Executive and Administrative Offices

The Executive Office (EO), comprising the administrative services of the New York and Geneva Offices, assists the Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator and Senior Management in the discharge of their financial and administrative responsibilities and provides administrative and programme support for the substantive and coordination activities of the Office, both at headquarters and in the field.

The Executive Office in New York serves as the seat of administrative authority in the Department.   It oversees and coordinates the overall administration of all OCHA offices at New York, Geneva and in the field and provides authoritative advice on policy issues, interpretation of UN Staff Rules and Regulations and UN Financial Rules and Regulations and overall guidance on related administrative instructions and procedures.  The Executive Office supports OCHA Senior Management in formulating various managerial development initiatives, including training and development strategies, succession planning, staff mobility/rotation, rostering and other methodologies designed to enhance OCHA’s capacity and effectiveness.  It coordinates all management reporting, planning and policy review in the areas of programme budget and human resources management and assists the Under-Secretary-General/Emergency Relief Coordinator in presentations before inter-governmental bodies to explain and justify budgetary requests.   The Executive Office manages the Trust Fund for Strengthening of OCHA and the Special Account for Programme Support, which serve as the main extra-budgetary sources of funding for OCHA’s core staff and activities, as well as other Trust funds administered by the New York Office. It also provides administrative support to the New York Office and the Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN) offices in the field.

The Administrative Office (AO) in Geneva  assists the Director of the Geneva Office in his financial, personnel and general administrative responsibilities and  provides budget, financial and human resources support to OCHA’s core programmes in Geneva, as well as Geneva-based extra budgetary projects.  It provides dedicated administrative support to all of OCHA’s field coordination offices through its Field Support Section (FSS). The Administrative Office manages the various Trust Funds under the responsibility of the Geneva Office, most notably the Trust Fund for Disaster Relief Assistance, which serves as the main vehicle for funding of OCHA’s activities in the field.  It also provides administrative support to the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR).