31 July 2018: UN Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed a Special Adviser on Reforms. Jens Wandel, currently the Assistant Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), will lead a coordination structure meant to ensure a unified and cohesive approach to the change management programme across three areas of ongoing UN reforms, according to the UN’s biographical note on the appointment.

As Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Reforms, Wandel will head the coordination structure under the joint leadership of the UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, and Guterres’ Chef de Cabinet, Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti. Wandel is from Denmark.

The coordination structure will include dedicated teams to service each of the three main streams of reform: development, peace and security, and management. For development, on 26 June 2018, Guterres appointed Robert Piper to lead a transition team to provide “strategic leadership and oversight” to all aspects of the repositioning of the UN development system, following the adoption of UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution 72/279. The repositioning process aims to better align the UN’s operational activities for development with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. [UN Press Release] [SDG Knowledge Hub story on UN development reform transition team]