Olivia Darby FRSA

Director of Programmes and Policy - Co-Founder at WONDER Foundation
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Contact Information
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(386) 825-5501
Location
London, England, United Kingdom, GB
Skills

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Credentials

  • Childhood Adversity: The Impact of Childhood Maltreatment on Mental Health (Future Learn)
    UCL
    Aug, 2021
    - Nov, 2024
  • Awareness of Forced Marriage (Online Training)
    UK Government
    Jun, 2018
    - Nov, 2024
  • Trafficking Awareness for the Restaurant Industry (Online learning)
    Stanford University
    Feb, 2018
    - Nov, 2024
  • Trafficking Awareness for the General Public (Online Learning)
    Stanford University
    Jan, 2018
    - Nov, 2024

Experience

  • WONDER Foundation
    • United Kingdom
    • Non-profit Organizations
    • 1 - 100 Employee
    • Director of Programmes and Policy - Co-Founder
      • Dec 2009 - Present

      WONDER Foundation works to empower vulnerable women and their families through education and mentoring. We seek to give them the tools to make informed decisions about their lives and to act upon them. We work with partners in Europe, Asia, Africa & Latin America to achieve this - currently 30 delivery partners in 17 countries. From small beginnings, WONDER now has an amazing team of staff, advisors and around 40 interns/ 150 volunteers annually working to deliver change. We've been nominated as LSE's Voluntary Organisation of the Year for the last 7 years, winning once. I love working with my colleagues and the woman-led local organisations we partner with to: - Design, develop, fundraise for and deliver projects to meet existing and emerging needs- Showcase their achievements, knowledge and local contexts through thematic research, policy recommendations, events, speaker and training events, campaigns and our new webinar series. - Invest in leaders, practitioners, and young people to give them the tools to recognise their skills and expertise, and to build upon themThe best place to see what we have achieved together is on our website, where you can learn more about our programmes and our research: www.wonderfoundation.org.uk I've spoken at universities (UCL, LSE, SOAS QMUL, Oxford) on topics ranging from ethical volunteering to the importance of mentoring in the Philippines, the legacy of Typhoon Haiyan and Migrant Integration. I've shared insights from our projects at the UK Parliament and Whitehall, at events hosted for us or by others. I'd love to share our work with you. After a decade volunteering and then working at WONDER I still get enthused by the amazing work our partners do and the privilege it is to work with them. I'd also love to learn from you and collaborate - the more I learn, the more data and knowledge gaps I see!

  • ELIS
    • Italy
    • Education Administration Programs
    • 300 - 400 Employee
    • Migration Expert
      • Sep 2019 - Present

      Working with ELIS to support NGOs in Cote d'Ivoire and Nigeria to prevent irregular migration, modern slavery and trafficking. This includes capacity building organisations, developing bi-lingual knowledge-sharing, working with experts to better understand push/pull factors and who is at risk, co-production of prevention strategies and training 30 young leaders to become agents of change. Working with ELIS to support NGOs in Cote d'Ivoire and Nigeria to prevent irregular migration, modern slavery and trafficking. This includes capacity building organisations, developing bi-lingual knowledge-sharing, working with experts to better understand push/pull factors and who is at risk, co-production of prevention strategies and training 30 young leaders to become agents of change.

  • Jagiellonian University
    • Poland
    • Research Services
    • 700 & Above Employee
    • Expert: Cooperation between Higher Education Institutions, Non-Profits and Communities
      • Jan 2019 - Mar 2019

      Building on my experience working with universities in the UK whilst working for NGOs and community organisations, I was commissioned to provide insights on how Polish academics could develop links with Polish organisations. I identified the challenges, ethical issues and benefits of developing research with and into hard-to-reach communities. I was invited to present this work at an interdisciplinary conference. Building on my experience working with universities in the UK whilst working for NGOs and community organisations, I was commissioned to provide insights on how Polish academics could develop links with Polish organisations. I identified the challenges, ethical issues and benefits of developing research with and into hard-to-reach communities. I was invited to present this work at an interdisciplinary conference.

  • Relationships Foundation
    • United Kingdom
    • Human Resources Services
    • 1 - 100 Employee
    • Communications and Development Manager
      • Jun 2012 - Feb 2013

      The Relationships Foundation is a think-tank that believes that a good society is built on good relationships, from family and community to public service and business. It studies the effect that culture, business and government have on relationships.At the RF I undertook a range of communications responsibilities such as:- the preparation and production of print and e-newsletters- social media management (twitter, facebook)- donor relations- discussant of issues relating to our work on radio including Women's Hour (BBC Radio 4), LBC and a range of other radio programmes.Events- I worked with the team to develop and deliver a conference for academics and lawyers including Sir Paul Coleridge, Baroness Deech and Professor Rebecca Probert entitled, "Modern Marriage: Myths, Realities and Prospects".Youth Relationships- developed the membership of a new reference group to foster positive relationships education for young people.

