The United Nations Resident Coordinator Office
The Resident Coordinator Office (RCO) coordinates the efforts of the UN Country Team operating in Moldova to ensure provision of efficient and effective assistance to accelerate the country’s development in line with the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, so it becomes a prosperous and modern European country.
At the same time, the RCO leads the consultations with the Government to define and agree on the UN strategic response to the Government’s development priorities.
The UN RC in a country is the designated representative of the Secretary-General and aims to bring together different resident and non-resident UN agencies, funds and programmes to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of operational activities at a country level and committed to deliver shared results, including through the Republic of Moldova - United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2023-2027.
In the Republic of Moldova, the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator consists of a team of 12 local and international specialists, which is led by the Resident Coordinator, Simon Springett.
The Office covers five core functions:
- Strategic Planning
- Economics
- Partnerships and development finance
- Data and results management and reporting
- Communications and advocacy
The United Nations Resident Coordinator
Mr. Simon Springett assumed his duties as the United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator (RC) in the Republic of Moldova on 1 October 2019.
Mr. Springett brings 25 years of international experience in humanitarian and development work. Prior to assuming his duties as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Moldova, Mr. Springett was the Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Director for Response Operations for the UK Department for International Development’s Humanitarian and Stabilisation Operations Team. Mr. Springett served for five years as the United Nations Resident Coordinator, UNDP Resident Representative, UNFPA Representative, and the UN Designated Official in both The Republic of Mauritius and The Republic of Seychelles (2012-2017). Earlier in his career he held several key management positions within the international charity confederation Oxfam and concurrently sat as Trustee or Director for several international non-profit organizations.
Mr Springett has worked extensively across Africa, East Asia, Central Asia, the Caucuses, and Southeastern Europe. Mr Springett holds a Master’s degree (MSc) in Development Practice (Humanitarian Protection) from Oxford Brookes University (United Kingdom), a Bachelor’s degree in Geology from The College of Wooster (USA), and is a member of the UK Royal College of Defense Studies (2007). Mr Springett is a member of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Humanitarian Coordination Pool.
Head of Resident Coordinator's Office in Moldova
How does the UN help a countries dealing with multidimensional shocks like the sudden influx of refugees, commerce disruption and food and energy crisis as have been trigged by the war in Ukraine?
Meet Laura Fiorotto, the Head of Resident Coordinator's Office in Moldova, who is supporting the Resident Coordinator bring the UN entities together to jointly identify actions to support the Government address the identified problems. Throughout the process – from elaborating the UN’s offer to the review by Government and presentation to development partners - Laura’s support has helped ensure excellent engagement between the UN and key partners and well-coordinated actions from different entities, as well as a clear alignment between the collective offer of the UN to Government priorities. This has also ensured streamlined communications between the UN and government to minimize fragmentation at this critical time. As of October 2022, the collective offer includes projects of approximately USD 22 million to promote green energy transition, energy subsidies and social protection for vulnerable groups, as well as to strengthen national capacities to address food crisis and drought-affected agriculture sector.
Economist in Moldova
Irina Guban, the economist in the Resident Coordinator’s Office in Moldova, leads the development and update of the Common Country Analysis (including substantial guidance on the CCA Dashboard content) that provides comprehensive overview of the country’s situation with a strong focus on leaving no one behind. Besides, Irina provides regular economic updates and tailored analyses to inform UN agencies of emergency and developmental challenges faced by the country. Irina led an analysis on country’s vulnerabilities during Covid-19 which supported decision making of the UN Socio-economic Task Force in Moldova. Another analysis on the impact of the war of Ukraine on trade and agriculture alerted UN country team on reduced accessibility and affordability of agricultural inputs, which enabled timely support to small farm holders and poor rural households to mitigate its impact. Additionally, as an observing member representing UN Moldova in the Economic Council under the Prime Minister, Irina works with the Government and business community on socio-economic policies and private sector support in the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic and amidst the Ukraine war disruptions.
To respond to the Government’s needs in a coordinated manner, Irina convenes a network of economists development partners. She also contributes to streamlining the UN’s work on sustainable economic development and engages in joint project development.
Currently, Irina is engaged together with UN entities in drafting inputs for the EU Annual report on Moldova to support country’s EU candidate status given in 2022.
Partnerships Officer in Moldova
Veaceslav Palade, the Partnerships Officer in the Resident Coordinator’s Office in Moldova, helps the UN country team to plan and manage effective resource mobilization and partnership development to implement the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2023-2027) and support the Government in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
To foster new partnerships and improve joint resource mobilization, Veaceslav supports the UN country team by facilitating or updating specific tools and convening instruments, such as the UN country team Joint Resource Mobilization Strategy, the database of partners, a repository of best practices for innovative partnerships, as well as guidance on effective application for funding opportunities.
Veaceslav was instrumental in establishing strategic partnerships with the private sector and UN in Moldova, including one initiative to support social inclusion and increased interaction of the youth and elderly using mobile technologies. Another example was a partnership that enabled the introduction of family and child friendly policies in companies. He also plays an active role in several UN inter-agency thematic groups, as well as in developing portfolios and designing the UN joint programmes such as to address impact of the war in Ukraine, COVID-19 pandemic, and to support inclusion of refugees and diaspora in development by securing necessary funding and engaging various partners.
Communications Officer in Moldova
Cristina David is a full-time communications expert serving in the Resident Coordinator’s Office in Moldova. She focuses on boosting information about the UN team’s results and advocating for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Moldova. Cristina is proud of her work to conceptualize, coordinate and lead a campaign implemented by 16 UN agencies in support of people with disabilities in Moldova and their inclusion in society – the “Stand for Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities” campaign.
This large-scale campaign aimed to raise awareness, make a powerful call to action, and trigger a behavioral change for the inclusion of people with different types of disabilities. It reached 1.2 million people in just three weeks through social media, television, newsletters and engagement with influencers, and the UN Adolescents and Youth Advisory Panel, helping to promote these messages in schools and among youth networks.
