Jan Beagle

Jan Margaret Beagle is the newly appointed United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Management. She will replace Yukio Takasu, who has been in this position since April 2012.

With more than 35 years of work experience with the United Nations, Ms. Beagle brings to this position expertise in the political work of the Organization and in human resources management. Prior to this appointment, she held the position of Deputy Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, known as UNAIDS. From 2008 to 2009, she was the Deputy Director-General of the United Nations office at Geneva, and from 2005 to 2007, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management.

Ms Beagle is an International Gender Champion—a leadership network that brings together senior female and male decision makers to break down gender barriers—and is the co-Chair of the Champions Working Group on Change Management.

Education

Ms Beagle holds a Masters degree with first class honours in History and International Relations from the University of Auckland, New Zealand.

Career

Beginning her career in the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including as a delegate to the United Nations in New York, Ms Beagle has some 40 years of experience of multilateral diplomacy, working across the peace and security, human rights, development, management and gender sectors.

In her current position with UNAIDS, Ms Beagle played a leading role in the development of the UNAIDS Strategy 2016-2021, the first UN system strategy to be fully aligned with the SDGs following their adoption in September 2015, after a broad consultation in all regions and virtually. She has led a comprehensive organisational realignment, reform and mobility programme. She has consistently introduced new and innovative ways of doing business, including at UNAIDS leading the development and implementation of a unique joint planning, budgeting and accountability framework mechanism encompassing the Secretariat and eleven cosponsoring organisations which has important implications for recognition of collective work in the SDG era.

Previously, Ms Beagle served as Deputy Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, where she introduced improvements in systems and practices to strengthen management and promote system-wide coherence. As Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management in the United Nations, she had responsibility for the development and implementation of organizational human resources policies and programmes for the global Secretariat. In this capacity, she led the development of the comprehensive human resources management reform strategy “Investing in People”.

Ms Beagle has also held senior positions in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General, the Office of the Administrator of UNDP, and the Department of Political and Security Council Affairs. Ms Beagle has broad intergovernmental and interagency experience. Throughout her career, Ms Beagle has been actively involved in intergovernmental and interagency fora, as well as numerous international conferences. She has represented the Secretary-General as spokesperson for the system in the General Assembly, International Civil Service Commission and the Pension Board, and as a member of the Boards of the UN System Staff College and UNITAR.

She has extensive experience of implementing multisectoral, multistakeholder approaches, leading and working with a wide variety of multicutural teams and partners, including member states, other regional organisations, UN system organisations, non-governmental organisations, financing institutions, academic and cultural institutions, the private sector, and the media. She is skilled in in building alliances and fostering teamwork internally, and with partners.

Ms Beagle is a consistent and committed advocate for gender equality and gender parity. At UNAIDS she has spearheaded the development and implementation of a Gender Action Plan for the Secretariat which serves as an accountability platform for concrete measures to increase gender parity in UNAIDS. The Plan includes a targeted management development programmes for women - including a Women’s Leadership Programme at the United Nations Staff System College and a Mentoring Programme for Women, both of which have inspired and provided the basis for similar programme development within the broader UN system. Ms Beagle was one of the early appointed International Gender Champions—a leadership network that brings together senior female and male decision makers to break down gender barriers—and is the co-Chair of the Champions Working Group on Change Management.