The UN Resident Coordinator's Office
The UN Resident Coordinator (RC) leads the Resident Coordinator System at the country level and represents the UN Secretary General to the Government of Zimbabwe. The RC, as the highest-ranking senior UN official in the country, is the primary interlocutor for the UN Development System with the Head of State and Government.
In Zimbabwe, the RC is responsible for coordinating and providing leadership to the UNCT in strategy setting, planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of development programmes at the country level, as outlined in the 2016-2021 Zimbabwe United Nations Development Assistance Framework (ZUNDAF). The RC also provides leadership on joint communications, advocacy, and resource mobilization efforts. In Zimbabwe, the RC is also the Humanitarian Coordinator, Designated Official for Safety and Security, and Director of the UN Information Centre.
The UN Resident Coordinator’s Office (UNRCO) supports the UN Resident Coordinator in her roles and functions. The UNRCO in Zimbabwe also provides inter-agency coordination support to the UN Country Team and its different working groups, including Promgamme Management Team, Operations Management Team, UN Communications Group, Human Rights Working Group, Team of Policy Advisors to enhance UN coherence and improve overall programme impact to better achieve results.
The UN Resident Coordinator in Zimbabwe
Mr. Kallon has devoted more than 30 years of his career to public service, working – both at the United Nations and externally – in complex emergency, transition and development context in conflict and non-conflict settings across lower- and middle-income countries. At the United Nations, he most recently served as the Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, following an assignment as Resident Coordinator in Jordan. He also held senior positions with the World Food Programme (WFP) in Bangladesh, India, Iraq, Somalia, and Uganda after starting his United Nations career as a United Nations Volunteer assigned to WFP in Afghanistan.
Prior to joining the United Nations, Mr. Kallon worked in his home country as a socio-economist and community development coordinator for GTZMANR, a bilateral technical cooperation project, as well as an income generation project coordinator with global non-profit Plan International.
He holds a master’s degree in development studies with a specialization in agriculture and rural development from the Institute of Social Studies in The Netherlands and a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education from Njala University College of the University of Sierra Leone.
