Experience

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  Society for the protection of the rights of the child (sparc)

  Jan 2000 - Jan 2003

  National project manager

  • I established SPARC’s offices in Peshawar, Lahore and Karachi and recruited staff; • Assisted National Coordinator in administrative affairs and in preparing project proposals and donor reports;• Managed juvenile justice project’s implementation and regularly visited all provincial offices to monitor progress of implementation of the projects;• Lobbied with the Provincial Govts through regular meetings and letters to the President, Provincial Governor, Ministers and Provincial Secretaries for the implementation of the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2000 and other child related laws e.g. Employment of Children Act 1991, Compulsory Education Act 1996, Bonded Labor Abolition Act 1992 etc. • Visited different jails to try to find ways to help juvenile prisoners released and to improve their living conditions inside the prisons. Managed education projects in selected prisons of the country for juvenile involving CRCs; • Formed and trained Child Rights Committees on district level involving lawyers, journalists and civil society organizations for the protection and promotion of child and human rights.• Made a Network of NGOs and a Government Agency working in the arena of juvenile justice called Juvenile Justice Network NWFP and worked as its Coordinator;• Designed and launched a number of campaigns including campaign for the extension of JJSO to PATA, release of juvenile prisoners and other successful campaigns e.g. “Campaign against Child Imprisonment” successfully in the Province and got the JJSR 2002 and Juvenile Courts notified;• The juvenile justice project successfully achieved all targets i.e. notification of the juvenile justice system rules, release of children on probation and the overall number of juveniles dropped to almost half within five years while the number of juveniles on probation increased more than 200 percent. Mas kaunti

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  Society for the protection of the rights of child (sparc)

  Jan 2003 - Mar 2006

  Deputy national coordinator

  • Designed and implemented projects including SPARC’s major project on Children in Difficult Circumstances (CDC), juvenile justice advocacy project of JJN and bonded labor project;• Developed advocacy campaigns focusing on implementation of the UNCRC, MDGs and local laws;• Had regular liaison with government departments and held meetings with officials & high ups including Governor, ministers, secretaries resulting in major achievements like release of children imprisoned under the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR), establishment of Governor’s and Senate’s Committees on FCR, a debate in the Senate of Pakistan on the imprisonment of children under FCR, policy changes regarding gender disparities in education and child labour;• Communication with the staff at provincial offices and volunteers across the country to monitor implementation, extend technical support, conduct trainings and make recommendations about strengthening programmes and sharing learning;• Trained staff to draft letters for sending to various government functionaries resulting in the notification of panels of lawyers and Vigilance Committees in a number of districts across Pakistan;• Designed and implemented a capacity building program for child rights advocates working at the local level and for concerned government officials i.e. police, prison, probation, labour and social welfare officials; • Supported HR in preparing terms of reference for staff including senior management and field staff;• Continued with all the responsibilities carried out as National Project Coordinator. Mas kaunti

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  Unicef

  Jan 2005 - Jan 2007

  • Prepared Pakistan’s Periodic Report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. • Managed overall report writing process; ensured involvement of all stakeholders through a national consultative process;• Established a high level National Steering Committee to oversee and guide the report writing process with equal representation from the government and non-governmental sector;• Established Technical Committees (TCs) comprising of people working in the arena of child rights both at the government and non-governmental level and finalized all the clusters in accordance with their input;• Organized consultations with various stakeholders including children at the National and Provincial Levels;• Coordinated with relevant Ministries, Provincial Governments, I-NGOs and UN Agencies to collect information;• Facilitated NCCWD in regularly convening meetings of the National Steering Committee and TCs;• Prepared and submitted First, Second and Final Draft Reports in accordance with the agreed timeframe. Mas kaunti National Commission for Child Welfare and Development (NCCWD)-UNICEF Seconded I worked together with international consultant on the formulation of the National Strategy and Plan of Action (NPA) for the Rehabilitation of the Most Vulnerable Population in the Earthquake Affected Areas based in the Ministry of Social Welfare and Special Education, Government of Pakistan. Achievements:• Worked closely with the Social Welfare Ministry and the National Task Force to draft the NPA;• Facilitated the Social Welfare Ministry to coordinate with the Technical Working Groups (TWGs); • Assisted the International Senior Advisor Child Protection and the NTF in preparing the NPA;• Facilitated the SW Ministry in convening meetings of the NTF and TWGs and in preparations of working documents, synthesizing minutes and reports. Mas kaunti I prepared the consolidated Second and Third Periodic Report of the State Party under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child for the Republic of Maldives in consultation with Ministry of Gender and Family and UNICEF Maldives.Achievements:• Established a high level Steering Committee (SC) to coordinate the report writing process involving the NGOs;• Organized a National Consultation on the State of Child Rights in Maldives;• Held meetings with different stakeholders including concerned government, UN and NGOs officials; • Submitted First, Second and Final Draft reports to the Steering Committee and incorporated SC’s suggestions, comments and input into the drafts;• Submitted a Final Periodic Report and a Process and Recommendations report to the Government of Maldives and UNICEF. Mas kaunti

