leverage more global service centers, not only for UNDP but for the United Nations as a whole, which will entail further investments in information technology and professionalization. “In this way, we will make UNDP’s service orientation stronger and clearer,” he said. “And at the same time, we expect to save money.” What’s your take on UNDP’s ongoing reform process? Let us know by leaving a comment below. Whether you’re a seasoned expert or budding development professional — check out more news, analysis and advice online to guide your career and professional development, and subscribe to Doing Good to receive top international development career and recruitment news every week.