Gilles Virgili

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Strategic Partnerships Specialist

Gilles has more than ten years of experience in international development with a focus on gender-based violence, child protection, and sexual and reproductive health. He worked in UN Agencies and international NGOs, both in the field and at the global level. 

He works as a Strategic Partnerships Specialist at UNFPA’s headquarters in New York to explore, expand and manage partnerships with private strategic partners. He coordinates engagement on youth, innovation, sports, and academia. He joined the organization in 2016 to coordinate the Adolescents and Youth portfolio in the South Africa Country Office. He then moved to the Innovation Secretariat in headquarters in 2018 where he supported country offices on the use of digital and mobile technologies to improve access to SRH services and information for adolescents and young people.  

Previous to joining UNFPA, he served as the co-editor in chief of a cultural magazine in Switzerland before moving to South Africa in 2012 to work for UNICEF and Save the Children South Africa on issues of violence against women and children.