UNICEF Representative in Pakistan

Pernille Ironside has served as UNICEF Representative in Pakistan since July 2025. She leads the multi-sectoral UNICEF Country Programme of Cooperation 2023-2027, in partnership with the Government to support Pakistan’s National Development Plan.

A national of Canada, Ms. Ironside brings over 20 years of experience in international development, humanitarian action and child rights advocacy in diverse roles with UNICEF. Prior to her appointment, Ms. Ironside served as the Deputy Director of Data, Planning, Analytics and Monitoring at UNICEF Headquarters in New York; Deputy Representative in Nigeria; Chief of Field Operations in Iraq; Chief of the Gaza Strip Field Office; Senior Global Advisor on Child Protection in Emergencies; Child Protection Specialist in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, with additional deployments in Yemen, the Philippines and Pakistan.

Before joining UNICEF, Ms. Ironside held positions with the UN Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) in Goma; the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in New York; the Canadian Human Rights Commission; and the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in Ottawa.

Ms. Ironside is a licensed lawyer, holding Canadian degrees in Commerce and Law, as well as a Masters in Law from Columbia University, specializing in International Human Rights, Humanitarian Law, Comparative Law and Transitional Justice. Born and raised in Edmonton, Canada, she is a mother to a young son.