Youth Leader

• Jan 2021 - Present

Deputy Chairperson

• Jun 2021 - Present

Content Editor/Writer

• Oct 2019 - Present

Arabia Felix is a Swiss Yemenite not-for-profit organisation founded in June 2019 by Eliah Saeed (President of Arabia Felix). The organisation was set up to respond to the ongoing conflict which has ravaged the country, and destroyed livelihoods across Yemen. The primary focus of the organisation is to: support kids education, reduce early marriages, and promote gender equality. The headquarters is based in Luzern, Switzerland. I joined the organisation on a voluntary basis in October 2019. Since then, I’ve assisted mainly in content editing for the NGOs website to ensure all information displayed in English has been translated correctly from Arabic or German. I’ve also been involved in creating digital media content for the NGO, including the organisations launch video, and designing a poster for International Women’s Day on 20th March. Show less

Owner/Head of Operations

• Jul 2020 - Oct 2022

Prior to the start of the 2020 school year, the Irish government assigned funding to schools to acquire essential PPE and hygiene supplies. In addition, the government advised schools to order products from a list of procurement companies. Due to the sheer volume of demand, in July 2020, I became aware of numerous frustrations being experienced by principals of schools in my locality and surrounding areas while dealing with procurement companies, i.e. long waiting times, minimum order criteria, inadequate customer service, and delivery charges. As such, I founded Better Safe PPE and Hygiene to provide a solution to both primary and secondary schools in my locality. We pride ourselves in delivering a positive customer experience (24-hr response time to all queries), competitive prices, free delivery (usually within 24-48hrs). In October 2022, as a result of the successful vaccination rollout, in line with a substantial reduction in Covid-19 protocols in schools, I decided to close the business and return my focus to working on matters related to humanitarian affairs, international development and co-operation. Show less

Regional Stock Controller

• Dec 2021 - Jun 2022

Responsible for overseeing stock control in Leinster: Kildare Village, Dundrum, Blanchardstown, Liffey Valley and Swords. Responsible for overseeing stock control in Leinster: Kildare Village, Dundrum, Blanchardstown, Liffey Valley and Swords.

NextGen Youth Advisor

• Oct 2020 - Jan 2022

After six months co-creating a new development education resource focused on Global Citizenship, I was appointed as a short-term youth advisor to review the content of the resource as part of the final editing phase, prior to the launch in January 2021. I was also involved in assisting the Global Citizenship team at GOAL in developing their public engagement strategy for the resource.I’m currently a member of the GOAL Global Youth Network which consists of alumni of the GOAL Global Youth programme(s). We support the Global Citizenship Team at GOAL with workshop facilitation, outreach events, social media content etc. Show less

NextGen Global Youth Programme

• May 2020 - Oct 2020

Selected by GOAL’s Global Citizenship team to collaborate with nineteen other 18-25 year olds for six months to co-create a new development-focused educational resource to be rolled out to 14-18 year olds across IrelandThe development education resource will include a number of interactive activities to engage young people on how values shape our actions, and how those actions contribute to shaping the world we live.The team in Ireland designing the programme collaborated with a cohort of experienced East African development practitioners, who acted as mentors, to ensure the program is universal in application and inclusive of those in the Global South and Global North. Show less

Tutor (Geography)

• Sep 2020 - Feb 2021

- Responsible for running tutorial classes fortnightly in semester one for the 2020/21 academic year - 47 first-year geography students split into three groups (classes) - Focus: assisting with assignment preparation (and correction), monitoring group work participation, encouraging and prompting discussion on key themes such as the rock cycle, and arctic sea ice decline - Teaching tools: Google Earth Web, National Snow and Ice Data Center, Interactive graphs, short video clips, images etc. - As a current MA student, I understood and appreciated first-hand the challenges presented by online learning, both technically (e.g. connection issues) and emotionally (e.g. social isolation), as a result of Covid-19 restrictions. Therefore, I tried to create an environment during my tutorials which openly acknowledged these challenges with the aim of encouraging participants to feel comfortable to get involved in discussions as much as possible either verbally or using the chat box. Show less

