UNDP to establish crisis response unit

The U.N. Development Program on Friday shared more details about upcoming human resources reforms, including plans to establish a special unit handling crisis situations and to reverse the current 60/40 ratio of employees based at headquarters versus elsewhere around the world.

According to an official statement, UNDP’s new Crisis Response Unit will allow the U.N. institution to “deploy staff with the relevant expertise more promptly and efficiently as crises develop” and lead coordination with partners “to ensure a seamless transition from short-term relief to long-term development.”

This unit was not specifically included in the organization’s 2014-2017 strategic plan approved in September 2013, a document which cited the need to work “within a smaller staffing envelope” and to scale up the role of country officers over headquarters. With this last goal in mind, UNDP now clarifies that it wants to reverse its current staff distribution ratio so 60 percent of its employees are based in regional or country offices and 40 percent at its New York headquarters.