Sustainable Energy for All:
Selection of Director-General
Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) is one of the signature achievements of UN SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon, launched in 2011 under his leadership. Guided by a high-level multistakeholder Advisory Board co-chaired by the UN Secretary-General and World Bank President
Jim Yong Kim, this initiative has put three ambitious but achievable energy objectives on the
world’s agenda for 2030:
• Ensuring universal access to modern energy services.
• Doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency.
• Doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
The UN General Assembly has responded to this initiative by declaring 2014-24 the United
Nations Decade of Sustainable Energy for All, and is poised to include its objectives in a new
Sustainable Development Goal on energy as part of the post-2015 development agenda.
The Sustainable Energy for All initiative seeks to “change the game” with innovative publicprivate partnerships built from constructive dialogues on policy, investment, and market
development by governments, businesses, and civil society. It represents a new partnership
model for the UN, bringing the public and private sectors together on equal footing to support
best policies and practices and mobilize private investment toward common goals.
From its earliest days, Dr. Kandeh K. Yumkella has led the initiative and helped inspire the
movement, most recently as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sustainable
Energy for All; he is stepping down on 31 July 2015. He has been supported by a Global
Facilitation Team, comprising about 30 individuals in Vienna and New York, who in turn
coordinate with a global network of partners, facilitating implementation strategies for each of
the three objectives.
To enable external stakeholders – both public and private – to participate in the governance of
Sustainable Energy for All, a new international non-profit organization, to be named the
“Sustainable Energy for All Partnership” (hereafter, “Partnership”), will be formed. The
Director-General of the Sustainable Energy for All Partnership will lead this public-private
partnership for a four-year term, renewable for a second term.
The Executive Committee of Sustainable Energy for All has initiated a search process for this
position, balancing the urgency of Dr. Yumkella’s departure with the need for a broad and
careful search that reflects geographic and gender diversity. The search process will be supported
by a global executive search firm, Egon Zehnder, and the full role specification for the DirectorGeneral’s position is available at http://appointments.egonzehnder.com/. A subcommittee of the
Executive Committee will screen and interview candidates and make recommendations to the
full Executive Committee, which will make the final decision.
Candidates who wish to be considered for this position should send a CV and cover letter no
later than 15 April 2015 to the following email address: DGSE4ALL@egonzehnder.com. Please
note, only candidates who meet the selection criteria and who are deemed qualified for this role
will be contacted for further evaluation.