Development Instructor (Mkushi, Zambia)

• Aug 2019 - May 2020

In November 2019, after 3 months of training at a school for international development in Norway, I was deployed to DAPP Zambia (under Humana People to People) teacher training college in Mkushi, Zambia for 6 months. The project period ended prematurely in late March 2020 due to Covid-19. But, I ensured all necessary materials were available for continuation; In mid-April, all ongoing projects were completed. The college produces 50 teachers per year to fill the void created by qualified teachers in Zambia having no desire to work in rural locations. The government’s failure to adequately address this problem means large portions of the population must attend schools where one teacher oversees hundreds of students. My role was to help improve student welfare and learning, but also to make the college more attractive for future potential partnerships. As the college works very closely with the community, my aim was to further cement that relationship by creating an environment whereby students, staff, and locals could come together, interact, and learn. Successes: • planned, designed, and completed a central hub area with 4 concrete tables with seating and flower garden to be used by 1. Students/staff for studying, eating, socialising, meetings and 2. The community to hold their weekly meetings • collaborated with organisations/individuals in my hometown, Kildare Town, to gather a variety of sports equipment: Jerseys, Balls (Football, Rugby, Netball, Volleyball), Nets, Cones, Training Bibs, Whistles, Pumps • constructed a new secured storage unit with shelves and hanging area to ensure the longevity of the new sports equipment acquired from Ireland • Ran a successful fundraising campaign – raising €1250 to help support the financing of the above projects. • Author of 90-page final project report outlining achievements, challenges, life at the project, recommendations for the NGO, list of areas requiring attention, advice for future development instructors Show less

Fraud Analyst

• Jan 2019 - Jul 2019

As of January 2019, I was tasked with overseeing fraud prevention and understanding Cifas as a tool to mitigate the number of incidences of fraud we face as company. To be frank, I don’t think anyone could have foreseen the challenges we would face when implementing Cifas. However, I persevered grappling with the challenges presented by our new fraud prevention measures. My proudest moment arose in June 2019 when, as a company, we avoided being marked as Non Compliant as a result of my persistence to rectify the issues and explain in detail how errors had arisen with a substantial fraud case containing over 100 applications submitted by one fraudsters using 15+ alias. Through this experience, I was able to build a strong rapport with Cifas; while also creating an internal tracker for the Underwriting team to record each Cifas search and result.Following on from ‘Agent of the Year’ in December 2018, I received an ‘Agent of the Month’ award in February 2019 for my perseverance on implementing Cifas, while simultaneously proposing new Fraud Prevention measures which included rolling out company wide training in order to mitigate the number of fraud incidences. Show less

Senior Underwriting Analyst

• Jan 2019 - Jul 2019

After a challenging 2018, I was awarded ‘Agent of the Year’ recognising my perseverance, dedication, and positive attitude towards finding solutions, most notably during times of high intensity and pressure. In January 2019, due to unforeseen circumstances resulting in the Underwriting Manager taking leave until mid-February, I became Interim Assistant Manager of the Underwriting department working closely with the Customer Service Manager, as well as the Director of Operations. It was an intense period as I balanced normal work duties with the additional responsibility of monitoring and tracking team work flow, preparing daily reports, attending and presenting meetings on funding rates, credit risk and fraud. In the midst of taking over managerial duties on an interim basis, I also oversaw the company’s first major fraud case.As a result of high pressure to mitigate any further incidences of fraud, coinciding with the company’s trust in my abilities and attitude to finding solutions, I was tasked with overseeing fraud prevention and understanding Cifas as a tool to mitigate the number of incidences of fraud we face as company. I became the ‘go-to’ person for all fraud related queries working closely with all staff members from agents to CEO to ensure everyone was up to speed with the latest fraud attempts. As well as this, I prepared and held training sessions which I rolled out to the entire Dublin Office. After my performance in my interim role, I received the employee of the month award in February 2019. When the Underwriting manager returned, I continued to oversee fraud prevention as well take on additional responsibilities working with the credit team monitoring risk appetite and decision engine decisions. Show less

