Jens Matthes Paul

Independent Expert on Advocacy & Policy

Brooklyn, New York, United States

About

Dynamic advocate and skilled team leader with over 25 years of experience in advocating and programming for vulnerable groups in Africa, Asia, and Europe, seeking a new professional challenge in service of social justice, human rights, and sustainable development. I bring sound technical expertise and valuable skills in: • Leading programs in child protection, human rights, policy advocacy, and organizational design. • Designing project planning, monitoring, and evaluation. • Facilitating consensus building using human-centered design and agile methodologies. • Raising funds and managing grants from both the public and private sectors. • Running successful peer support networks and distributed teams. • Working proficiently in English, German, and French.

Experience

  • Independent Expert on Advocacy & Policy at Freelance
    Jan 2022 - Present · 4 yrs 6 mos

  • UNICEF (Full-time · 15 yrs 3 mos)
    • Senior Specialist, Organizational Design and Improvement
      Nov 2020 - Dec 2021 · 1 yr 2 mos

      Designed and facilitated a process to review organizational improvement proposals to date and recommend steps to accelerate transformative change to UNICEF's working modalities and operating culture, “Reimagining Business Models - Phase II”

    • Senior Specialist, Governance & Fragility
      Jan 2018 - Oct 2020 · 2 yrs 10 mos

      Leading the governance work stream in UNICEF’s Global Insight office to help identify frontier issues and ways of working, understand their implications for children and shape global discourse

    • Senior Adviser, Advocacy & Policy
      Jan 2014 - Dec 2017 · 4 yrs

      Developed and managed a project to strengthen the capacity of Country Offices to plan, monitor and adapt their policy advocacy and provided support to UNICEF’s global advocacy coordination

  • Senior Advisor at UNICEF
    Feb 2006 - Jul 2006 · 6 mos

    Provided technical support to the Ministry of Social Welfare and Special Education in the coordination of post-earthquake recovery and rehabilitation

  • Editorial Consultant at OSCE
    Sep 2005 - Feb 2006 · 6 mos

    Redacted and edited two research reports for the OSCE Armenia Office on trafficking in human beings

  • UNICEF (Full-time · 4 yrs 11 mos)
    • Chief, Child Protection
      Jun 2002 - Aug 2004 · 2 yrs 3 mos

      Herzegovina – managed the Child Protection and Participation programme, including capacity building for Centers for Social Work, juvenile justice reform, deinstitutionalisation for children without parental care

    • Chief, Protection - Operation Lifeline Sudan
      Jan 2000 - Jul 2002 · 2 yrs 7 mos

      UNICEF Operation Lifeline Sudan, Nairobi, Kenya – managed the IDP Protection and Child Protection programmes, including child soldier demobilization, reunification of abducted children, justice system capacity building; led protection cluster in the UN-NGO consortium

    • Humanitarian Consultant
      Oct 1999 - Dec 1999 · 3 mos

      Officer in Charge of the Regional Emergency Support Unit; supported regional humanitarian appeals