The Global Executive Leadership Initiative (GELI)
With ongoing United Nations d...
The Global Executive Leadership Initiative (GELI)
With ongoing United Nations development and broader international humanitarian reform, a specific focus has been placed on collective action, system coordination, and as a key tenet of success, leadership.
Hosted under the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), the Global Executive Leadership Initiative (GELI) is the first leadership development programme that brings together top level leaders from and across UN agencies, NGOs, and the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to learn together and co-create a leadership ecosystem within the humanitarian and development sector.
GELI's vision is a world made better by transformative leadership and its mission is to inspire exceptional leadership through continuous learning, ingenuity, and transformation.
The complexity of crises is growing, requiring collective multi-stakeholder action. As a result, GELI is a multi-donor initiative which will provide learning opportunities that will challenge senior field leaders to sharpen skills and harness experiences around collaborative, collective leadership approaches that can be applied in countries of operation.
GELI is a multifaceted programme tailored to the specific needs of each individual leader, capitalizing on their extensive experience and highly applicable to today’s operational realities. GELI includes three pillars. Pillar I is a one-year executive leadership programme that includes three in-person residencies and remote learning. Pillar II includes short and specialized field training delivered in regional capitals through a blended learning approach. Pillar III is a Leadership and Innovation Lab to drive a culture of systems leadership, creativity, forward thinking and collaboration in the leadership community.
GELI has a robust communications strategy in its work. Communications platforms will drive interest in the initiative to secure: increased applicants in GELI programmes from potential participants from field based leaders and from their home agencies (UN, NGO, Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement); keep donor partners informed on GELI projects and encourage additional funding from diverse donors to achieve the full vision for GELI’s three pillars and to sustain the initiative for the long-term; and garner buy-in within the broader international system for the credibility of the programme and linkages to supporting systemic priorities.