Conversations with Humanitarians: Julie Belanger, FAO

Are you a CURRENT Fordham student interested in learning about the UN’s FAO and working for the UN? During this conversation you will learn about FAO’s work, the humanitarian sector, and how to navigate humanitarian careers within the UN.

Ms. Julie Belanger has over 20 years of experience in the UN and humanitarian affairs.  She has held various functions in OCHA headquarters and field locations and was most recently Chief of Strategic Planning, Budget and Finance and a member of OCHA’s Senior Leadership Team, based in New York.  She headed the OCHA Regional Office for West and Central Africa in 2019-21 and covered that region as section chief in New York from 2012 to 2015 during which time a lot of her work focused on raising awareness on the impact of food insecurity and building resilience, particularly in the Sahel.  In 2015, she headed the secretariat of the UN Secretary General High-Level Panel on Humanitarian Financing, which initiated the Grand Bargain.  She has worked on various humanitarian policy portfolios and held positions in humanitarian and UN system coordination in Bangladesh, Cote d’Ivoire, Myanmar, Geneva and Congo-Brazzaville among others. Julie started her UN career as a UNV in UNHCR Burundi in 1999 after teaching law courses over three academic years at the University of Rwanda in Butare.  A lawyer by training from Montreal, Canada, she is fluent in both French and English and is keen on helping her teams and the Organization achieve clear deliverables. LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-belanger-25568311/.