London - The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been recognized by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) with two prestigious awards for its transformative work on people management.

UNDP was the only institution to win more than one award, taking home the prizes for “Best Learning and Development Initiatives for a Public Sector Institution” and “Best Talent Management Initiative”. The awards, bestowed on 22^nd September 2022, recognize UNDP’s cutting-edge People Strategy - People for 2030. The Strategy aims to progressively transform UNDP’s culture and capabilities across all levels to enable UNDP to scale up its development impact. For more than a hundred years, CIPD has been a world leader in setting and advocating for professional standards in human resources, people development and ways of working in public and private sectors. The Annual CIPD People Management Awards recognizes excellence in innovation, projects, and teams that showcase how human resources and people development can be a transformative force for change.

“UNDP’s People for 2030 Strategy is helping UNDP to attract the very best global talent where individuals can grow professionally and learn new skills that they can take with them throughout the rest of their careers and lives,” says Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator. “This recognition from the CIPD will spur on UNDP, helping us to find innovative ways to continue nurturing our personnel’s talent and wellbeing -- ultimately helping us to deliver even better results for the communities we serve in 170 countries as we drive progress across the Sustainable Development Goals.”

The award for “Best Learning and Development Initiative for a Public Sector Institution” commended UNDP’s Leaders for 2030 Programme, launched in 2021, to transform UNDP’s organizational culture by enhancing the skills and knowledge of its senior executive leadership. Senior leaders who actively promote and embody a culture of continuous learning and experimentation, grounded in UNDP norms and values, are crucial for delivering UNDP’s Strategic Plan (2022-2025). Till date, 185 senior managers have benefited from a number of initiatives including leadership certifications with distinguished international universities, learning labs, executive coaching and 360 feedback mechanisms.

The second award for “Best Talent Management Initiative” recognized UNDP’s Graduate Programme, aimed at bringing in diverse young graduates at entry-level positions for two years. Launched in 2021, UNDP’s Graduate Programme has been informed by UNDP workforce demographics and the limited number of available opportunities to young people with limited work experience. The strategy for the programme targets underrepresented nationalities from the Global South, including women and talent from less privileged groups, indigenous people groups and people with disabilities. Within the first week, 22,000 applications were received and by the close of the vacancy close to 40,000 applications from candidates from 131 UNDP programme countries, reflecting the above diversity and social mobility criteria. 33 candidates were included in the first Graduate Pool, 19 of whom are female. These candidates represent 22 nationalities all from the Global South; 19 of them are the first in their families to hold a university degree and two are living with a disability. The Graduate Programme has also been previously recognized by the Career Development Roundtable Awards for Innovation in Recruitment.

Angelique M. Crumbly, Assistant Administrator and Director, Bureau for Management Services (BMS) stated “These awards are an acknowledgment of the great work UNDP, and BMS' Office of Human Resources in particular, are doing to support its personnel and the targets of the People for 2030 strategy.”

David Bearfield, Director of UNDP’s Office of Human Resources, in the Bureau for Management Services, said, “I’m delighted and proud that UNDP’s Human Resources team has received two prestigious awards for excellence in people management. This represents recognition from leading HR professionals of the progress made under People for 2030, UNDP’s ambitious people strategy.”

Looking to the future, UNDP’s Graduate Programme is currently recruiting candidates for its second cohort. Building on confidence from staff members and UNDP’s Executive Group, the Leaders for 2030 programme has been renewed for Phases II and III until 2025. These two programmes continue to be pivotal cornerstones of UNDP’s People for 2030 Strategy, shaping the organization and its effectiveness and securing its place as the UN’s leading arm for sustainable development the world over.