London, England, United Kingdom
Holding a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and a master’s degree in international relations, I am a multilingual communications professional with over 15 years of experience in communications, public relations, project reporting, copyediting, project management and multilingual translation with various national and international organizations, primarily with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Nations, and other international donor organizations and projects.
Interpreting: Provide accurate, impartial, and confidential interpreting (face-to-face, telephone, and video) between service users (vulnerable communities like migrants, asylum seekers, refugees, and trafficking survivors) and service providers such as charities, local authorities, and healthcare professionals. Translation: Translate all types of technical and non-technical documents from/to English, Pashto, and Persian/Dari, ensuring clarity and cultural sensitivity. Liaison & Support: Facilitate communication between service users and providers while maintaining confidentiality and professionalism.
1. Content Development & Editing: Developed and edited key project deliverables, including periodical and final project performance progress reports, success stories, presentation slides, and multifunctional business operation templates/tools. 2. Training Manual Development: Co-authored or contributed to training manuals on business leadership and governance, strategic information, business development, gender integration, sub-award management, and the path to prime and road to sustainability. 3. Technical Assistance & Capacity Building: Trained local capacity advisors in developing high-quality communication materials and ensured compliance with USAID branding regulations and reporting requirements. Overall Impact: Played a key role in enhancing project communication, improving reporting quality, and building capacity for sustainable program implementation and compliance.
1. Provided accurate and confidential interpretation between clients and staff in English, German, Pashto, and Persian during doctor appointments, interviews, consultations, and other community integration efforts, and helped bridge cultural and linguistic gaps to promote trust and effective interaction. 2. Assisted newly arrived Afghan refugees in understanding official procedures and documents and navigating administrative processes. 3. Contributed to improving access to services for Afghan refugees and fostering integration within the community.
1. Management: Led communications and outreach teams across HQ and regional offices, managing internal and external communication efforts to support business development and investment planning. 2. Strategic Communications & Outreach: Oversaw all communication activities to support businesses in developing and documenting investment plans, managed outreach campaigns to attract enterprises for the Matching Grants Program, and ensured smooth collaboration between communications, business development, and grant analysis teams. 3. Program & Stakeholder Coordination: Aligned communications efforts with the Matching Grants Operations Manual and outreach strategy and facilitated coordination between various teams to enhance program effectiveness. 4. Reporting & Progress Monitoring: Developed biweekly and monthly progress reports to track outreach effectiveness and business support activities and oversaw the creation and execution of biweekly work plans to guide team efforts. 5. Capacity Building & Training: Trained regional outreach and communications teams on business development topics to strengthen local engagement and impact. Overall Impact: Played a pivotal role in driving business participation, ensuring effective communication strategies, and aligning outreach efforts to support businesses in securing investments and grants for growth.
1. Management: Managed the communication unit, overseeing internal and external communications, public and media relations, outreach campaigns, and USAID data calls. 2. Strategic Communications & Public Relations: Led communication strategies for outreach, branding, messaging, and public event coordination efforts. 3. Social Media & Website Management: Managed social media accounts and the website. 4. Storytelling & Content Development: Developed communication materials such as newsletters, press releases, speeches, briefers, fact sheets, program highlights, magazines, presentations, and other program documentation to showcase impact and achievements, and conducted interviews for developing success stories in print and video formats. 5. Media Production & Women Empowerment Initiatives: Oversaw million-dollar communication projects, including TEDx Talks and documentaries focusing on women's empowerment, a 20-episode Afghan TV series (Roya/Dream) showcasing Afghan girls' struggles, and training programs for women in report writing and translation. 6. Stakeholder & Partner Coordination: Assisted partners, grantees, and subcontractors with branding, marketing, and communication strategy development and coordinated USAID approvals to ensure smooth project implementation. 7. Reporting & Compliance: Led the preparation of project reports (bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual) and ensured the alignment of communication deliverables with program goals and contractual requirements. Overall Impact: Played a critical role in shaping public perception, ensuring program visibility, and effectively communicating project successes, especially regarding women's empowerment and social change in Afghanistan.