Susanne Frueh has over 25 years of work experience in international development covering development assistance, humanitarian assistance as well as post conflict situations. Her experience spans the fields of evaluation, oversight, strategic planning, results-based management and project design and management. 

After receiving a Masters of Science degree in Geography at the University of South Carolina, she started out her career as a consultant, working for the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, the Worldwide Fund for Nature and the National Geographic Society. 

She joined the UN in 1988 as a programme officer in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  Following participation in UNDP’s Management Training Programme in 1989 she was assigned to the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) from 1990 – 1995 as programme management officer, managing a large portfolio of environmental projects covering over 40 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. During this period she developed UNDP/UNOPS approach to design and implement small grants programmes for NGOs and community-based groups, setting up the Small Grants Programme of the Global Environment Facility in 20 initial countries, and managing the Africa 2000 TrustFund in 12 African countries and the Asia/Pacific 2000 in 6 Asian countries. As part of her portfolio she supported operations in Somalia in the early 90s.

In 1995 she moved into the field of evaluation and oversight, working first for the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) as Senior Programme Manager (Evaluation), covering infrastructure, local governance, microfinance and eco-development project evaluations. She subsequently worked for the World Food Programme (WFP) as senior evaluation officer from 1999-2002, evaluating the results of food aid in development, emergency and post conflict situations and promoting the development of a results-based management approach at WPF. After leaving WFP in 2002, Ms Frueh served as the head of evaluation for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) until May 2007. She was one of the originators of the real-time evaluation concept for humanitarian assistance, field testing the approach in Darfur, Sudan. She also contributed to strengthening OCHA's work in the area of strategic planning, RBM and risk management approach. During this period Ms Frueh was the chair of the Tsunami Evaluation Coalition (TEC) as well as a board/steering committee member of the UN Evaluation Group (UNEG) and the Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action (ALNAP). 

Between April 2007 and August 2009 Ms Frueh covered several functions as chief in the new Peacebuilding Support Office of the UN (PBSO), including ensuring substantive secretariat support to the UN Peacebuilding Commission in all of its configurations, mobilizing resources for peacebuilding and managing the Secretary-General’s $ 250 million Peacebuilding Fund. 

Ms Frueh was appointed Executive Secretary of the JIU in June 2009 and took up her function on 23 August 2009. She is married with two children.