New York - United Nations Development Programme Administrator Achim Steiner announced today the appointment of Isabelle Mercier as the new Director of UNDP's Independent Evaluation Office (IEO). Ms. Mercier will succeed the former IEO Director, Oscar Garcia. The Administrator has expressed his appreciation to Oscar Garcia for his service and commitment to ensure a seamless transition.
Ms. Mercier is a professional evaluator who has spent 17 years of her working career in the public sector providing evidence-grounded, strategic advice to senior leaders. As an executive at Global Affairs Canada, she helped transform the evaluation function, strengthening its leadership in key strategic areas linked to sustainable development and international affairs. Previously, she held senior positions in monitoring and evaluation working in Canada for Shared Services Canada, Public Works and Government Services Canada and the Canadian Institute of Health Research. She has also performed in key leadership functions at the Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN) which assesses multilateral organisations to strengthen results and promote accountability, and in the international development evaluation community, as Vice-Chair of OECD-DAC EvalNet.
"I look forward to working closely with Isabelle Mercier in further strengthening the critical oversight function of our organization, which remains a crucial element for our credibility, accountability and transparency as a public institution," said Steiner.
Ms. Mercier is a Canadian national. She holds a Master's Degree in Public Administration (Specialization in Program Evaluation) from the École Nationale d'Administration Publique, Université du Québec; a Master's Degree in Arts, Philosophy (Specialization in Ethics) from Concordia University; and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from University of Western Ontario.
