Sonja Leighton-Kone joined UNOPS in October 2023, bringing more than 25 years of experience in international development. She has served in many countries supporting humanitarian response efforts and countries in transition, along with regional and global roles focused on systems strengthening and organization transformational initiatives.

Before joining UNOPS, Ms. Leighton-Kone served as the UN Environment Programme's Corporate Services Director and Acting Deputy Executive Director, where she led strategic engagement with key stakeholders, and oversaw global environmental financing mechanisms, resource mobilization, risk management, information technology, and financial and human resources management.

Previously, Ms. Leighton-Kone also held several senior operations positions at UNICEF and worked for the World Food Programme. She holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Fordham Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor’s degree in Management Science from the University of the West Indies.