For more than 15 years, I’ve been managing multi-sectoral projects in humanitarian and development sectors with UN agencies, the State Department Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM), the government, and multiple NGOs. Possessing cross-functional leadership qualities, I’ve hands-on experience in project design, project management, people management, mentoring and supporting partners, problem-solving with a track record in liaising and promoting partnerships with government, donors, and multiple NGOs.
I have a strong professional track record with over 10 years of experience in the NGO sector working with international NGOs, UN agencies, and donor organizations in multi-sectoral projects related to Education, Protection, Sustainable Food & Nutrition Security, Livelihoods, Skill Development, and Income Generation, WASH and Natural Resources Management including Agriculture/Horticulture, Livestock, Fish Model Farms and Forestry interventions in the remote and under-developed areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.
I’ve led diversified teams and accomplished many projects in education, WASH, healthcare, agriculture, livestock, nutrition, NRM, skills development, income generation, women & youth empowerment, and GBV/protection including the most recent Education Above All (EAA) funded project resulting in the enrolment of more than 150,000 out-of-school children (OOSC) in formal and non-formal schools. I’ve demonstrated performance in core humanitarian and INEE standards in both refugees and IDPs programs including emergency experience with UNICEF in the 2005 earthquake, and with PRM during the 2008-15 humanitarian response in Pakistan.
I’ve to my credit the development of numerous project proposals & concept notes and explored a number of innovative ideas for program improvement, resources mobilization, and fundraising. In addition, building the capacity of partner organizations through training, mentoring, and on-site monitoring visits.
In my recent assignment as a Regional Manager with Alight Pakistan (formerly American Refugee Committee (ARC), I led the EAA-funded Educate A Child (EAC) project in 18 districts of Pakistan including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)/Newly Merged Tribal Districts (NMTD), Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) with several implementing partners (IPs) including government. Fostered Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with several partners including the education department, BISP, CAR, NCHD, and BECS, and provided technical support for the smooth implementation of project activities and timely results achievements. The approaches included blended learning, digital innovations, and human-centered designs. In addition, led on Alight's expansion to NMTDs for an anticipated education program.
Areas of Expertise: Proposals Writing, Team Building, Project Management, Rollout & Implementation, Partnerships Management, Data Analysis, Grants Management, Community Mobilization, Strategies Development, and fostering Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with government and NGO counterparts.
Key Skills and Competencies: Communication | Leading and Supervising| Representation | Commitment | Monitoring, and Evaluation | Judgement and Decision Making |Coordination and Collaboration | Technical Assistance | Quality Assurance & Accountability | Research | Critical Thinking |Persuasion & Influencing| Training and Coaching | Report Writing | Creativity and Adjustments| Community Development.
The Project: The enrollment and retention of “One Million Out-Of-School Children” with a special focus on girls and marginalized kids in collaboration with NGOs and government departments.
Duties and responsibilities:
• Implement and manage the overall programmatic strategy across the region.
• Provide technical input to partners for successful implementation of program activities to achieve the targets in a timely manner.
• Oversee the monitoring and evaluation of the entire program operations in the region.
• Ensure effective coordination and collaboration with government and other institutions including Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees (CAR), UNHCR, BISP, UNICEF, WFP, Ministry of Education, NGOs, and other stakeholders.
• Participate in education working group and national steering committee meetings to ensure that support is extended to vulnerable children including refugees and IDPs.
• Serve as a strategic resource and represent Alight in meetings, seminars, and conferences, etc.
• Provide technical support to partner organizations including education department, NGOs, and school committees, and monitor & evaluate implementing partners’ performance against targets.
• Conduct on-site visits, track partners’ progress through monitoring & evaluation ensuring the contractual requirements.
• Ensure accurate timely reporting, logistics arrangements, and financial management.
Major Achievements:
• Operationalized the EAA project in KP, AJK & Gilgit Baltistan and supervised the MEAL, Logistic, Human Resource, and Finance, teams. • Developed processes and strategies and entered into several MoU with government and NGOs for the education of OOSC with a special focus on girls.
• Assisted the regional project teams and IPs in the development of detailed implementation plans (DIP), to meet the deadlines and achieve the results timely.
• Supported country program in developing concept notes, proposals, donor reporting, and designing new projects, and ensured co-funding from government institutions and communities.
