Experience

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

• United Kingdom
• Higher Education
• 400 - 500 Employee

• Program Manager

  • Apr 2017 - Present

  Established business administrative systems including standard operating procedures (SOP). Built, trained, and continue to optimize the performance of a 10-member team including three administrative staff members and a finance specialist. Act as the driving force behind all operations with full oversight of all Human Resource (HR), Budgeting, Inventory, Procurement, Logistics, and Policy & Procedure Compliance functions. Select Contributions/Achievements: • Plan, assign, and review work of administrative staff, provide feedback on performance evaluations, discuss performance measures, and identify training & development needs of employees. • Serve as Chief Liaison fostering synergy with Kenya's government in securing clearances for visiting scientists, execute orientations for visitors, and facilitating security briefings. • Coordinate processing of work permits, and visitors passes for 3rd country nationals. • Collaborate with key stakeholders from the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) to coordinate and execute a wide range of mission-critical projects. • Establish/track key performance indicators (KPI), drive continuous improvement, increase capabilities, and ensure project goals are achieved. • Adeptly prioritize/control inventory and budget/costs to ensure all areas and projects have the resources available to maximize operational effectiveness and service delivery. • Review project budgets against actual spend and monitor obligations to ensure unobligated funds are reprogrammed. • Coordinate with various host government ministries on customs clearances and exemption of duty and taxes of imported goods. • Develop and foster working relationships with various Health Facility leads and ensure satellite field offices are efficiently and appropriately maintained in a cost-effective manner. • Verify purchase orders, invoices, and travel reimbursements before payments are made and review monthly payroll for KEMRI-LSTM funded projects. Show less



CDC Kenya

• Kenya
• Media Production
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Public Health Management Administrative Specialist

  • Jan 2000 - Mar 2017

  Joined CDC Kenya in 2000 and implemented all office and overall business systems. Directed daily administrative functions (finance, inventory, projects, meeting scheduling/support, travel arrangements, etc.) within the CDC Kenya office as well as handling all HR functions including recruiting, hiring, training, evaluating, and managing all staff. Select Contributions/Achievements: • Liaised with the US Embassy on all HR issues including managing personnel records, recruiting staff, and developing/executing professional development plans for each team member based on individual evaluations. • Tracked team and individual member performance, ensuring supervisors completed annual reviews, promoted internal stakeholders as appropriate, and addressed any productivity concerns. • Drove continuous improvement in workflow processes in an ongoing effort to increase capabilities, productivity, and efficiency. • Conducted procurement reviews and interpreted USG regulations for CDC Kenya acquisitions. • Negotiated tax exempt status for HHS partners with the host government that saved thousands of dollars and collaborated with appropriate Kenyan ministries to secure various permits and special passes. • Partnered with IRB offices at KEMRI, JOOTRH, and with CDC Atlanta to coordinate protocol reviews for manuscripts, abstracts, and presentations across all clearance stages. • Orchestrated review processes for peer-reviewed publications with Principal investigators, Branch Chiefs, and the Associate Director of the Science Office. • Leveraged the Property Management Information System (PMIS) to closely monitor/manage all organizational assets and ensure resources were effectively prioritized across all operations and projects. • Coordinated 3rd party collaborative project funding and cost-sharing in full compliance with the larger Cooperative Agreement Funding at KEMRI. • Monitored ICASS costs to ensure correct billing per project. Show less



Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• United States
• Government Administration
• 700 & Above Employee

• Administrative Specialist

  • Nov 2015 - Nov 2016

  (2016) CDC Liberia • Assigned as the Administrative Team Lead for the Ebola team in Liberia, delivering key leadership and support to the Administrative Specialist, HR Specialist, and Logistics personnel to maximize operational effectiveness. • Collaborated with the HR Specialist and Logistics personnel to develop comprehensive trackers to capture mission-critical data and metrics. • Delivered annual budgets and financial trackers while ensuring all spend plans aligned with budgetary goals. • Trained staff on developing work plans, managing travel, preparing/controlling budgets, utilizing procurement & PMIS systems, approving/reconciling purchase orders, and accessing USG systems. • Created procurement & travel trackers, desk guides, and flow charts for easy reference. (2015-2016) CDC Sierra Leone • Established/managed the offices and administrative processes for the CDC Sierra Leone Ebola team. • Delivered strategic recommendations to leadership on workforce productivity and recruiting staff to fill key vacancies. • Handled HR functions including conducting interviews, facilitating new staff orientations, leading ongoing training, and processing country clearances.  Trained staff on how to access various learning portals, process e2 travel requests, utilize ARIBA to process/closeout procurement transactions, and personnel documents. • Coordinated staff and supply logistics for operations in various districts. • Acted as the CDC representative as needed in State Department meetings on HR, procurement, and travel. • Partnered with the Financial Specialist to reconcile unauthorized commitments incurred during the Ebola outbreak and create improved processes to avoid issues in the future. (2012-2014) CDC Nigeria • Delivered a series of key recommendations to the CDC Nigeria team leadership on workforce planning in addition to day to day administrative issues. • Collaborated with the Regional Classifier to update a position descriptions and CAJE documents. Show less