The Hague, South Holland, Netherlands
I am an enthusiastic and versatile professional with over twenty years of experience at the interface of policy, research, education and practice. Throughout my career I have worked on different topics in varying work environments and capacities, in the last decade in coordinating and leading roles. Whatever I do, I continue to stay curious, take on exciting challenges and explore new paths. I have a passion for strategy, communication, teaching and coaching (young) professionals, and enjoy working with people from different backgrounds and learning from realities on the ground.
As team leader and policy coordinator for education I was responsible for coaching and supervision of the education team (six members), keeping oversight and steering education policy in terms of financing of programme’s (approximate budget of EUR 70 mln per year) as well as diplomacy (notably EU, UN and World Bank). During this period I co-led a change process whereby the Dutch education policy in development cooperation was focused on TVET and Higher Education. This also involved adjusting the organisation of the team. I was first point of contact for education both internally (political leadership, other directorates and thematic/regional departments) and externally (Ministries, NGO’s, bilateral and multilateral donors, private sector, knowledge institutes and education funds). I also acted as focal point for the theme of innovative financing for education.
I was focal point and coordinator for policy coherence for development in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals, knowledge policy, and responsible for the topics of poverty, inequality and inclusive development. In these roles I cooperated with various external partners, including Ministries, international organisations, NGOs, knowledge institutes and platforms. With NWO and INCLUDE I gave shape to and implemented various policy relevant research programmes. Last but not least, I supervised and coached interns and new colleagues.
I led and carried out applied projects in the areas of international trade, food loss and waste, and the interrelations between agricultural markets, diets/nutrition and health within a global context, with field work in Vietnam and Ethiopia. I also developed new themes. I was active in getting research out to the wider public via journal articles, presentations at conferences, and popular media such as news papers, blogs and radio. I also frequently taught and supervised students, and had a successful track-record in acquisition. I led WP9 of the SUSFANS project on modelling sustainable food and nutrition security in the EU, and was an active member of the MAGNET modelling team (responsible for the BTRQ and nutrition modules).
One day per week I worked on consultancies, teaching and student supervision, and reviewed articles for journals.
I worked on the costing of health services, identification of the poor, health insurance in low-income countries, performance-based financing, international health worker migration and human resources for health, with field work in Bangladesh and Rwanda. I also taught various courses on health economics and financing, and international (development) finance. Other responsibilities included the development of a health economics and financing work programme, course coordination (health sector reform and financing) and Master thesis supervision.