Monica Rijal 

Deputy Resident Representative

Monica Rijal (Nepal) joined UNDP Ukraine as Deputy Resident Representative for Operations on 15 June 2025.

Monica brings over 20 years of combined operational and programmatic leadership in complex, crisis-affected contexts – experience that will be vital as we continue to expand and operationalize our support for Ukraine’s recovery, resilience, and sustainable development. 

Most recently, she served as Deputy Resident Representative in Kyrgyzstan (2021–2025), where she led the design of the 2023–2027 Country Programme, mobilized over U.S. $47 million in crisis response funding, and guided the office through a fully successful corporate audit. She also oversaw a major realignment of the office, helping a 130-member team to exceed delivery targets.

Before that, Monica spent seven years in New York with UNDP’s Crisis Bureau and BPPS, leading global conflict prevention and peacebuilding efforts and authoring key guidance on social cohesion and conflict sensitivity. In Myanmar, she helped transform field offices into recovery hubs and coordinated national recovery planning, working very closely with humanitarian actors to advance the HDP Nexus. Earlier in Nepal, she supported the post-conflict transition with UNMIN as Political Affairs Officer, with RCO managing the UNDP Peace Fund and with UNDP leading inclusive governance, conflict prevention and peacebuilding initiatives.