Jan Cherlet, PhD

About

Jan Cherlet works with multilateral organizations and network organizations to develop policies, strategies and governance structures that address global problems and seek to make this world a better place.

He ably moves across three registers: data analysis and foresight; convening the people needed to take action; and developing the strategies, policies and governance arrangements that will underpin it. He is particularly valuable in contexts where these three dimension are usually kept separate.

Jan also founded and maintains the Global Risk Governance monitor – a dashboard that tracks the multilateral governance of global catastrophic and existential risks for humanity.

He is based in Italy but is available to work anywhere.

Key achievements

  • 2026, Global Risk Governance monitor
  • 2026, update of the Environmental and Social Safeguards Policy, UNIDO
  • 2026, update of the Accountability Mechanism, UNIDO
  • 2025, Feasibility Study on Environmental and Social Standards, UNHCR
  • 2025, Environmental and Social Sustainability Framework, UNESCO
  • 2025, Stakeholder Response Mechanism, UNESCO
  • 2024, Environmental Plan of Action, WFP
  • 2021, Environmental and Social Sustainability Framework, WFP
  • 2021, Strategy for Sustainability Management in the UN System, United Nations

Languages

Fluent in English, Spanish, Italian, Dutch. Good working knowledge of French.

Education

  • 2012, PhD in Political Sciences, Ghent University
  • 2012, PhD in Science, Technology and Humanities, University of Bologna
  • 2008, MA in Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Barcelona
  • 2004, MEng in Civil Engineering, Ghent University

Other training and certifications

  • 2026, Frontier AI Governance, BlueDot Impact
  • 2026, Biosecurity, BlueDot Impact
  • 2026, High Impact Accelerator, High Impact Professionals
  • 2026, Summer School on Global Governance of AI, Global Governance Institute
  • 2023, Internal Auditing following ISO 19011:2018, UNEP
  • 2018, Climate Change Science, Communication and Action, Cornell University
  • 2011, Advanced Research Institute: Water and Climate Change, Brown University