Ali Zafar

Experience

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  Center for Public Policy and Governance

  Jan 2012 - Mar 2012

  Research Assistant

  Worked on Project related to Custodial Torture. Carried out field and desk research: interviewed inmates at all the prisons of Lahore; transcribed, cleaned and analyzed the data.

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  Contech International

  Nov 2012 - Oct 2013

  Research Assistant

  • Monitored and evaluated two (2) projects focusing on benefits of increasing health awareness.• Increased puberty awareness in adolescence by ~43% by improving educational and vocational plans for 14 public schools and 10 private schools covering 500 children from middle schools. • Analyzed positive and negative causalities between the availability and mode of transportation and maternal health during pregnancy.

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  Government College University (GCU), Lahore

  Jan 2013 - Jun 2013

  Visiting Faculty

  Taught Business Communication to Junior Year (6th Semester) Students at Department of Economics.

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  Center for Economic Research in Pakistan (CERP)

  Aug 2013 - Nov 2013

  Program Assistant

  1. Conducted the first ever Randomized Control Trial (RCT) of Pakistan in four districts of South Punjab. 2. Implemented the first phase of Assets and Cash Transfer component of Punjab Economic Opportunities Programme in 49 villages of 4 districts and collaborated with 1859 beneficiaries of Punjab, Pakistan.

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  Ministry of Planning Development and Special Initiatives

  Nov 2013 - Nov 2014

  Young Development Fellow

  Assisted the Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms on structuring the socioeconomic reform strategy for the [1] Pakistan Vision 2025; [2] development of the 11th 5-year Economic Plan (2014-19) of Pakistan and [3] the Federal Budget of Pakistan 2014-15; and made significant contributions towards the [4] design of the Annual Development Plan for Pakistan 2014-15

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  UNDP

  Nov 2014 - Jan 2015

  Young Professional Officer

  1. Collaborated with the Democratic Governance Unit on identifying and resolution of Special Priority Areas for One UN Program to achieve Sustainable Development by UN Agencies as ‘One’.2. Spearheaded the Working Group SPA-4 while being a representative of UNDP.3. Led the Strategic Planning and Programme Design process for six (6) UN Agencies: UN Women, UNHCR, ILO, IOM, UN HABITAT, & UNODC for the One UN Program.

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  Charité

  Sept 2015 - Nov 2015

  Research Assistant

  While working with the Head of Institute for Tropical Medicine & International Health, I worked on measuring incidence of Malaria, Dengue & HIV/AIDs in Tanzania, Nigeria and Uganda and assessed impact of new interventions designed for them.

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  Freie Universität Berlin

  Jun 2016 - Sept 2016

  Research Assistant

  Research Assistant to Chair of Innovation Management at School of Business and Economics. Worked on: Comparative Advantage in Semi Conductor Industry for Germany

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  The Urban Unit

  Nov 2016 - Oct 2017

  Senior Research Analyst

  • Led strategic planning for design of Special Economic Zones and Industrial Estates under Punjab’s Spatial Strategy. • Identified and analyzed the reasons behind Low Occupancy and Industrial Competitiveness of Industrial Estates of Punjab. • Conceptualized and developed an institutional and organizational restructuring framework for the Bureau of Statistics and Punjab Economic Research Institute which improved the institutional performance by 11% and 23%, respectively. • Prepared Multi-Criteria Spatial Decision Support System for initiation of new public infrastructure projects which led to reduction of public infrastructure development cost by ~60% from the previous year. Show less

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  British Council

  Apr 2017 - Jun 2017

  Data Analysis Lead

  Carried out End-line Impact Assessment Study for British Council's Take a Child to School Project and in process led the field research team in 10 districts of Pakistan.

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  WWF

  Aug 2017 - Oct 2017

  Data Consultant

  Calculated Health and Environment related cost to the last rupee for environmental non-compliance in Textile and Leather industry of Pakistan and as a result wrote the report entitled "Economic Impact and Health Implications of Non-Compliance of the Leather and Textile Industry"

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  UNDP

  Nov 2017 - Aug 2019

  Social Policy Analyst

  • Supported the conceptualization and design of Punjab SDGs Implementation Framework 2019 and District Localization Plan for 36 Districts of Punjab. • Facilitated provincial government and line departments in successful integration of SDGs into key policy instruments, such as MTFF, MTDF, budget strategy paper and annual development plan (ADP). • Conceptualized and authored three (3) Performance Analysis Reports on SDG 3, SDG 4, and SDG 16 to inform the government about data and performance gaps to achieve Agenda 2030.• Led on the coordination functions, played a pivotal role in managing the political economy of SDGs and facilitated the senior management in negotiating the financing arrangement between UNDP and the government to implement SDGs. Show less

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  U.S. Department of State

  Oct 2018 - Nov 2018

  Professional Fellow - Governance and Society

  Successfully completed U.S. Department of State's Professional Fellows Program on Governance and Society.

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  UN Women

  Sept 2019 - Feb 2022

  • Led on development of Country Programming processes and products: the Annual Workplan, Strategic Note(s), and Programme and Project documents.• Led on Inter-Agency Coordination through producing Technical Notes and Analyses for the Resident Coordinator and UN Country Team. • Led the Economic Empowerment Portfolio of UN Women Myanmar with focus on Accelerating Economic Empowerment of Women-business owners and Urban Resilience.• For 6 months, I was given the additional charge of Project Manager to manage the core funds of the management team and the projects associated with it. Show less • Delivered on implementation of Annual Work Plan by working with the government and local communities to promote the rights of women, youth, religious minorities, and excluded groups. • Provided substantive inputs to the country’s strategy documents, project proposals, Annual Work Plans and Quarterly and Annual Progress Reports in collaboration of UN’s Resident Coordinator’s Office in Pakistan, Regional Office of Asia Pacific, and the Headquarters. • Led implementation of programmes of the EVAW, Governance, and Human Rights team; managed resource planning and budgeting, drafting, and updating Results Framework, M&E Plan, Risk Log, Procurement and Recruitment Plans and Business Continuity Plan in the wake of COVID-19.• During COVID-19, I worked on UN Agencies’ Socioeconomic Response Plan for COVID-19 & Global Humanitarian Response Plan as UN Women Pakistan’s Focal Point. Show less

  • Planning and Coordination Analyst

    Mar 2021 - Feb 2022

  • Programme Officer

    Sept 2019 - Feb 2021
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  Atlas Corps

  May 2021 - Dec 2021

  Atlas VLI Scholar 2021
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  Save the Children International

  Mar 2022 - Jan 2024

  Economics Advisor

  1. Led and supported economic analyses for Global Programmes in key interventions and advocacy areas for country offices across Save the Children global presence. 2. Reviewed and appraised the extent to which Value for Money considerations are appropriately addressed and effective option appraisals are undertaken in line with agreed processes and sector best practice. 3. Improved the inclusion of priority research questions in relevant awards through early engagement in planning and design. 4. Performed ex-ante calculations in support of new proposals or decisions for country offices across global programmes. Show less

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  Atlas Corps

  Oct 2022 - Feb 2023

  Mentor

  Mentored an Atlas Corps Alumni in career development and UN systems approach.

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  Internews Europe

  Feb 2024 - now

  Regional Program Officer, Asia-Pacific