Areas of expertise
poverty and inequalities, urban development, slum-upgrading, participatory planning, public participation, participatory methods, social diversity, informal settlements, urban governance, social innovation, urban land tenure, urban conflict, social protection, sustainable livelihoods, mass displacement/forced migration in cities, NGOs and humanitarian organisations, higher education.
Skills
- facilitate and mentor collaborative processes to design and establish new sustainable institutions, programmes, and frameworks to address intractable challenges in complex contexts, with a diverse and large number of stakeholders
- bring together different stakeholders, includinglocal communities, local and central governments, elected politicians, built environment professionals, NGOs, academia, media and private sector.
- active listener able to quickly identify client’s needs and develop appropriate tailored solutions
- design and facilitate creative and participatory development of organisational and programme strategies, theories of change, evaluation frameworks, learning processes
- policy-oriented researchand advocacy, evidence gathering for policy making
- design and deliver participatory research, participatory learning and participatory decision-making processes
Country Experience
Kenya, Sierra Leone, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Italy, Liberia, Lebanon, Nigeria, Philippines, Republic of Ireland, Uganda, United Kingdom, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Regional expertise of Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.
Selected Clients
DFID, UN-Habitat, ICF International, Comic Relief, CAFOD, Caritas Africa, IPSIA (ACLI Institute for Peace, Development, Innovation), Alphasights.
Languages
English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese (spoken, read only), French (spoken, read only)
Profile Summary
- 15+ years of international experience in the international development and urban development sectors working for international NGOs, academia, and consulting for the United Nations, international donors and government.
- Driven by a passion for impact and setting up new sustainable processes, programmes, institutions by focusing on effective project management:
- founded and established an urban research centre in Sierra Leone in the post-Ebola context
- opened the Kenya office of the IPSIA NGO
- first chair of the board of innovative UK charity CatalyticAction working with refugee and host populations in the Middle East, helped to set up all internal processes and strategy.
- developed a new professional training course for African professionals with over 2,500 joiners
- a new programme of dissertation fellowships where students do their dissertation in partnership with external organisations including development NGOs, foundations, consultancies.
- Worked for over 7 years at the Bartlett Development Planning Unit, #1 faculty globally according to the most recognised university ranking: QS World University Ranking, within one of the universities consistently in the top 10 worldwide.
- Invited to deliver more than 15 talks in four languages in six different countries in addition to presenting my work in 18 conferences.