Nisreen Abou Mrad, MBA

Experience

• 

  World Vision

  May 2008 - Jun 2014

  • Led and ensured quality of several project level monitoring and evaluation exercises, for both development programming and humanitarian programming that were ongoing in Lebanon at the time.• Conducted a function-wide staff review of the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) team (more than 20 staff) to align team structure to changes in programming priorities from community development to a mix of development and humanitarian response.• Built capacity of direct reports and organization wide staff on Design, monitoring and evaluation.• Oversaw the completion of multiple rapid needs assessments prerequisite to the initiation of emergency projects in response to the Syria refugee crisis.• Spearheaded the Lebanon office engagement with regional office and the Whole of Syria response team on Whole of Syria strategic planning, joint needs assessment and aggregation of Lebanon response data and results at the regional level.• Led the incorporation of DME components in all new proposals to donors; this included review of proposals for alignment with quality standards, budgeting for DME processes and staffing.• Responsible for yearly staff planning and budgeting for World Vision Lebanon’s DME function. Show less • Facilitate design, monitoring and evaluation processes and draft related documents including stakeholder analysis, needs assessments, project designs including logical models and M&E plans)• Support project teams in multi-year planning of projects and zonal programs• Led more than 5 zonal needs assessments ahead of program cycle redesigns; drafted assessment ToRs and tools and conducted secondary and primary data collection on socioeconomic, protection and other thematic issues pertinent to the overall strategy of the organization.• Conducted more than 10 evaluations and baselines in addition to numerous routine monitoring of field projects across Lebanon. • Designed more than 20 projects following community consultations, root cause analysis and Theory of Change design.• Led semi-annual progress reviews for multiple field offices and subsequently drafted donor progress reports.• Built capacity of project level staff and partners on project cycle as well as DME tools and processes, through formal trainings and coaching.• Facilitated local stakeholder consultations for new project designs as well as part of evaluations. Show less

  • Design, Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator/Manager

    Mar 2013 - Jun 2014

  • Program Officer

    May 2008 - Feb 2013
• 

  Embrace the Middle East

  Aug 2012 - Sept 2012

  Consultant

  Conducted a desk based poverty landscape assessment of Lebanon.

• 

  Search for Common Ground

  Jul 2014 - Oct 2015

  MENA DME Specialist

  • Reviewed all project proposals for quality standards including project logic, theory of change and M&E components; Donors included USAID, MEPI, EU and FCO• Provided remote and in country support to the development and improvement of offices’ M&E plans, systems and human capacity.• Conducted a large, 5-country wide baseline study for a regional project, including quantitative and qualitative research components.• Countries and regions supported by portfolio: Morocco, Tunisia, Yemen, Jordan, Lebanon, Macedonia, Zimbabwe and Sudan. Show less

• 

  World Vision

  Nov 2015 - Mar 2018

  Program Development and Quality Assurance Manager

  • Represented World Vision’s technical specialists, M&E and accountability teams as well as the knowledge management function at senior management level within the country office as well as with the regional office and technical units at HQ.• Developed World Vision’s 3-year national integrated strategy for Lebanon, including detailed technical sectoral programmes that met company and industry quality assurance standards.• Led the planning for a country wide baseline study to establish starting point for World Vision’s new strategy.• Redesigned Monitoring and evaluation management structures, systems and procedures to fit the needs of the new strategy.• Redesigned World Vision Lebanon’s systems and procedures to enable accountability to 1) beneficiaries, 2) donors, 3) partners and 4) staff.• Ensured alignment of all new project proposals to World Vision’s new strategy and technical guidelines for each sector as well as for Monitoring and Evaluation. Show less

• 

  UNICEF

  Apr 2018 - Mar 2021

  Programme Specialist

  • Facilitated the annual work planning for UNICEF cross-border response in Northwest Syria, in close coordination with the Whole of Syria response team based in the MENA regional office and the Syria country office.• Planned, coordinated and ensured completion of over 500 field monitoring visits through Third-party monitoring providers in Northwest Syria.• Led progress reviews of cross-border programmes in Northwest Syria, for 3 consecutive years, in close coordination with the Whole of Syria response team based in the MENA regional office and the Syria country office.• Fundraised, planned and managed partnerships for the winter assistance response worth around 6 million US dollars over the course of 3 years.• Reviewed and ensured quality of more than 150 humanitarian projects following results-based management guidelines.• Led the development and review of UNICEF’s Covid-19 plans and targets for 2020 and 2021.• Created and updated UNICEF’s cross-border risk mitigation and management plans for 2 consecutive years. Show less

• 

  The Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security

  Apr 2021 - Jun 2023

  Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning Manager

  • Created strategic Theory of Change and strategic performance measurement framework.• Led several baseline and evaluation exercises for projects in Rwanda and South Sudan.• Developed HQ guidance on Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning, including step by step process throughout the project cycle and strategic cycle, accompanied by guidance notes, and standard tools and templates.• Led annual organizational and project specific reviews, extracted lessons learned, and facilitated setting of recommendations and actions plans. Show less

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  United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

  Jul 2023 - Oct 2023

  Programme and Accountability Specialist
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  IOM - UN Migration

  Nov 2023 - now

  • Regional Planning and M&E Officer

    Sept 2024 - now

  • Regional M&E and Risk Management Officer

    Nov 2023 - Aug 2024