Irina Goryunova, Deputy Resident Representative

Irina, a proud citizen of Kazakhstan, possesses a wealth of experience accumulated over 20 years, with a notable 13-year tenure at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Her journey includes pivotal roles, such as serving as a Country Programme Specialist at the UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub (BRH), where she provided critical programmatic and management support to UNDP Country Offices in the Pacific sub-region.

Before her BRH assignment, Irina dedicated a decade to the UNDP Country Office in Kazakhstan. Here, she showcased her versatile expertise by leading the entire Programme Unit and overseeing the SDG portfolio and SDG Financing agenda. Her leadership extended to the Management and Programme Support Unit, where she provided strategic support for enhanced programme quality assurance, project implementation, resource management, and communication and partnership functions. Notably, Irina's commitment to gender equality earned her recognition as a UNDP country office Gender Champion, culminating in the Silver Gender Equality Seal certification for the Kazakhstan Country Office in 2020.

Throughout her career, Irina has worked in and cultivated invaluable collaborations with other UN Agencies, various Non-Governmental Organizations and Development actors, as well as the private sector, consistently focusing on critical issues like climate change and clean energy.

Her academic background includes two bachelor's degrees (International Relations and Law) from Kazakhstan, a dual master's degree in environmental science and policy from Manchester University and Central European University (Hungary). Irina further enriched her knowledge with intensive coursework in natural resources management from the University of California, Davis, USA.