About UN Field Support

About UN Field Support

UN Photo/Cia Pak | A scene from the Security Council stakeout area as participants of a meeting on the Joint Force of the Group of 5 address journalists

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

The Department of Operational Support is based on five key pillars - three offices and two divisions - in addition to the Office of the Under-Secretary-General. Approximately 1200 civilian staff work in UN Operational Support at the UN Headquarters, supporting operations globally.

Department of Operational Support | Senior Management Workshop on Strategic Foundations

STRATEGIC FOUNDATIONS

In 2017/2018, the Secretary-General laid out vision to shift the United Nations management paradigm through decentralization of decision-making authority; simplification of policies and processes; and, strengthening of a performance-driven, accountable and transparent culture. As part of that, the Department for Operational Support was established on 1 January 2019. DOS plays a key part in supporting a United Nations that is more agile, effective, transparent, accountable, efficient, pragmatic and decentralized to better support its organizational and operational activities.

BACKGROUND

The Department of Operational Support (DOS) provides operational support to UN Secretariat entities globally, including advisory, operational and transactional support services and, where needed, exercises delegated authority on behalf of clients. DOS supports the entire UN Secretariat, consisting of almost 100 entities located around the globe.

RSCE/Kelly Strunk | Under-Secretary-General Dr. Atul Khare delivered a town hall to the United Nations Entebbe Support Base (UNESB) in front of the Regional Training and Conference Centre, Entebbe.

LEADERSHIP

The Department of Operational Support is currently led by Under-Secretary-General Mr. Atul Khare. The Department has three Assistant-Secretaries General: Ms. Lisa M. Buttenheim for Support Operations and Mr. Bernardo Mariano Jr. for Information and Communications Technology and Ms. AnneMarie van den Berg for Supply Chain Management. All have had long senior careers with the United Nations and bring to their positions vast operational, political and diplomatic experience.