The Coalition for the UN We Need (C4UN) is seeking a dynamic and experienced Managing Director to lead the Coalition’s Secretariat in the execution of the 2025-2028 Strategic Plan and its ongoing advocacy for a more effective, accountable, inclusive, and equitable UN.

DEADLINE: May 23

Commitment: Full-time

Location: Strong preference for candidates based in New York, where most of the intergovernmental negotiations of relevance to C4UN’s mandate take place, but open to candidates located elsewhere with regular trips to New York

The Coalition for the UN We Need (C4UN) is a global platform of 7,000 civil society organizations and representatives from around the world committed to creating a stronger, more effective and more accountable United Nations system. Through our network of thousands of globally dispersed organizations, we bring a range of cross-sectoral local, national, regional and global perspectives to UN deliberations to help shape, explain, innovate, and implement UN goals and mandates.

Among our key achievements is the collective advocacy that led to language in the Member State declaration on the occasion of the UN’s 75th anniversary, requesting what became the UN Secretary-General’s Our Common Agenda report. This, in turn, led to the UN’s decision to host the Summit of the Future in 2024 at which the world’s governments adopted the Pact for the Future, the most ambitious effort to renew global governance in two decades.

A UN Summit to review progress towards the commitments in the Pact and determine next steps is mandated for September 2028, with considerable work toward its implementation undertaken today by more than two-dozen intergovernmental processes within and outside the UN system.

The Coalition has a crucial role to play in ensuring civil society input into the implementation and monitoring of the Pact for the Future and associated Global Digital Compact and Declaration on Future Generations, and mobilizing much-needed civil society advocacy, organization and outreach in order to make the most of this opportunity to improve our global governance.

In the first chapter of C4UN’s evolution (2016-2024), we succeeded in mobilizing a global constituency interested in reforming and strengthening multilateralism.

In an era when polarization and geopolitical divides make consensus and agreement among governments more elusive, organized civil society efforts are needed to pressure governments to

engage in international cooperation, hold them to account for commitments made, raise the level of ambition when possible, and collectively defend multilateralism when needed.

As multilateralism comes under attack, a robust and coordinated civil society voice will be more important than ever in protecting norms and values, and pushing back against government actions that diminish prospects for international cooperation.

The Coalition is seeking a dynamic and experienced Managing Director to lead C4UN’s small Secretariat through the coalition’s next chapter.

The Managing Director will be charged with operationalizing the new 2025-2028 Strategic Plan, raising the Coalition’s profile, positioning it strategically, growing its global network, and strengthening internal systems. The Managing Director will ensure that C4UN fulfills its mission to democratize global governance and advocate for a more effective, accountable, inclusive, and equitable United Nations.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Strategic Leadership, Implementation and Program Oversight
   1. Lead the execution of C4UN’s 2025–2028 Strategic Plan; develop annual work plans in accordance with the strategy
   1. Ensure   strategic   alignment, relevance and impact across all programs and operational functions
   1. Oversee the day-to-day implementation of C4UN’s four strategic priorities:
      1. Making the Pact for the Future count, including through the coordination and backstopping of more than a dozen multi-stakeholder ImPact Coalitions
      1. Strengthening the constituency for global governance reform
      1. Defending multilateralism in the face of rising authoritarianism
      1. Professionalizing C4UN’s operations and governance

2.    Organizational Development & Management

1. Determine optimal staffing and budget to deliver on C4UN’s goals
   1. Build   and   lead   a   high-performing,           diverse       team; manage staff recruitment, onboarding, and performance
   1. Oversee the Operation Manager’s development of internal systems, including finance, HR, member relations, impact evaluation, and knowledge management
   1. Oversee budget decisions and ensure the organisation’s financial viability
   1. Identify opportunities to grow the Coalition’s membership
   1. Oversee the organization’s transformation as it advances its efforts to secure US-based 501(c)(3) status

3.    External Relations & Fundraising

• Serve as the public face and voice of C4UN, communicating regularly – and representing the organization in high-level meetings – with UN officials, Member States, civil society networks, as well as at conferences and in the media, particularly in New York, a key hub for C4UN’s advocacy activities

• Champion the inclusion of civil society in UN reform processes and defend civic space in global fora
  • Lead donor engagement and fundraising strategy to secure multi-year funding; diversify revenue streams by exploring membership dues and private sector partnerships
  • Forge strategic alliances with like-minded organizations, thought leaders, foundations, and governments
  • Identify and pursue strategic fora in which to raise the Coalition’s profile and set the policy agenda
  • Support the planning and organizing of C4UN public events

4.    Governance & Accountability

1. Report regularly to the Steering Committee and Co-Chairs on organizational health, finances, and implementation of the strategy
   1. Periodically engage with and provide updates to the Membership, including the co-facilitators of the ImPact Coalitions
   1. Ensure compliance with legal, financial, and ethical standards
   1. Oversee the development of annual reports, impact assessments, and audits

Required Qualifications:

• At least 8 years’ leadership and management experience in the non-profit sector
• At least 8 years’ experience in international civil society, global advocacy, or UN-related policy work
• Demonstrated success in managing networked civil society advocacy and programming
• Strong understanding of UN systems, global governance processes, and multilateral institutions
• Experience in fundraising, donor relations, and financial oversight
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and diplomatic skills
• Fluency in English; proficiency in at least one other UN language an asset

Key Attributes:

• Commitment to C4UN’s vision and mission
• Strategic and entrepreneurial thinker with operational acumen, the ability to execute and the agility to work in a small, start-up style network; willing to roll up your sleeves
• Excellent political judgment and antennae
• Collaborative leadership style with cultural and political sensitivity
• Deep commitment to inclusive, equitable, and participatory governance models
• Passion for human rights, civic engagement, and democratic accountability
• Comfort with complexity, ambiguity, and rapid change in global political contexts

Additional information:

This position is open to candidates from a range of backgrounds who are able to work in New York City. Candidates who represent the diversity of our global constituency are highly encouraged to

apply. Employment and benefits will be managed by a fiscal host. Remuneration will be provided at rates that are commensurate with experience.

C4UN’s Secretariat currently consists of its outgoing Coordinator, who is now retiring; a long-time, New York-based staffer handling outreach, programming, internal coordination and the Steering Committee; a policy analyst following UN intergovernmental processes; a part-time communications associate and a small team of freelance/part-time research analysts. It is supported by several regular volunteers/consultants and an engaged Steering Committee, drawn from the Coalition’s membership.

With approximately $400,000 USD secured so far for C4UN’s 2025-26 operations, you will come into the role with a budget to grow the Secretariat to include a part-time Operations Manager and Geneva-based Advocacy Coordinator, as well as to procure additional communications support. Donor outreach is underway to enable a continued expansion of the team.

The Coalition is currently undergoing a transition from a fiscal host in Canada to new fiscal hosts in Switzerland and the United States, and has begun the process to set up its own 501c3 charity in the US.

To Apply:

Send a cover letter, current CV and any other documentation relevant to your candidacy for this position to the Staffing Committee at staffing@c4unwn.org. The deadline for submission is May 23, 2025. Your cover letter should detail how you think C4UN should position itself in the current geopolitical environment, and how your past experience equips you to lead a loose network of civil society organisations in the early stages of its evolution.

We thank all candidates for their interest, but only those chosen for an interview will be contacted. Further information on the Coalition for the UN We Need is available at www.c4unwn.org.