Experience

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  UNICEF

  • United States
  • Non-profit Organizations
  • 700 & Above Employee

  • Representative

    • Apr 2022 - Present

  • Chief, Health

    • Nov 2019 - Apr 2022

    -> Manage one of UNICEF’s largest health programmes in a complex political environment with an annual $50m budget, bridging protracted humanitarian, development, and resilience components to ensure access by women and children to an integrated package of health interventions at facility and community levels. -> Built UNICEF’s capacity to respond and deliver on multiple fronts, in humanitarian, development and recovery settings within the country, whilst leading on the CO Covid-19 response plan that resulted in strong resource mobilization efforts.

  • Chief, Health

    • Sep 2017 - Nov 2019

    -> Led a health programme bridging humanitarian, development, resilience, and recovery components, with an annual budget of $50m, to ensure access by women and young children to essential, lifesaving interventions at facility and community levels. -> Oversaw strategic approaches to reach populations with limited or intermittent access (e.g. mobile outreach, integrated rapid response missions, community health initiatives). -> Bolstered stakeholder engagement, advocacy, and resource mobilization initiatives to bolster community health approaches, routine immunisation, and humanitarian-development responses e.g. Boma Health Initiative Costing and Investment Case Analysis and Collapse: a call to action for polio transition funding . -> Raised over $70m through systematic mapping and costing exercises, regular programme reviews and consistent engagement with government, donors and other actors (e.g. GAVI, World Bank, Health Pooled Fund, DFID). ->Advanced humanitarian and development sector coordination, joint monitoring, and partnerships to ensure equitable coverage, including in conflict affected/prone areas. ->Oversaw assistance to the Ministry of Health (MoH) on effective vaccine management, supply chain and supplies, communication strategies, strengthening cold chain systems and training health staff – including infectious disease outbreak responses, including cross-border Ebola preparedness, and campaigns.

  • Chief, Young Child Survival and Development (YCSD)

    • Dec 2013 - Aug 2017

    -> Drove the amalgamation of three disparate healthcare programmes spanning HIV, Health & Nutrition and Water & Sanitation into one integrated YCSD programme ($25 million p.a.) within UNICEF Myanmar. -> Conducted a detailed analysis of all resources and managed fundamental changes in team structures including the recruitment of new, high calibre local and international staff. -> Represented UNICEF at international forums and acting as advocate to build equitable health systems for women and children, while engaging effectively with the Union Government of Myanmar and other external agencies and securing funding through effective donor management. -> Engaged with other agencies such as WHO, UNFPA and UNAIDS to improve coherence of UN support within the health sector in Myanmar, including the development of a joint $20m programme to strengthen the health system for maternal and child health outcomes. -> Managed proposals and communicate effectively to secure funding from multi-donors. Monitor and track progress of programme delivery aligned with governance and planning framework. -> Highlights include the successful delivery of a large scale Measles Rubella campaign covering 17 million children, a gap analysis that leveraged $9m from donors for cold chain system strengthening, an assessment that influenced policy changes to improve newborn care, an analysis of the WASH sector that is steering coherent policy and strategy development. -> Effected emergency action plans within humanitarian effected areas of Kachin and Rakhine in Myanmar and as a result 196,000 people had access to basic health services, 6676 children were treated for malnutrition and 127,000 displaced people now have access to safe water sources.

  • Health Specialist

    • Sep 2014 - Dec 2014

    -> Winning a global Staff Award for this short term assignment to Liberia in the height of the Ebola crisis, acted as part of UNICEF’s Global Immediate Response Team to plan and accelerate UNICEF’s humanitarian response to the Ebola crisis. -> Assisted the country teams and developed a six-month humanitarian plan which covered the restoration of essential services and the emergency Ebola case management and treatment. -> Ordered and tracked suppliers and worked alongside the Ministry of Health and other external agencies such as NGOs (Save the Children), WHO and other UN agencies, USAID and United States Centre for Disease Control (US-CDC) to support coordinated efforts to address the crisis. -> Secured $5m to drive the restoration of priority healthcare services to 1.1m people across seven of the most severely Ebola affected countries in the first three months of the crisis.

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  UNICEF Cambodia

  • United States
  • Non-profit Organizations
  • 700 & Above Employee

  • Chief, Health and Nutrition

    • Feb 2012 - Dec 2013

    -> Progressed into the role of Chief Health & Nutrition with responsibility for managing an annual $3.5million budget to equitably improve health, HIV, nutrition related outcomes among women and children in Cambodia. ->Led a team of seven specialists (HIV, Health & Nutrition) and coordinated the secondary analysis of three demographic surveys to facilitate policy changes. Managed donor proposals and nurtured a collaborative partnership between the Ministry of Health and the National Committee for Sub-National Democratic Development in decentralisation of the health system. -> Chaired multi-agency committee with Government to manage the larger health sector support programme ($37m/year). -> Influenced pooled funding partners to increase the sub-national allocation for maternal, newborn and child health services (from $2.9m to $4.6m p.a.), focusing on vulnerable communities. Leveraged an additional $1m in funds for community demand creation. -> Developed donor proposals and reports and raised $6m in funding for UNICEF. Assisted local government in utilizing disseminated funds to bolster support to deprived communities and worse performing health districts. -> Contributed substantial technical support to Ministry of Health’s HIV Programme to develop Cambodia’s Three Zero framework and drove adoption of cost effective approaches.

