The UN Resident Coordinator Office
The Resident Coordinator (RC) with strengthened authority and leadership, is the highest-ranking representative of the UN development system at the country level and is the designated representative of – and reports to the UN Secretary-General. They are responsible for the coordination of operational activities for development of the UN in support of countries’ efforts towards implementation of the 2030 Agenda; they lead and supports the UNCT in the development, monitoring and reporting of the UN Cooperation Frameworks. (S)he coordinates the UNCT’s implementation of the UN Cooperation Framework, and works with UNCT members to ensure alignment of both agency programmes and inter-agency pooled funding for development with national development needs and priorities, as well as with the UN Cooperation Framework and 2030 Agenda. The RC supports, catalyzes and advocates for the work of UNCT members and supports all UNCT members, including Non-Resident Agencies (NRAs), in reaching their agency-specific goals. The RC leads the UN Country Team in consultations with the host Government to define and agree on the UN’s strategic response to the government’s priorities. On the basis of these country-specific responses, the RC also has a role in facilitating a dialogue between UNCT members and government counterparts on country-level presence of the UN development system, to ensure an effective, efficient and responsive field structure.
The Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in the Republic of Kazakhstan operates under the UN Resident Coordinator’s strategic guidance and it supports establishment and implementation of mechanisms that ensure all members can fully participate in UN country team (UNCT) consultations and decision-making processes and are informed through regular communications and information sharing.
The Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Kazakhstan fulfills the following five key functions in support of the responsibilities of the RC and the UNCT:
- Strategic planning
- Development economics
- Communications and advocacy
- Partnerships and development finance
- Data and results management and reporting
UN Resident Coordinator a.i. in Kazakhstan
Stephen O'Malley
Mr. Stephen O’Malley has more than 25 years of experience in development and humanitarian work. As of 1 November 2024, he is serving as UN Resident Coordinator ad interim for Kazakhstan.
Before taking up this post, he was Deputy Director a.i. Africa 1 in the Operations and Advocacy Division of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). From July 2021 to June 2024, he served as the Director of the Peer-2-Peer Project, a project of the Interagency Standing Committee’s Emergency Directors Group. From September 2018 to June 2021, he was Head of Office for OCHA South Sudan. During this assignment, he was seconded to OCHA HQ as the Head of the COVID-19 Team from March to December 2020. Prior to his return to OCHA, Mr. O’Malley was UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for Barbados and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States from August 2013 to August 2018.
Mr. O’Malley previously spent 12 years at OCHA HQ in New York, where his posts included Deputy Director, Coordination and Response Division, Chief of the Central Emergency Response Fund Secretariat, and various roles related to Southern and Central Africa. Before joining the United Nations, he spent seven years with the non-governmental organization Médecins sans Frontières in North America, Europe, and Africa. He started his career in the private sector with Decima Research in Toronto, Canada.
A national of Canada, Mr. O’Malley holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Master of Arts in Political Studies from Queen’s University, Canada, and a Master of International Affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, USA.
UN Resident Coordinator Office Team in Kazakhstan
