United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Victor Kisob of Cameroon as Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). He succeeds Aisa Kirabo Kacyira of Rwanda, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her dedicated service to the Organization. Ms. Kacyira will continue to serve as Deputy Executive Director until Mr. Kisob assumes his position.
Mr. Kisob brings to the position more than two decades of service in human resources management; spanning international affairs, policy, strategy, operations, knowledge management and partnerships, coupled with a comprehensive background in the field within the United Nations system, in Somalia, Israel, Palestine, Zambia and Ethiopia.
He is currently Director of the Learning, Development and Human Resources Services Division in United Nations Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM) in New York, a position he assumed in 2015 and during which time he also assumed the responsibilities of Officer-in-Charge and Acting Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management (2016-2017). Mr. Kisob joined the United Nations in 1989 and has served the Organization in various capacities, including as Director of the United Nations Ebola Response Liaison Office, New York (2014-2015), Principal Officer of the United Nations Executive Office of the Secretary-General, New York (2012-2014), Chief of Staffing Service, New York (2008-2012) and Chief of Recruitment and Placement at the United Nations Office at Vienna, Austria (2001-2008).
Mr. Kisob holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Saint John’s University in Minnesota, USA and a Master of Arts in Development Banking from the American University in Washington D.C., USA.
In his new role, Mr. Kisob will assist United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN-Habitat, Ms. Maimunah Mohd Sharif, in the overall management and ongoing reform of UN-Habitat, helping the Organization achieve its mandate, specifically in the implementation of the New Urban Agenda, Sustainable Development Goal 11 and the urban dimensions of Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.