Ahead of the Vienna peace talks for Syria in 2015, Egeland was appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to head the working group on safety and protection, in this capacity supporting United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura. From 2016 until 2018, he served as de Mistura's humanitarian adviser. In early 2021, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed him to a three‑person Independent Senior Advisory Panel on Syria, alongside Erika Feller and Radhouane Noucier. The panel was to provide Guterres with advice on how to strengthen the deconfliction mechanism operated by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the country.