United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today (3 April 2008) announced the appointment of Catherine Pollard of Guyana as Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management. Ms. Pollard will replace Jan Beagle, who has been appointed Deputy Director-General of the United Nations Office in Geneva.

The Secretary-General is very pleased to appoint from within the ranks of the international civil service an experienced leader with management expertise and commitment to change. This appointment is a cornerstone of his commitment to strengthen the Organization in the key area of human resource management. The central objective is to build a multifunctional, mobile and professional workforce and to free the staff from unnecessary bureaucratic constraints in the pursuit of their duties. Far-reaching reform can only be based on strong and productive relations between United Nations management and staff and the support of Member States. Ms. Pollard brings to the Office of Human Resources Management her demonstrated capacity to forge collaborative partnerships with different groups of stakeholders in order to get the job done.

Ms. Pollard, currently (as of 3 April 2008) Chief of Staff in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, has a proven track record in financial, human resource and general administrative management. In each of her assignments at senior levels she has helped to effect real improvements in management practices, moving away from the status quo. Most recently, Ms. Pollard has been directly responsible for implementing the ongoing restructuring in the Departments of Peacekeeping Operations and of Field Support.

During this period she has also been an active contributor to the task force established by the Secretary-General to streamline management practices, including human resource management. Previously, as Director of the Peacekeeping Financing Division in the Department of Management, she successfully implemented the Secretary-General’s reforms to enhance the strategic focus of budgets and to streamline the budget process.

Her career in the United Nations includes assignments in financial and human resource management of the United Nations Volunteers Programme, the United Nations Protection Force in Croatia and the United Nations Development Programme.

Born in Georgetown in 1960, Ms. Pollard holds a master’s degree in accounting from the University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica.