Professional Experience:
I am a results-driven development professional with over 15 years of hands-on experience managing programs, partners, and donor compliance across Africa and Asia. I’ve worked directly with local organisations, government counterparts, and international donors—including DFAT, ADB, and ACT Alliance members—to deliver impactful programs in complex and often fragile contexts.
In my current role as Program Coordinator and DFAT Focal Point at Australian Lutheran World Service (ALWS), I lead country programs in Ethiopia and Kenya while overseeing DFAT compliance and reporting across six countries. I’ve led high-stakes partner onboarding during conflict in Ethiopia, facilitated successful ANCP transitions, and coached new partners on DFAT standards, safeguarding, risk management, and donor reporting.
My track record includes solving problems under pressure—like resolving a cross-border funding issue involving four agencies, which preserved donor confidence and reallocated unspent funds to a life-saving response. I also redesigned ALWS’s Program Effectiveness Tool (PEAT) to improve how we track funding, beneficiaries, and risk—cutting report prep time from days to minutes.
At the Asian Development Bank, I worked on $250M+ infrastructure and climate-resilient projects, handling procurement, consultant recruitment, and safeguard compliance. I dealt with senior government officials daily and turned around a struggling project by building direct communication with 10 project directors, introducing 24/7 support, and restoring trust.
I also led the update of ALWS’s Environmental & Climate Policy and am now developing a Sustainability Action Plan to guide practical implementation across our global programs. I'm passionate about systems improvement and learning—currently upskilling in AI and automation to make program delivery faster and smarter.
I bring experience in:
Leading remote and field-based program teams
Navigating donor systems (e.g. SmartyGrants, DFAT templates)
Strengthening compliance and risk frameworks
Partner mentoring and localisation
Writing high-impact reports, briefings, and proposals
I work best when bridging the gap between strategy and operations—helping partners deliver, solving problems early, and ensuring donors stay confident in our work. I’m available for remote, short-term, or advisory roles where practical experience and donor-facing confidence are needed to get things moving quickly.