  • Haringey Association of Voluntary and Community Organisations
    • Network & Policy Officer
      • Nov 2009 - Jul 2011

      HAVCO is the umbrella organisation (or Council for Voluntary Service) for the voluntary and community sector in Haringey.HAVCO fulfils a number of strategic leadership functions for the voluntary and community sector:• Influence: gaining greater recognition of the VCS agenda and influence on local policy• Partnership: establish more effective networking and collaboration within the VCS and between the sector and its partners• Services: improving the capacity, quality and standards of infrastructure support to membersMy role involved me:- running three themed groups for the sharing of knowledge and best practice with local civil society organisations. This led to improvement in services to advice-providing organizations, children and young people and wellbeing and lead to targeted work with BAME organizations. Membership and attendance improved through developing relationships with community leaders.•These were: Children and Young People (focusing on child poverty and child protection), Wellbeing (looking at physical and mental health, with reference to the impact of poverty on these), and Advice Provision (supporting providers of advice primarily to people from minority groups and those in poverty).- representing the voluntary sector in Haringey in a range of fora, so as to collect information of relevance to them, raise the profile of their work and advocate for them. These included: ---Well Being Theme Board, sitting with reps of the main providers of health services in the borough.---Children's Trust, sitting with reps of the main providers of services to children and young people in the borough, such as schools, youth offending and safeguarding.--- Other fora where I was involved in decision making: Haringey Local Safeguarding Children's Board Training Group, Supplementary and Community Language School Steering Group, Children’s Workforce Integrated Working Group, Haringey Carer's Support Network, BME Stroke Network.

  • Office of Kathy Sinnott MEP
    • Assistant/ Advisor/ Stagiaire
      • 2008 - 2009

      Topical work areas included: Reproductive Health, Food Labelling, Pesticide use and safety, Cross-Border Healthcare, Learning and Physical Disabilities, Mental Health- especially focused on de-institutionalisation of care for orphans and those with disabilities in Eastern Europe. Varied work on constituency issues, including preparing petitions for petitions committee and wide correspondence. Project Managed "Made in Munster" website and campaign for supporting local services, produce, building local community, through environmental sustainability and local economic growth. Supervised two interns in this work.

  • European Parliament Stagiaires Association
    • Elected Position - Communications Officer
      • Sep 2008 - Dec 2008

      I was elected as Communications Officer, involved in the organisation of events and campaigns for the benefit of interns (formal and informal) working in the European Parliament in Brussels. On my own initiative, but within the mandate given to me, I developed relationships with stagiaires at the European Commission to develop a joint volunteering project and foster a culture of volunteering. As volunteering cultures differ between European countries and cultures, and volunteering has political connotations within some of them, this was not straight forward. Working with team members we delivered a volunteer outreach for vulnerable women at the Maison Mosaique, a centre for women refugees, in Brussels.

  • The Baytree Centre
    • United Kingdom
    • Non-profit Organizations
    • 1 - 100 Employee
    • Head of Youth Service
      • Nov 2006 - Aug 2008

      Women’s Centre working with 800+ disadvantaged families each yearHead of Youth Service• Managed a team of six staff and interns plus 30 volunteers, channeling volunteers’ energy andenthusiasm towards relevant projects• Oversaw, planned and developed 25 weekly activities in addition to organising excursions including the Jersey Project, an annual character-building week for teenage girls. Ran a marketing campaign which resulted in a 200% increase in the number of charity users• Devised, planned and implemented new activities in response to users’ needs, including ReadingClubs for under 11s and their parents, and Into School, an education, integration and citizenshipprogramme for recently arrived girls aged 14-18, as well as parenting, relationships education andmentoring programmes.• Cultivated and solicited over £300,000 pa for projects resulting in the Youth Service being shortlisted for Credit Suisse’s charity of the year, 2009. Developed relationship networks among donors.

Education

  • International Centre for Parliamentary Studies
    Strategic Gender Equity Planning, Strategic Gender Equity Planning
    2016 - 2016
  • UCL School of Management
    Association for Project Management (APM) Professionals Project Management Certificate (IPMA Level D), professional project management capability
    2013 - 2013
  • University College London, U. of London
    Geography BSc
    2003 - 2006
  • Withington Girls'​ School
    Geography, Physics, Maths, Religion & Philosophy, General Studies.
    2000 - 2002
  • Alderley Edge School for Girls
    1988 - 2000

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