• Supported implementing partners in planning, execution of detailed implementation plan, monitoring & evaluation, reporting, resource management, and project interventions.
• Participated in technical working groups (TWG) for technical inputs, avoiding overlap, information sharing from findings from field visits, and way forward.
• Organized seminars on OOSC challenges and explored barriers for girls’ education and recommended the way forward to government and other stakeholders.
• Supported partners & Country Office MEAL team in designing the dashboard and monitoring matrix for the effective implementation, monitoring & evaluation, learning, and results.
• Ensured regular and timely monitoring and reporting of program activities through working closely with the MEAL team through field visits, monitoring, surveys, and sharing the findings with partners and stakeholders for course correction and further improvement.
• Closely monitored the budget forecasting, expenditure planning, and budget burn rate as per planned interventions in the detailed implementation plan.
• Conducted field visits, announced and unannounced with partners and field staff and measured its results, and provided feedback to country office and communities.
• Overachieved project targets by enrolling over150, 000 OOSC in formal and non-formal schools through strong coordination and effective partnerships management.
• Mobilized external resources including material and cash contributions from government, industries, communities, and other stakeholders to ensure co-funding and sustainability.
• Mobilized additional resources to achieved maximum results in minimum time and resources through raising funds, engaging communities, government departments, and corporate sectors.
• Established non-formal schools in rural areas for the education of marginalized children ensuring community contribution, ownership, and government buy-in.
• Trained over 5000 teachers and school managers in pedagogy, school management, community mobilization, and mobilized numerous school committees for school improvement.
The Project: The US State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) provides life-sustaining assistance to refugees, IDPs & migrants, and advocates for vulnerable populations protection.
Duties and responsibilities:
• Represent PRM in meetings and conferences; and address refugees’ issues.
• Liaise with NGO IPs, different ministries, and relevant departments to ensure effective project implementation and timely target achievements.
• Conduct monitoring visits through traveling to project sites, and address issues to ensure quality.
• Identify gaps and provide technical support & guidance to NGO partners across Pakistan.
• Ensure contractual requirements as per PRM cooperative agreement.
Major Achievements:
• Reviewed numerous proposals, concept notes, and quarterly/annual reports.
• Being the only national staff, served as a strategic resource for PRM in the region.
• Oversaw the implementation of large-scale multi-sectoral projects for Afghan refugees with an annual portfolio of $20 million benefiting1.5 million refugees, IDPs, and host communities.
• Supported implementing partners in planning, execution of detailed implementation plan, monitoring & evaluation, reporting, resource management, and project interventions.
• Developed a result-based M&E system and provided technical support to local partners.
• Supported IPs in the identification of trainees, training institutions, and in shortlisting of trades for skill training and conducting skill gap analysis at the community level, setting up micro-enterprises, and developing livelihood investment plans for passed out graduates.
• Provided technical support to partners in package designing for the provision of poultry birds, improvement in animal breeding and livestock husbandry, production of quality and multicomponent feeds, and promotion of non-traditional poultry.
• Organize and mobilize external resources such as skills, material, and cash contributions from communities and other stakeholders to best achieve the project objectives.
• Prepared annual, quarterly, and monthly plans for the effective execution of multi-sectoral projects with a special focus on increased income and capacity strengthening of local partners.
• Established strong working relationships specifically with government ministries including State and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), Interior, Foreign Affairs, UNHCR, ICRC, UNICEF, UNESCO, WFP, WHO, DFID, USAID, EU, AusAID, GIZ, and NGOs.
• Monitored and evaluated the performance of implementing partners against their targets through conducting on-site visits and interaction with project beneficiaries including women.
• Provided technical guidance to partners and built their capacity in the project cycle and data usage.
The Project: UNICEF was the lead agency in education, WASH, and nutrition in the 2005 earthquake.
Duties and responsibilities:
• Ensure basic education to children in IDP camps and organize teachers' training.
• Oversee education emergency program, school supplies, and counterparts’ performance.
• Review vouchers and liquidate accounts of implementing partners (IP).
• Capacity building of IPs on project management, and school development plans.
• Ensure inter-sectoral linkages with child protection, WASH, shelter, and health.
Major Achievements:
• Reviewed numerous project proposals and supported country office in the development of concept notes on Livelihoods, WASH, Education, Protection, Healthcare, Nutrition, and emergency response in close coordination with government line departments to reflect the ground realities.
