The UN Resident Coordinator Office

The Resident Coordinator System brings together global support, country-level leadership and in-country coordination.

It has three core elements:

• Global coordination (Development Coordination Office – DCO):
  Provides system-wide leadership, guidance and oversight, and equips Resident Coordinators with the tools and support needed to deliver results.
• Country leadership (Resident Coordinator – RC):
  The highest-ranking UN development representative in-country, reporting directly to the UN Secretary-General. The RC leads the UN Country Team and coordinates the UN’s collective support to national partners.
• In-country coordination (Resident Coordinator’s Office – RCO):
  Provides integrated support across policy, planning, partnerships, data, communications and operations - enabling the RC to lead effectively. 

The system operates under a clear Management and Accountability Framework, agreed across the UN, which defines roles, responsibilities and mutual accountability.

The UN Resident Coordinator

Mr. Zia Choudhury, the designated representative of the UN Secretary-General, leads UN operations and programmes in support of Ghana’s national development priorities.

With over 25 years of experience in international development and humanitarian affairs, Mr. Choudhury previously served as UN Resident Coordinator in Botswana. He began his career as a national field officer on a disaster-prone island in the Bay of Bengal and has since held senior leadership roles across Africa, Asia, and Europe, including with FAO and OCHA.

He has served as Country Director for CARE in both Sudan and Bangladesh—where he led a team of over 1,200 staff delivering major development and humanitarian responses, including one of the largest interventions for the Rohingya refugee crisis.

Mr. Choudhury holds degrees from SOAS, University of London, and the University of Manchester. He takes over from Mr. Charles Abani.