Experience

USAID-ov Projekat za unapređenje javnih nabavki | USAID Improving Public Procurement

• Serbia
• International Trade and Development
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Strategic Communications Manager

  • Oct 2022 - Present



Development Professionals Inc.

• International Trade and Development
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Communications Director and Proposal Development Manager

  • Feb 2022 - Oct 2022

  Served as proposal development manager, worked with the DPI's senior management in developing responses for Requests for Proposals, ensuring proposals are submitted on time and in compliance with RFP requirements; drafted proposal sections dealing with past performance and institutional capacity; developed draft outlines of RFPs upon release; developed a proposal calendar and ensuring that duties and deadlines are clearly assigned and that each member of the proposal team complies with deadlines; provided oversight and guidance to ensure that the proposal team’s drafts comply with USAID requirements; maintained a database of upcoming new business opportunities and RFPs, and followed up on planned activities for teaming and planning for RFP releases; worked with CEO and other proposal team members to prepare for RFPs in advance of release; prepared answers to Requests for Information; drafted scopes of work for business development consultants and recruited them, following up on the status of their deliverables, and processing their submissions for technical approval and payment. In the capacity of communications director, maintained communications with DPI’s donors, stakeholders, local and international partners, and the public at large; upgraded the design of DPI's website, and regularly updated its contents, posting news items, success stories, project and contracting mechanism summaries, team updates, etc.; worked with DPI's projects to develop and review success stories and other promotional materials; maintained regular contact with DPI’s COPs and other project staff to keep current on developments in each project. Show less



USAID Rule of Law Project in Serbia

• Belgrade, Serbia

• Director Of Communications

  • Nov 2017 - Feb 2022

  Handling the communications portfolio for the USAID Rule of Law Project in Serbia, in addition to being part of the Project's management team, participating in planning and decision-making on the whole range of activities under both Project components, including drafting the annual work plans, sitting on Grants and procurement committees, as well as taking active part in the implementation of planned activities, primarily focused on development of strategic communications in the courts and the professional development of court public relations officers. Main tasks include: - partner and stakeholder outreach, - media relations, - managing the Project's brand via website, Facebook page, - event management, - development of different promotional materials and tools, - and effective internal communication. Worked as part of the team on the development of the 2018-2022 Communication Strategy for the High Court Council and the Courts, and continued supporting further efforts on Strategy implementation, including delivering workshops and roundtables for court public relations officers, judges, and court presidents, developing an assessment of stronger professional networking and development of court PRs, and developing guidelines for better online communication for the judiciary, as well as different promotional tools. Other tasks include writing all Project reports, both regular, and ad hoc ones, drafting content for the Project's website (Serbian and English) and social media, drafting scene setters, speech points, media advisories and press releases, presentations, editing and supplementing technical reports and other publications developed under the Project, as well as ensuring full compliance with USAID's branding rules and graphic standards. Show less



National Center for State Courts

• United States
• Government Administration
• 200 - 300 Employee

• Business Development Consultant

  • Jan 2017 - Mar 2017

  Working with the NCSC Program Director, participated in the development of the proposal for the upcoming USAID Rule of Law Serbia project: - Reviewing previous donor activities in Serbia, current initiatives, and program challenges to develop contextual frameworks, problem statements and proposed approaches for developing a proposal; - Conducting in-country information gathering, including setting up and participating in meetings with representatives from key institutional counterparts, international donor project officials, NGOs, local judges, court officials, lawyers, law school officials, and other key actors; - Supporting the drafting of the technical proposal: developing the semi-annual work plan, project logical framework, project timeline, rapid start up and monitoring, evaluation and learning sections; final editing of the technical proposal prior to submission; - Identifying key organizational partners/subcontractors or grantees in Serbia and sourcing letters of commitment to cooperate from implementing partners/resource organizations; - Coordinating the development of teaming agreements with implementing partners to serve as the basis for potential future subcontracts; - Facilitating the identification of qualified key personnel candidates for the position of Chief of Party and other project positions. Show less



