Ian McFarlane

Ian brings with him over 25 years of experience in the UN System in various programmatic, policy and leadership capacities at HQ, regional and country levels with UNFPA. 

Ian became the Director of the Division for External Relations, formerly called the Division of Communications and Strategic Partnerships, in September 2021. Prior to this role, Ian served for five years as Deputy Regional Director for EECARO. Throughout his career, Ian has provided programmatic leadership; supported advocacy, communications, and resource mobilization efforts; and driven innovation. Ian has worked with UNFPA since 2004, in HQ and in our Country  Offices in Ghana, Nepal, Moldova, Albania, and Armenia. Before joining UNFPA, Ian worked for  UNDP (Geneva), Oxfam Spain (Haiti), ActionAid (UK), and UNDG (New York). Ian speaks English,  Spanish, and French. 

He holds a Master’s Degree in Latin American Studies from the London School of  Economics and a Master’s Degree in French and Spanish Literature from the University of  Cambridge.