Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Young professional with 5+ years experience in project management, from financial review, monitoring, and forecasting to file auditing, invoice and expense reconciling, and grants management. Skilled in drafting consultant and vendor contracts, preparing memos, coordinating events and trainings, and supporting staff onboarding and core administrative operations. Especially passionate about global affairs and foreign policy, with a focus on transatlantic issues and those of West Asia, and I draw on a background in creative writing and journalism to bring a sharp eye for storytelling and media analysis.
After stop work orders (SWOs) widely hit the US foreign aid and development sector, I've held a variety of responsibilities to fill my time while I look for a meaningful, full time role again, including: • Holding a barista and event coordinator position with a locally owned cafe in Arlington, VA, where I deliver warm, attentive customer service and process orders in a friendly, hospitable manner, creating a welcoming café experience and support community engagement initiatives and partnerships, communications, etc. in coordination with local nonprofits and organizations, organizing catering orders, and scheduling events such as workshops, presentations, and mission-driven gatherings in a space dedicated to giving back to local communities and donating food products as the cafe owner is himself a dedicated community activist • Volunteering at a local women-owned yoga studio where I check in guests and handle maintenance nad upkeep of the facility as needed and support the yogi community of the studio • Volunteering at events ad-hoc hosted or co-sponsored by the Delegation of the EU to the US as a member of its alumni network (my former workplace), such at its Arts and Culture Night and the EU Open House • Contribute to written material and creation of graphic design posts for @iraqis.abroad (https://www.instagram.com/iraqis.abroad/) Instagram with nearly 10K followers account to support and inform the Iraqi Diaspora community spreading awareness of relevant news in the country, Iraq's foreign relations and more • Regulalry for an elderly neighbor, including walking and feeding her dog, and managing miscellaneous affairs for her • Tutoring kids and young adults in English and language arts, maths and social studies on a weekly basis
• Conducted regular financial reviews and analysis for ensuring project spending met against contract compliance standards, updated actuals in budget pipeline and ran numbers against burn rate to ensure spending was within line, reviewing field wire requests for transparency and accuracy • Provided operational and administrative support to home office and field teams, including calendar management, meeting coordination, agenda drafting, and domestic/international travel arrangements • Drafted consultant/vendor agreements, set up labor schedule and payment terms, and prepared compliance documents (e.g., bank signatory and power of attorney forms) • Managed project operations for a complex multi-country USAID buy-in mechanism, including accounts payable adjustments, vendor invoice reviews, procurement requests, and expense auditing
• Coordinated project implementation focused on civil society development, democratization, and anti-corruption across field offices in North Macedonia, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan • Processed payments, managed annual accruals, and regularly reviewed field expense reports • Maintained and updated financial data for monthly pipeline reviews; reconciled financial reports and CC statements • Prepared and submitted procurement packages; drafted RFPs/RFQs, Scopes of Work, selection memos, and contracts; tracked procurement deliverables and processed related invoices
Part-time, contract based position in which I was responsible for: • Conducting media monitoring and industry analysis for clients, including tech startups, fintech companies, venture capital and private equity firms • Regularly curate weekly ‘roll-ups’ for clients’ PR knowledge, synthesizing key industry news and latest trends • Maintain a network of journalists for outreach, and conduct ad-hoc correspondence with reporters for story pitching • Building and updating media lists for press outreach and media engagement based on category of journalist beat
• Supported thematic and logistical planning and execution of public diplomacy engagements ranging from intimate panel discussions to large scale summits to promote the EU-US relationship • Collaborated with ministers-counsellors across Delegation and with third-party partners to capture technical element while arranging with venues, catering, etc. • Supported press and media relations team by writing media summaries, managing press lists, and drafting media advisories and releases and fielding media requests from journalists • Managed Delegation inbox and phone, scheduled meetings both in-person and remote (WebEx)