Dr. Simonetta Siligato is the Director of the UNOPS Multi-Country Office based in Vienna, overseeing operations across sub-regions, including Central Asia, South Caucasus, Türkiye and the Southern Balkans, with a focus on sustainable infrastructure, resilience-building, and development impact.
She brings nearly three decades of experience spanning academia, the private sector, and international development, with a particular emphasis on emerging and fragile contexts across Europe, Africa, and Asia. Prior to her current appointment, Dr. Siligato served as Senior Advisor at UNOPS in the Asia region, leading high-level strategic programming in resilient infrastructure development, livelihoods, and environmental management across South and Southeast Asia, as well as the Pacific. Earlier in her career, she held roles, such as Programme Manager in Sri Lanka, Regional Coordinator for the African Small Island Developing States in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean, and several positions with UNOPS and UNDP in Afghanistan. Dr. Siligato also worked for the German Government in Lao PDR, supporting communities in the Lower Mekong subregion. Before transitioning to international development, she spent several years in the private sector and was engaged in academic research and teaching at universities in Austria and Germany.
She holds a PhD in Environmental and Civil Engineering from BOKU University in Vienna and a Master’s degree in Life Sciences from the University of Vienna, and also studied at the University in Stuttgart-Hohenheim, Germany and the University College of North Wales, United Kingdom. Dr. Siligato is committed to leveraging innovative, practical and evidence-driven solutions to advance sustainable development and climate resilience at both regional and global levels.