Underwriting Analyst

• Apr 2018 - Jan 2019

After joining Underwriting, I was tasked with monitoring updates to the credit policy as they were released into production i.e. cross-checking our internal systems to ensure the correct lending decisions were being recorded, inspecting applications to ensure data was transferring correctly from front end to back end, testing for any bugs that may have appeared following deployment of a sprint.In November 2018, with 24 hours notice I was tasked by the CEO to design an additional financing form, to be sent to our customers to capture how they intend to finance the gap of their remaining years of study (tuition and living costs) - this enabled us to further calculate the risk appetite for over 1,000 student loans. I held weekly meetings with the Director of Operations and Head of Credit Risk to highlight amendments required to 1. the structure of the form 2. the knockout rules used when assessing the data collected.Communication is a key component for success - and in any given company there is always an appetite for finding new ways to improve it.So, in the spirit of ensuring effective communication, I took ownership of regularly updating the Operations department (Originations, Underwriting, Servicing, Collections) with policy amendments and process changes, while also acting as a point of contact for any queries or concerns. The method of communication varied from emails, presentations, and group/individual training sessions.In a startup environment, it's important that employees take on additional responsibilities to help improve productivity and contribute to the moving the company forward.I took charge of preparing training sessions for new hires joining the Underwriting department, but also for new employees working in the Operations department. Show less

Customer Experience Agent

• Mar 2017 - Apr 2018

This role stretched far beyond the given job title - a common characteristic associated with a start-up company.As a novice to the financial sector and FinTech Industry alike, this role provided a unique platform to learn and develop within my own role, but also offered many opportunities take on additional responsibilities and contribute to ongoing projects throughout the company.As such, while priorities focused on the execution of my main role - handling customer queries, I was also tasked with partaking in many important projects, namely: Developing a brand new training programme for incoming staff members; Working as part of the testing team identifying bugs prior to the launch of new products; Assignment to the remediation team - whereby we were tasked with identifying (and calculating the total amount to be credited to) thousands of funded loans which had not received relevant documentation within a given time frame.In December 2017, I was awarded ‘Agent of the Year’.As a result, of my ongoing commitment to (and execution of) various important projects, as well as my increased knowledge of our internal systems and credit policy; In April 2018, I Interviewed for and was offered a role as part of the company's Underwriting department - which I proudly accepted. Show less

Sales Assistant

• Aug 2013 - Mar 2017

Working within the brand’s established guidelines to provide excellent customer service. Using vast product knowledge, to increase customer confidence while attending to any queries or assistance they may need. Responsible for monitoring weekly sales and best-selling products. This was achieved with the use of money mapping and sales analysis reports. Keeping the store tidy and clean, following specific visual merchandising guidelines. Working within the brand’s established guidelines to provide excellent customer service. Using vast product knowledge, to increase customer confidence while attending to any queries or assistance they may need. Responsible for monitoring weekly sales and best-selling products. This was achieved with the use of money mapping and sales analysis reports. Keeping the store tidy and clean, following specific visual merchandising guidelines.

Retail Sales Associate

• Jun 2016 - Aug 2016

A rewarding cultural exchange working in Fisherman's Wharf opposite the world famous Golden Gate Bridge. This hugely popular Forrest Gump themed Restaurant & Gift shop catered for large numbers of footfall throughout the summer season. This opportunity required a unique sales approach, as this role involved entertaining and assisting the hundreds of tourists from all over the world that visited our store daily. Responsibilities included: greeting guests, mentioning promotions, executing add on sales and ensuring the guest had a memorable time in our store. Sales experience gained in: customer service, telephone manner and overall work ethic. Show less