  • National Project Manager (Consultant) for CRC Periodic Report

    Jan 2006 - Jan 2007

  • National Consultant

    Mar 2006 - Jan 2006

  • International Consultant

    Jan 2005 - Jan 2006
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  Unicef

  Jan 2008 - Jan 2008

  Consultant

  Worked with UNICEF on a mapping exercise of the social protection services in the earthquake affected Districts of KP to strengthen the referral mechanism established in the Social Welfare Department. Deliverables included:• Directory of Social Protection Services for Children and their Families in the three affected districts;• Inter-Agency Protocol Agreements binding the Government Departments and NGOs on their commitment and willingness to implement the referral procedures at the district level. Mas kaunti

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  Save the children uk

  Jan 2009 - Jan 2010

  Programme manager child protection

  • Managed child protection programme of Save the Children UK including management of the CP team & Partners;• Management of child protection projects and partnerships, regular field visits and provision of technical support to partners i.e. capacity building plan for the staff of TRDP, publication of posters and brochures, letters to DCOs for calling meetings of the District Vigilance Committees etc.;• Advocacy at the local, national and international level for the protection of children’s rights;• Ensured timely submission of Alternative Report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child;• Ensure SCUK is effectively represented in the Child Rights Movement (CRM);• Provided regular technical support to the 20-20 Campaign and have included a number of new activities in the campaign including Post Card Campaign and launching of the campaign in District Press Clubs; • Initiated rolling out of Child Protection Thematic Programme Plan and the Child Safeguarding Policy;• Preparation and submission of concept notes to various donors for fund raising;• As part of the senior programme team I regularly contribute to other programmes and have been a part of assessments teams in emergency response to the IDPs’ issue.• Established office of Save the Children Alliance in Mardan and started immediate implementation of programme during 3 months assignment as Field Programme Manager Mardan;• Hired staff for the Mardan office and identified potential partners in Child Protection and Education;• Established 20 schools for Education in Emergency targeting 1600 children with IDPs teachers in Mardan office;• Established Child Friendly Spaces 22 locations and also initiated and Child Protection Working Group at the District level involving Social Welfare Department and concerned I-NGOs and UN Agencies; Mas kaunti

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  Society for the protection of the rights of the child (sparc)

  Jan 2010 - Jan 2012

  Executive director

  • Overall Management including programme planning, implementation, monitoring & evaluation to ensure achievement of programme objectives, donor reporting administration and finance together with fund raising, donor reporting and representing the organization at various forums;• For the first time in Pakistan printed and widely disseminated the Concluding Observations and Recommendations of the UN Committee and had an extensive follow up at various levels; • Published UPR Outcome Document and widely disseminated and initiated process for preparing UPR Stakeholders Report from Child Rights Movement’s (CRM) platform in 2012;• Played main role in strengthening civil society networks such as Child Rights Movement and National Juvenile Justice Network and initiated successful campaigns for the ratification of OPs to the UNCRC, against Inhuman and Degrading Sentences for Child Offenders, Frontier Crimes Regulations and child domestic labour etc.;• Institutionalized SPARC’s juvenile justice manual at police training colleges and academies throughout Sindh Province and made inroads into judicial academies for training of judges in KP, Balochistan, Punjab and Sindh;• Extensively highlighted child rights in print and electronic media;• Launched campaigns with and established ties with international NGOs and networks i.e. Defense for Children International, NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child and with UN Bodies such as Committee on the Rights of the Child, Secretary General’s Special Representative on UN Study on Violence against Children, Office of the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery etc. Mas kaunti

