The purpose of the Resident Coordinator System (RCS) is to promote and facilitate coordination and the efficient management of United Nations activities thereby enabling optimum United Nations system support for national capacity-building to assist Kenya realise its national goals. The major components of the Resident Coordinator System are:

The Resident Coordinator (RC) is the Kenya Country Committee team leader for the overall coordination and cooperation efforts of the United Nations system and represents the United Nations system on issues of common concern. The Resident Coordinator ensures the effective management of consultative mechanisms, facilitating and encouraging collaboration on substantive programme development and management issues, facilitating coordination on security issues, and mobilizing additional resources for collaborative programming. The Resident Coordinator also oversees: a Programme Review Committee which assesses individual agency programmes to ensure complementarity and mutual reinforcement; and the United Nations Development Assistance Framework Technical Committee which works under the guidance of the Resident Coordinator System. This inter-agency committee coordinates United Nations Development Assistance Framework processes, and analyses and produces United Nations Development Assistance Framework documentation for Kenya Country Committee review.

The United Nations Kenya Country Committee (KCC)

The Kenya Country Committee is comprised of the representatives of agencies, which have country representation. Those United Nations organizations with no country representative are linked to the Kenya Country Committee through the Resident Representative of UNDP, also the Resident Coordinator. The representatives of the Breton Woods institutions also participate in the Kenya Country Committee on issues of mutual interest and concern, at Kenya Country Committee retreats, and in United Nations Theme Groups, ensuring linkages with the World Bank's Country Assistance Strategy (CAS).


The Kenya Country Committee is led by the Resident Coordinator and supported by Resident Coordinator System Secretariat. The role of the Kenya Country Committee is to enhance substantive collaboration among member organizations and to strengthen opportunities for a joint or common management of United Nations system operations in Kenya, favouring an integrated system-wide approach to development cooperation. It provides collective leadership to the United Nations system in Kenya, approves and monitors annual Resident Coordinator system Work plans, oversees the work of Theme Groups and operations committees, including the approval of their respective work plans, and seeks and acts on ways to strengthen collaborative planning and operations of the United Nations system. The Kenya Country Committee also meets with Government, development partners, and designated focal points within the United Nations system to ensure the relevance and complementarity's of the system's development assistance.

List of current heads of UN agencies in Kenya

The Resident Coordinator System Secretariat (RCSS)

The Resident Coordinator System Secretariat is located in the Resident Coordinator's Office and serves all the United Nations agencies in Kenya by assisting with coordination, monitoring and assessment of mechanisms set forth in the United Nations Development Assistance Framework. The Secretariat has a programme analyst, Program Associate and a Program Assistant, coordinates Kenya Country Committee activities and acts as the focal point for all agencies' work on Theme Groups and Operations Committees. In addition, the Secretariat maintains the United Nations system database (including Common Country Assessment and Theme Group indicators) and manages United Nations system-wide studies, outreach, consultancies, and international conference and convention follow-up. The Secretariat is supported by an inter-agency team of technical staff called the Advisory Team.

Current composition of the Secretariat:

Cleophas Torori - Programme Analyst

Seraphin Njagi - UNDP Economist

Jane Mbagi - Programme Associate

Assumpta Muhoho - Programme Assistant

Terms of Reference for Advisory Team

In cooperation with the Resident Coordinator (RC) and the Resident Coordinator Secretariat the United Nations Development Assistance Framework Advisory Team (AT), will plan and provide logistical support to the Kenya Country Committee, within the framework of Common Country Assessment/United Nations Development Assistance Framework related activities. These include the following:

  • Providing technical assistance to the United Nations Development Assistance Framework process in fulfilling the strategic objectives of collaborative programming for the UN system;
  • Collect and synthesize information on United Nations Development Assistance Framework/Common Country Assessment for distribution among UN Agencies in Kenya;
  • Provide logistical support for the monitoring and evaluation of Common Country Assessment/United Nations Development Assistance Framework distribution and follow-up;
  • Assist in the co-ordination of the Common Country Assessment's preparation, including the review of indicators to be included in the preparation of the Country Assessment;
  • Provide support and information to Theme Groups and consult with them to prepare updates on the on-going collaborative programme activities;
  • Plan common mid-term and end-of-cycle Common Country Assessment/United Nations Development Assistance Framework reviews;
  • Following decisions of the Kenya Country Committee, prepare terms of reference for and provide technical guidance to United Nations Development Assistance Framework related consultancies for the UN system in Kenya;

Membership of the Advisory Team

  1. Advisory Team membership is limited to a half of the total number of UN agencies. They will serve for a period two years unless re-appointed by their agencies
  2. UN agencies participating in the United Nations Development Assistance Framework process will appoint Programme Officers and above to serve in the Advisory Team
  3. Participation in the Advisory Team is rotational and all agencies are expected to participate in the appointment of officers to serve in the committee
  4. New members of the Advisory Team  should preferably have served as members of Theme Groups

Current members of the Advisory Team.