• Led the technical working groups (TWG) for technical inputs to implementing partners and relevant line departments and facilitated cluster meetings to ensure standards and ToRs.
• Supported implementing partners in planning, execution of detailed implementation plan, monitoring & evaluation, reporting, resource management, and project interventions.
• Supported partners in designing the Terms of Reference (ToRs) for WASH, Basic Education, Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) Strategy, Participatory Learning and Action (PLA).
• Led on the revision of SMC guidelines; approved and promulgated by the education department.
• Trained over 5000 teachers, master trainers in development plan Plans (SDPs) and mobilization.
• Provided technical guidance to IPs on project implementation, monitoring and evaluation, community mobilization, supplies utilization, enrolment drives, SIP, and progress reporting.
• Created a cadre of SMC Master Trainers for the first time in the history of the AJK education department.
• Resolved many conflicts in the construction of prefabricated schools through dialogue.
• Conducted on-site visits and held meetings with community elders and education authorities for additional improvement, quality education, and program improvement.
Achievements: Established office & liaison with government & NGOs; hired & trained staff to support patients suffering from tuberculosis in acute emergency of 2005 earthquake in 2 districts of Mansehra and Batagram.
The Project: Funded by UNICEF and implemented by the Sarhad Rural Support Program (SRSP), the education project resulted in the enrolment of more than 10,000 children who had never been to school before.
Issues and Challenges: The community was opposing the project on the pretext that it is against religion, and that we were working for the freedom of women and to destroy their culture and traditions. One of the UNICEF expat staff was detained but was safely released after negotiation.
Major Achievements:
Designed effective community mobilization and project implementation strategies keeping in view cultural norms and values.
Trained project staff in the basics of Project Cycle Management, presentation, and reporting.
Fostered strong partnerships with the education department, district government, and local communities.
Established 100 community schools enrolling 5,000 children who had never been to school before.
Mobilized communities & resources for schools’ construction, 3 times more than donor’s budget.
The Project: Funded by European Union and implemented by IUCN Pakistan, the goal of the project was natural resources management through community participation in Dir Upper KP province.
Issues and Challenges: More than 90% of the population was illiterate and unaware of the importance of natural resources and their role in climate change. The communities opposed the project on religious and cultural pretexts. The project office was attacked with rocket launchers; staff narrowly escaped. Activities suspended; re-started after 2 months. The project proved to be one of the successful ones; a complete paradigm shift.
Major Achievements:
• Joined the project from day 1; worked until the end, learned a lot from peers, community wisdom.
• Support partners in conducting skill gap analysis at the local level, setting up micro-enterprises, and developing livelihood investment plans.
• Identified trainees from local communities and training institutions, and provided training to Agriculture Extension Workers (AEW) and Livestock Extension Workers (LEW) to provide services to local communities on a sustainable basis.
• Supported the local farmers in increased productions through vegetable gardens, nurseries, demonstration trails, wheat seed trials, dissemination of fruit plants, and huge-scale plantations.
• Supported local farmers in increased meat and eggs productions through the provision of improved breed poultry non-traditional birds, improved breed bull, goats, and livestock husbandry.
• Facilitated and supported community-based village organization (CBOs) in designing community plans and village development plans to reflect the needs, issues, and possible solutions of the communities with focus marginalized communities for the agricultural, livestock, fisheries, and forestry interventions such as improved seed, nurseries, poultry birds, bulls, goats and fruit plants.
• Coordinate project activities with district authorities for inclusion of these plans in the annual development plan and practical designs of vegetable gardens, fruit orchards, and fish model farms to ensure enhanced micronutrients intake through diversified vegetables and livestock production.
• Organized and mobilized additional in-kind and cash contributions from communities and other stakeholders to ensure ownership and sustainability.
• Established over 100 Village Organizations (VO); facilitated communities in the construction of 12 bridges, 25 micro-hydropower stations with spillover effect of over 50 by communities themselves, 50 irrigation channels, 300 water ponds, 100 Km farm to market roads, 500 orchards.
• Established non-formal schools, ensured community contribution and ownership
• Trained teachers and the CBOs in Community Management Skills Training (CMST).
The Project: Multisectoral development project with focus on infrastructure & natural resources management through government departments and community participation.