Jennifer Colville is a Policy Advisor in the Knowledge, Innovation and Capacity Group of the Bureau for Development Policy in the United Nations Development Programme. The Group is UNDP's in-house resource for policy advice and technical support to partner countries around the world.
Jennifer leads the Group's effort to explore "next generation" capacities needed to manage the complex, dynamic and unpredictable nature of development today, with a specific focus on innovative approaches to collaboration, participation and inclusion. In her global role, she works across UNDP's five regions and across thematic areas, such as youth employment and livelihoods, sustainable development, post-conflict, and disaster risk reduction. She manages UNDP's newly launched Innovation Facility, a $10 million fund to support innovation for development around the world. Previously, Jennifer managed the development and worldwide rollout of UNDP's frameworks for assessing and measuring capacities. She worked with colleagues the world over, from Armenia to Yemen, to adapt these frameworks and methodologies to country contexts and needs.
Prior to joining the UN system, Jennifer worked with Accenture, the international management consulting firm, in its strategic services group, advising clients in the consumer product goods and retail industries, such as Mars, Inc., Procter & Gamble, Colgate, and Bahlsen; and with Burson-Marsteller, in their public affairs and crisis management group. Jennifer earned a Masters of Business Administration from Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University.