National Center for State Courts

• United States
• Government Administration
• 200 - 300 Employee

• • Apr 2013 - Nov 2016

  Judicial Reform and Government Accountability (JRGA) Project is a five and a half year USAID initiative in Serbia geared at strengthening the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary, increasing public awareness of reforms in the judicial sector, and strengthening the ability of the government, Independent Agencies, and civil society to detect and prevent corruption. It is implemented by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) with support from Management Systems International and Development Professionals, Inc.Main duties include: - managing compliance with project reporting requirements and deadlines, including tracking and updating of all project indicators under the project’s performance monitoring plan; - preparing project performance and monitoring reports, annual work plans, as well as other progress documents, according to contractual requirements;- coordinating compliance with procurement rules for large scale IT and facility renovation procurements, including preparation of preliminary, procurement and contracting documentation and interfacing with vendors;- creating and editing reports, articles, website texts, fact sheets, success stories, and other documents required for the project, from the primary content to producing final, polished, consistent, and timely products in Serbian and English;- assisting the Chief of Party with other compliance and reporting tasks to ensure the effective documentation, implementation, and monitoring of project activities;- assisting the Chief of Party in managing project teams in delivering tasks ranging from case management software for courts to training programs, organization of events and preparation of publications/other materials;- liaising with project counterparts in the judiciary on implementing project activities related to facility upgrades, computer procurement and delivery, software and website development; Show less

• • Mar 2012 - Mar 2013

  Responsible for all project reporting and monitoring requirements towards USAID, preparing weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual reports, annual work plans, project status documents for the client (USAID) and beneficiaries, power point presentations and speeches for events, development of project website content and website updating and management, stakeholder interaction.



Cross-Border Institution Building project (CBIB)

• The Western Balkans Region

• Junior Expert

  • Jan 2007 - Dec 2011

  Local Expert on an EU-funded and EC-managed regional Technical Assistance project supporting Cross-Border Cooperation efforts among the countries of the Western Balkans under the framework of Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance. Main responsibilities included: Project Reporting: - aggregating input from five Regional offices of the project and drafting all reports during the two phases of project implementation, with complete background information, recommendations for future actions and reporting against indicators; - regularly updating project planning tools – project tracking tables and inputs for the ROM Monitoring visits; - research and analysis of information, documents and regulations of the EC and other regional initiatives, beneficiary institutions and EU programmes and preparing input data for various documents prepared by the project; Project Visibility: - preparing all project publications, from outline, to content development and sourcing, including newsletters, a project magazine, e-alerts, leaflets and brochures; - full administration, updating and upgrading of the project website operating in five equal language versions; - preparing press releases and other press content and organizing press conferences and media meetings in Serbia and Montenegro; - acting as the spokesperson for the project in coordination with the Team Leader; Other duties: - together with a Senior Expert, working on the set up and development of a regional management information system to support implementation of IPA CBC programmes, testing the system and its functionalities, drafting the User Manual and providing hands-on support to system users, liaising with the software vendor and managing their output; Show less



Municipal Infrastructure Investment Support Programme, COWI

• Belgrade, Serbia

• Translator&Interpreter/Office Manager

  • Mar 2005 - Jan 2007

  An EU/EAR financed project, part of the CARDS programme, for local self-government capacity building, focused on establishing a Programme Management Unit within the City Administration of Belgrade responsible for large-scale infrastructure projects financed from loans from International Financial Institutions (EIB, EBRD). Main duties included: - translation of documents and interpretation at meetings, on a daily basis, and in seminars (both consecutive and simultaneous); - preparation of texts for the section on project activities within the website of the City of Belgrade; - assisting co-workers in organizing and conducting ’on-the-job’ training activities, training seminars, as well as media meetings; - active involvement in the preparation of the monthly and quarterly progress reports and reports form other fields covered by the project (traffic, environment, waste management), as well as the Final report. Show less



Project Management Unit for Training and Documentation Centres in the Tax Administration of Serbia

• Belgrade, Serbia

• Project Assistant

  • May 2004 - Mar 2005

  An EU/EAR financed project, part of the CARDS programme, with the objective to strengthen the HR capacities of the Serbian Tax Administration by setting up four Training Centres with all necessary equipment and reference libraries and providing a training management software. Project implemented by ADETEF (Agence de coopération technique internationale du ministère de l’Économie, des finances et de l’industrie français) Main duties included: - translation of documents and interpretation at meetings, on a daily basis, and seminars (both consecutive and simultaneous); - organizing the inauguration of the four Training and Documentation Centres in Novi Sad, Nis, Belgrade and Kragujevac and subsequent training seminars for the employees of the Tax Administration; - active involvement in defining user requirements for the Training Resources Management Software, as well as testing the software and writing the User Manual; - assisting in the implementation and monitoring of the goods and services procurement procedures, including receipt and opening of offers and acting as the Secretary to the Evaluation Committee. Show less