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  Save the children international

  Mar 2012 - Jan 2015

  Director advocacy, communications and child rights governance

  • Key role in establishing and strengthening Child Rights Movement (CRM) Pakistan and its 8 Chapters. Closely working with CRM Pakistan and its chapters.• Lead role in preparing CSOs alternative report during Pakistan 2012 UPR, advocacy for the implementation of Universal Periodic Review (UPR) recommendations;• Closely working with other thematic areas on CRG specific work;• Lead role in Development Partners for Nutrition (DPN) group’s advocacy work with civil society and medial;• Lead for the EVERY ONE Campaign in Pakistan and the overall country level advocacy with key stakeholders; • Prepared and implemented communication strategy including increased media and social media visibility for the EVERY ONE Campaign; • Lead the process for the preparation of Advocacy and Communications Strategies for Save the Children Pakistan Programme;• Directs the efforts of media and communications and advocacy team to ensure that activities are delivered according to the program/specific project commitments;• Build capacity of staff to collect communications material for different audiences, including public, through training, mentoring and establishes systems;• Supervise the Communication team with the planning, implementation and production of resources and materials for internal and external use including donor and media visits;• Designed and produced various media activities/interventions including talk shows at TV and Radio about various child rights related issues;• Trained journalists and held journalists’ awards ceremonies to increase their interest in child focussed reporting; • Lead the debate about breastfeeding legislation and its implementation in Pakistan and put it on the agenda of media and CSOs;• Advocacy and campaigning for the enactment of legislation about right to free and compulsory education in accordance with Article 25-A of the Constitution. Mas kaunti

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  Coffey international ltd

  Jan 2015 - Jan 2016

  Senior civil society engagement and capacity building expert

  I have joined European Union's Citizens Justice and Peace Programme, implemented by Coffey Pakistan, as Senior Civil Society Engagement and Capacity Building Expert. Through our work with civil society and community based organizations and police, I've a key role in strengthening relationships between KP state and citizens to build public trust and support a paradigm shift from police force to police service. I've written a brief on the Police Accountability Mechanisms; The Provincial Public Safety and Police Complaints Commission and the District Public Safety and Police Complaints Commissions. During the Inception Phase I conducted Capacity Assessments of the CSOs and the Police Accountability mechanisms and prepared Capacity Building Plans for CSOs to build their capacity in laws and policy related to security and justice and the Provincial Public Safety and Police Complaints Commission (PPS&PCC) to strengthen it and build the capacities of its District Chapters. Mas kaunti

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  Ministry of social development of jordan

  Jan 2016 - Jan 2016

  International consultant

  Working with the Ministry of Social Development, Government of Jordan on a UNICEF funded consultancy assignment of preparing a National Strategy for Children Living and or Working on the Streets in Jordan in light of the Concluding Observations and Recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on Jordan's 4th and 5th Combined Periodic Report. I am based at the Ministry of Social Development with a dedicated team of a National Consultant and researchers to assist me with an Assessment of the Children Living and or Working on the Streets and to come up with a National Strategy and recommendations for the Government of Jordan to respond to the issue in a way which is in the best interests of children living and or working on the streets. Mas kaunti

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  Aan associates

  Jan 2016 - Jan 2017

  International consultant

  Worked with AAN Associates (Consultancy Firm) on the Evaluation of UNICEF’s “Ma’An Together Towards a Safe School Campaign” as International Consultant in Jordan. I was one of the three International Consultants in the tam with a team of local consultants to evaluate the Ma’An Campaign on Violence Against Children in Jordan with a focus on Amman, Ma’an, and Irbid Governorates. Following are the key activities that I conducted during the assignment:• Prepared and submitted an Evaluation Matrix with key Evaluation Questions in accordance with Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Criteria for Evaluating Development Assistance, received and incorporated feedback;• Prepared Evaluation Tools for Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs);• Prepared Work Plan for the Consultancy and a Detailed Implementation Plan (DIP) for field work;• Contributed to the preparation of the Inception Report;• Lead field level data collection work including conduction of KIIs and FGDs;• Analysis of the KIIs and FGDs data and prepared initial findings. Mas kaunti

