Catherine Pollard (born 1960 in Georgetown, Guyana) is a diplomat who has been serving as Under Secretary-General of the United Nations for Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance since 2019. From 2015 until 2019, she was the Coordinator for Multilingualism for the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

; in this capacity, she also served as Under Secretary-General of the United Nations for General Assembly and Conference Management.

Early life and education

Born in 1960, Pollard holds a master's degree in accounting from the

University of the West Indies, Mona The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...

. Her father, Bryn Pollard, was a recipient of national honours for his legal and political works.

Career

Pollard's career in the United Nations began in 1989 when she worked with the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

(UNDP) as the Chief of National Execution Projects. In 1993, she joined the Department for Peacekeeping Operations; she then worked as Chief Budget Officer for the United Nations Operations in Yugoslavia and Central Headquarters. Thereafter, she served as Chief of the Budget and Finance Section of the

United Nations Volunteers The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is a United Nations organization that contributes to peace and development through volunteerism worldwide. Volunteerism is a powerful means of engaging people in tackling development challenges, and ...

(UNV). Pollard was Chief of Staff in the

United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations The Department of Peace Operations (DPO) (French: ''Département des opérations de maintien de la paix'') is a department of the United Nations charged with the planning, preparation, management and direction of UN peacekeeping operations. Pre ...

, and before that, the Director of the Peacekeeping Finance Division in the Office of Programme Planning, Budget and Accounts. Pollard became Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management in 2008. She represented the Secretary-General on human resource management issues, providing advice on wide-ranging strategies and policies. She has led human resources reform initiatives and the introduction of new policies during her tenure including as Co-Chair of the Chief Executive Board/Human Resources Network for the United Nations common system. From 2014 until 2015, Pollard served as Assistant Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management. Pollard was appointed Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management by the

United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...

Ban Ki-moon in 2015, replacing

Tegegnework Gettu Tegegnework Gettu is the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) replacing María Eugenia Casar. He previously held the post of Under-Secretary-General for General Assem ...

. Shortly after, the Secretary-General also appointed Pollard as the Coordinator for Multilingualism in the United Nations Secretariat. She was Chair of the Board of Trustees of the United Nations International School from 2017-2022, a position appointed by the UN Secretary General.

Other activities

International Gender Champions International Gender Champions (IGC) is a network of female and male leaders of member states, international organizations, and civil society working for gender equality. It is an initiative of Women@TheTable, and was founded in 2015 by Caitlin Kr ...

(IGC), MemberMembers

(IGC).

References

External links

Department for General Assembly and Conference Management
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollard, Catherine 1960 births Living people Guyanese diplomats Guyanese officials of the United Nations People from Georgetown, Guyana University of the West Indies alumni