United Nations Theme Groups and Operations Committees

In order to enhance United Nations collaboration and cooperation, United Nations Theme Groups and Operations Committees have been established as essential instruments for improving information sharing, performance and coordination efforts of the United Nations system. The scope and specifics of collaborative methodologies to be applied in each case to operationalize these project activities (lead agency, budgetary and logistical management systems, etc.) will be decided on and finalised for inclusion in the annual Theme Group and Resident Coordinator System work plans. The KCC has overall responsibility for managing the above process.

Theme Groups

To reflect the major thrusts of the United Nations system's support for Kenya's development agenda, six Theme Groups are in operation. The head of a United Nations agency (agreed to by the Kenya Country Committee) coordinates each Theme Group. Each Theme Group Coordinator oversees and monitors the collaborative activities of the Theme Group and enables direct feedback and linkages of Theme Group processes to the Kenya Country Committee. All Theme Groups have agreed upon common terms of reference and have formulated specific work plans to address the needs in each area of cooperation. Each Theme Group attempts to consolidate and coordinate United Nations assistance, identifies potential areas for collaborative programming and activities, and liases with Government, donors, NGOs, private sector and other development partners. Specific desired results are described in the Annual Resident Coordinator system Work Plan and will be assessed annually by the Kenya Country Committee and during joint United Nations Development Assistance Framework reviews.


Each theme is expected to:

  • Monitor follow-up to international conventions and conferences which guide United Nations interventions in the sector;
  • Promote and identify collaborative programming and activities, and information sharing;
  • Address issues of human rights, especially gender equity and child rights;
  • Report on designated core indicators;
  • Produce annual work plans including activities, timeframes, and performance indicators for Kenya Country Committee approval;
  • Produce annual reports for Kenya Country Committee review;
  • Participate in United Nations Development Assistance Framework reviews; and
  • Prepare recommendations for future cooperation in the 2004 cycle.

    See the current Theme Groups

Operations Committees

To ensure that the operations of the United Nations system facilitate the achieving of strategic objectives, three operations committees have been formulated. These inter-agency committees, also coordinated by a head of agency, strive to improve performance by fostering collaborative initiatives to bolster the United Nations system's effectiveness and efficiency. Each committee develops its own annual work plan. Specific desired results will be described in the Annual Resident Coordinator system Work Plan and will be assessed annually by the Kenya Country Committee and during joint United Nations Development Assistance Framework reviews. The current inter-agency United Nations Operations Committees are:


a. United Nations Inter-Agency Administrative Committee

This committee addresses harmonization and collaboration on issues such as transport and shipping, auditing, disbursement, taxes, recruitment, technology, and programme and project financial reporting and accountability. The committee is convened by United Nations Development Programme/United Nations Office in Nairobi and reports to the Kenya Country Committee.

b. United Nations Information and Communications Committee

This inter-agency committee is coordinated by United Nations Information Centre and reports to the Kenya Country Committee. It identifies common United Nations system public information needs and participants include the information/media officers of the United Nations system who exchange plans and address special information projects and events.

c. United Nations Security Management Team

This inter-agency team jointly addresses and finances common security needs. It is headed by the Director General, United Nations Office in Nairobi, (for Nairobi) and the Resident Coordinator (up-country) and works with the Kenya Country Committee.


Monitoring and Evaluation

United Nations Development Assistance Framework requires enhanced accountability and performance of the United Nations system in Kenya. The Kenya Country Committee is therefore introducing the following mechanisms to monitor the impact of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework and overall United Nations system performance. These mechanisms function in addition to each agency's individual programme and project assessment procedures:


Annual Theme Group and Operations Committee Reports and Work plan Reviews

The Kenya Country Committee receives annual reports from each Theme Group and Operations Committee and approves the subsequent year's work plans. These are reflected in the Resident Coordinator system's Annual Report and Work plan. This review process provides a mechanism for inter-agency monitoring and feedback while building linkages between Theme Groups, Operations Committees, and the Kenya Country Committee.


 The Resident Coordinator Annual Report and Corresponding Work plan

The Resident Coordinator, together with the Kenya Country Committee, produces an annual Resident Coordinator system Report, which is based on the analyses of the previous year's accomplishments and challenges, and on outputs resulting from Theme Groups and Operations Committee initiatives. The Resident Coordinator annual report thus reflects lessons learned and opportunities for subsequent cooperation and coordination of the United Nations system based on Theme Group and Operations Committee inputs as well as Government and donor partner activities. The Report also articulates the subsequent year's work plan including desired key results, budgetary implications, and resource mobilisation targets to be undertaken by the Resident Coordinator System.

Support for Donor Coordination

The United Nations system in Kenya has a number of responsibilities for facilitating and enabling donor coordination in various sectors. The Resident Coordinator participates with donor partners in the Kenya Coordination Group (KCG) and indeed co-chairs this group with the World Bank. United Nations agencies also participate in donor working groups, which ensure complementarity of United Nations bilateral and multilateral priority-setting, advocacy, programmes and projects. Donor working groups include: Private Sector Development, Transport and Communication, Energy, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment, Social Development, Education, Health and Population, Water Supply and Sanitation, Public Sector Reform, and Non-economic Issues.

AC Resident Coordinator Guidelines

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