UN Chief Appoints Canada’s Isabelle Mercier as Head of Internal Oversight Services

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres welcomes today’s decision by the General Assembly to approve Isabelle Mercier of Canada as Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services, Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), for a five-year non-renewable term.  She will succeed Fatoumata Ndiaye of Senegal to whom the Secretary-General expresses his gratitude for her dedicated service to the Organization.

Serving as Director of the Independent Evaluation Office, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) since 2023, as well as Chair of the United Nations Evaluation Group, Ms. Mercier brings over 20 years of leadership in multilateral organizations and in government, providing evidence-grounded, strategic advice to senior leaders while promoting accountability and using evidence to drive progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, having championed throughout her career the belief that evidence is the key to effective decision-making.  Having spent a significant portion of her career in integrated audit and evaluation offices, Ms. Mercier developed a strong appreciation for the complementary roles of audit, investigation and evaluation.

During her tenure at Global Affairs Canada (2016-2023), first as a senior leader and then as an executive, she helped transform the evaluation function, strengthening its leadership in key strategic areas linked to sustainable development and international affairs.  She further held senior positions in evaluation working for Shared Services Canada (2013-2016), Public Works and Government Services Canada (2008-2013) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (2007-2008).  She has also performed in key leadership functions at the Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network, which assesses multilateral organizations to strengthen results and promote accountability, and in the international development evaluation community, as Vice-Chair of Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development-Development Assistance Committee EvalNet.

Ms. Mercier holds a master’s degree in public administration, with a specialization in programme evaluation, from the École Nationale d’Administration Publique, Université du Québec, Canada; a master’s degree in arts, philosophy, with a specialization in ethics, from Concordia University, Montreal, Canada; and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from University of Western Ontario, Canada.  She is fluent in English and French.




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