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  Unicef

  May 2017 - Jan 2017

  Child protection consultant

  Working with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Jordan Country Office as Child Protection Advisor (International Consultant) based in Amman, Jordan. I am responsible to engage with and provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Social Development, Ministry of Labour, National Council for Family Affairs (NCFA) and Ministry of Education with a focus on the implementation of the National Strategy for Children in Street Situations in Jordan, Strengthening of the Child Protection System, Follow up for the implementation of the Concluding Observations and Recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on Jordan’s last Periodic Report, Preparation of the National Framework for Combating Child Labour and Preparation of a Policy for School Attendance Monitoring and Re-enrollment of Dropped Out Children. Mas kaunti

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  Development alternatives inc

  Jan 2018 - Jan 2018

  Deputy chief of party

  Worked as DCOP Programs with the USAID funded US$ 22.6 Million Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governance (KPG) Project [March 2015-Nov 2018] of the Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI) Pakistan. I was responsible to lead KPG’s Program Team and Peshawar Program Implementation Office. Key achievements:• Worked closely with the Chief of Party in developing and nurturing strong cooperation and collaboration between the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, KPG and USAID. Regular meetings with leading government officials in Planning and Development Department, Local Government Department, Finance Department, Right to Information Commission, Right to Services Commission and KP Revenue Authority etc.;• Successfully organized a consultative workshop of civil society organizations working in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on governance issues and lead the process for the review of all the concept notes submitted;• Successfully organized KPG’s Project Steering Committee including preparation of agenda, project brief and presentation and made a presentation of the ongoing and planned activities in PSC meeting chaired by the Secretary Planning and Development Department and responded to participants’ questions satisfactorily. KPG’s work plan for 6 months was endorsed by the PSC;• Prepared work plan for 6 months and spend plan for the year that were approved by the DAI Head Office and USAID;• Expedited the pace of review and approval of concept notes and proposals for both the demand and supply side interventions and increased the average of one grant approval per month over the first 36 months of the project to approval of 3 grants per month. Successfully completed implementation of the newly signed 23 grants with both public sector as well as civil society partners in the last 10 months of the project. Contributed to substantial increase on program in the last 10 months of the project. Successfully completed close out process of the completed projects and KPG Peshawar office. Mas kaunti

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  British council

  May 2019 - now

  Deputy team lead

  Working as DTL FCDO funded UK Pounds 19.9 Million Aawaz II: Inclusion, Accountability and Reducing Modern Slavery Programme with British Council, responsible for the delivery and management of the programme. Key responsibilities:• The Programme’s themes are child marriage/child protection, GBV, and social cohesion and tolerance and target groups are children, women, PWDs, religious minorities and transgender persons. • Overall programme management with a specific focus on managing the work of Downstream Partners (DSPs) in 22 target districts and the Provincial Partners in two provinces.• Reviews and revisions of the project design and work plans and ensuring field implementation.• Support the Team Lead and Technical Advisors on strategic approach and planning of implementation.• Relationship management with internal and external stakeholders e.g., provincial governments.• Lead the process of selection of the downstream partners – selected 17 DSPs for Aawaz II Programme.• Lead capacity building of the partners and advocacy at the provincial and district level.• Building strong and effective partnerships and working relationships with UNICEF/UNFPA, CSOs, SNG II & NGOs.• Technical support to the implementation of the programme and achieving the agreed milestones and targets in 2 provinces, 22 districts, 66 Tehsils with support and management of 17 Downstream and 2 Provincial Partners.• Contributing to donor reporting, payment milestones preparations, ensuring spending, managing the programme implementation team, reviewing and managing the programme risk register and Safeguarding Focal Person.• Successfully completed programme implementation in 22 districts and initiated in an additional 15 districts of KP and Punjab in January 2023. Overall, the programme is being implemented in 37 districts. Mas kaunti