  • HIV Specialist

    • Jul 2009 - Feb 2012

    ->Took ownership for leading a $2m p.a. HIV Prevention and Care Programme for young people, drove the expansion of integrated PMTCT, Paediatric Care Services and strengthened systems for the protection of vulnerable children and adolescents. ->Directed evidence based HIV elements of a five year country programme (2011-2015). -> Spearheaded the establishment of strategic partnerships and secure donor funding, represented UNICEF at global meetings to provide evidence of their contribution to national HIV efforts. -> Supported comprehensive review of the MOH’s early infant diagnosis programme for HIV exposed infants, which substantially reduced the diagnostic period from over 4 month to<6 weeks per infant, increasing the proportion of infants tested from 10% to >50% in 18 months. -> Technically led the revision of both the national PMTCT and Paediatric HIV care guidelines in 2011, based on new 2010 WHO recommendations and national/international evidence. Resulted in more effective drug regimens that improved outcomes for 4500 HIV children.

  • Specialist, Orphans and Vulnerable Children

    • Aug 2006 - Jun 2009

    -> Promoted to an international role and responsible for providing technical advice to accelerate national responses for children orphaned or made vulnerable by AIDS across 15 high burden East and Southern African countries. -> Headed up a multi-country team of technical assistants and drove the country reviews to assist in the learning from best practices. -> Represented UNICEF in inter-agency missions to high burden countries including Tanzania, Lesotho and Swaziland. -> Led the commissioning and conducted of vital research whilst securing funding through donors, monitored the effective allocation of funds. -> Worked alongside regional bodies (SADC), East African Community and African Union to assist in development of: UNICEF ESARO's regional social protection strategy; SADC's regional OVC Framework (2008-2015); East African Community's HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan (2007-2011); SADC's regional programme on Care and Support for Teaching/Learning. ->Commissioned/conducted research including ‘National Responses for Children Affected by AIDS: Review of Progress and Lessons Learned’, ‘Orphans and Vulnerable Children affected by AIDS (OVC) in National Development Instruments’ and ‘Assessing the ‘Orphan’ Effect in Determining Development Outcomes for Children in 11 Eastern/Southern African countries. -> Developed donor proposals and succeeded in securing $38m in funding for a multi-country programme.

  • Adolescents and HIV Specialist

    • Mar 2002 - Sep 2006

    -> Initially joined UNICEF in 2002 as an Adolescent Specialist based in Jamaica with responsibility for managing the Adolescent Development & Participation Programme. Developed and implemented work plans which outlined objectives, goals and expected results. Entered consultative process with partners including Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture, USAID, UNFPA and PAHO. -> Negotiated with local government and assisted in driving the development of the new centres nationwide. Agreed concepts with local government and commissioned needs assessment; established baseline for M&E purposes, and developed framework for the new services. -> Worked with partners to access vulnerable youth and assisted local authorities through the National Youth Services to create ‘Champions of Peace’ within violent prone communities. -> Established training programme in the National Youth Service in partnership with Dispute Resolution Foundation to promote peace in local communities and introduced an age-appropriate skills-based health and family life education into school curriculums.

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  Ministry of Health Jamaica

  • Jamaica

  • Behaviour Change Communication Programme Officer

    • Nov 1997 - Jan 2002
    • Jamaica

    -> Conducted needs assessments, community mapping exercises, interviews and focus group discussions with young people, men who have sex with men and commercial sex workers and used findings to inform programme plans and responses. -> Designed and implemented behaviour change communication interventions to reduce high risk behaviours among MSM, CSW, youth at risk and persons living with HIV. -> Establishment of HIV/SRH services for sex workers at public health facilities; design and implementation of sexual reproductive health and life skills based programmes for adolescents in and out of school; and targeted interventions in the hotel/tourism sector and in communities with higher incidences of HIV/STIs.

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  Kingston Hospital NHS Trust

  • Kingston upon Thames, United Kingdom

  • Registered Nurse

    • Oct 1995 - Oct 1996
    • Kingston upon Thames, United Kingdom

    -> Managed day-to-day operations and administration of a busy outpatients department with 105 weekly clinics, ensuring that clinical standards were maintained. -> Supervised the nursing team and solved departmental problems and issues in the absence of the Sister. -> Initiated a Health Promotion team and organised projects and promotional materials throughout the Department to benefit patients, relatives and carers.-> Represented the Department in the Hospital Policy and Standards Committee.

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  English Churches Housing Group

  • London, United Kingdom

  • Supported Housing Officer

    • Mar 1991 - Feb 1992
    • London, United Kingdom

    -> Provided support, welfare advice and resettlement for single homeless people in central London.-> Acted as a Key worker for over 20 homeless people, liaising with statutory and voluntary health, social and housing agencies to ensure their access to relevant social and health services. -> Facilitated supportive communication, including advocacy, to meet client needs.