Saba GUL

Experience

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  Procter & Gamble

  Jun 2007 - Jun 2007

  Brand Ambassador - Sales & Marketing

  Sales Team Lead of ‘Always’ & ‘Pampers’ for Dawn Lifestyle Exhibition Karachi for three days. I was responsible to report the brand’s sales, and quality of customer services to the Direct Marketing Manager.

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  Iqra University (Official)

  Jan 2008 - Dec 2008

  Research Assistant

  Assisted to do literature reviews, to prepare questionnaires, to collect data (using multiple methodologies like surveys, interviews, focus groups), to analyze data (using SPSS and Excel), and to write summary of the findings.

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  National Bank of Pakistan

  Jun 2008 - Jul 2008

  Intern - Operations

  I was responsible for the processing of customers checks & clearance work, to make demand drafts, transfers drafts, payment order, to open new account for the new customers and keep a record of them, to organize the six months debit and credit accounts, and to check mails and distributed to relevant employees and keep records of it.

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  KUMAK

  Apr 2010 - Jun 2012

  Program Associate & Youth Facilitator
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  Y-PEER

  Jun 2011 - Jun 2012

  Regional Coordinator - District Focal Point

  Project by UNFPA: Youth Peer Education Network (Y-PEER).Local Implementing Partner: Chanan Development Association.

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  LSE Financial Services Limited (Formerly Lahore Stock Exchange Limited)

  Jun 2013 - May 2014

  Technical Consultant

  Consultant - Establishment of Agri-trading Ecosystem in Pakistan:• Identified gaps in the current Agri-market landscape via quantitative & qualitative insights gained from in-depth interviews with farmers by using concept testing & conjoint analysis of trading firms across Punjab.• Proposed delivery mechanism at electronic spot exchange, risk management system, and infrastructure to revolutionize the entire Agri-commodities value chain and to prevent the food-waste in the chain. • Performed the policy and governance gaps analysis in the current Federal and Provincial Policies and the proposed the amendments for smooth transition to the new system.-- • The feasibility project outsourced by one of the regional exchanges (Lahore Stock Exchange) to the Professor of Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) who hired a team of students as management consultants. Show less

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  Pakistan State Oil Company (PSO)

  Jun 2013 - Jul 2013

  MBA Intern

  • Management of Outbound Supply Chain Finance, responsible for Credit Exposure & Credit Rationalization, controlling defaults and outstanding recoveries, & Market & Sales Promotion scheme analysis.• Worked on the financial modelling and valuation to evaluate the performance of the investment portfolio and to improve the ROI of PSO to overcome the circular debt crises in the Oil & Gas sector.• Provided analytical support to sales & marketing and coordinate with them to analyze and rectify future sales promotion schemes for the depots Show less

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  Unilever

  Nov 2014 - May 2017

  • Managed annual business of PKR 150 million (400K Liters) contributing 40% of food-category business, while managing 7 distributors and sub-distributors (business partners) with team of 12 supervisors and 40 order bookers.• Optimizing asset utilization through reshuffling of under-performing assets at potential areas using data analysis techniques.• Engaged top 25 customers by designing and implementing the customized marketing activities liaising with marketing and channel team in order to keep the brand proposition intact. • Performed basic financial review, integrity due-diligence of distributors, sub-distributors and small-scale retailers as per Code of Business & policy guidelines (Responsible Business Partner Policy – UN GC Principles) of Unilever to expand the territorial coverage.• Conducted risk assessment of the potential partner to analyze the value proposition and reputational risks.• Awards: Awarded “Business Integrity Champion” for supporting the SDG goals by achieving the financial growth targets while committing to the integrity due-diligence of partner as per policy.• Got the award “Point of Consumption (POC) Execution”for cracking the deal to capture the highest footfall areas in the Karachi City Show less

  • Sales/Distribution Specialist

    Nov 2015 - May 2017

  • Territory/Distribution Manager

    Nov 2014 - Oct 2015
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  Iqra University (Official)

  Jan 2016 - Dec 2018

  Visiting Faculty

  Course: Services & Direct Marketing

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  Empact Activation Services

  Jun 2017 - Nov 2018

  Account Manager

  Category: Foods, Refreshments, Home and Personal CareBrands: Knorr, Lipton, Wall's, Magnum, Fair and Lovely, Ponds, Sunsilk, Comfort, Surf Excel• Responsible for making and managing the budgets & to monitor KPIs reporting.• Maximized ROI of campaigns “Knorr Noodles Boriyat Buster” & “Sunsilk Fashion Edition” through continual analysis of performance, response-rates and results.• Lead a team of Project Managers, Supervisors, IT and HR for multiple global brand.

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  Palladium: Make It Possible

  Dec 2018 - Dec 2019

  Business Investment Advisor

  Stimulating innovative growth in Agriculture through private and public sector engagement while promoting an inclusive growth for the vulnerable population in Pakistan with focus on rural areas of Baluchistan and Sindh by ensuring Women Economic Empowerment (WEE) & Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices. • Designed, planned, and executed multiple innovative agriculture interventions to mobilize funds to unlock the pro-poor growth using market systems development(M4P) approach and to build multiple stakeholder partnerships among businesses, governments, and NGOs to support food value-chain resilience.• Drafted partnership proposals, partnership agreements and reports on LogFrame after the completion of needs-assessment and due-diligence for each intervention aligned with the DFAT’s Due Diligence Framework.• Completed safeguard screening checklist in the Risk and safeguard tool to evaluate reputational risk and investment risks to avoid market distortions in accordance with the DFAT Private Sector Development (PSD) program.• Co-managed the monitoring and impact evaluation to enhance the Value for Money (VFM) with Quality Assurance team member as per DCED guidelines. Market Development Facility(MDF) is an Impact Investment Fund supported by Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Australia. It was implemented by Cardno Emerging Markets from 2013-2017 and currently being implemented by The Palladium Group and the Swisscontact Show less

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  Karakoram Girls

  Apr 2019 - Nov 2021

  Co-Founder

  • A start-up which is working to support women to become Micro, Small, Medium Entrepreneurs (MSMEs) by building their capacity and guiding them with the core issues of lack of access to finance, lack of access to market linkages, lack of marketing and branding skills etc. • Engages industry professionals to organize workshops and seminars to give hands-on training about business processes like how to write business proposals for funding, how to register business, how to give pitches to investors etc. • Build linkages with trade and investment promotion agencies, business support organizations, Women-led business, chambers and associations, public entities like Sindh Enterprise Development Fund, and donor agencies to get support for the entrepreneurs. Show less

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  Peepu-agritech

  Jan 2020 - Sept 2020

  Outreach & Advocacy Lead
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  Tearfund

  Oct 2020 - Dec 2020

  Enterprise Development Coordinator - FCDO

  Thematic Focus: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Climate change, Clean Water, Sanitation, Urban development and Resource management.Formulated strategy to implement a 3-year project on solid waste management with focus on community-development (behavioral change), and sustainable waste management solutions.

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  World Food Programme

  Dec 2020 - Feb 2023

  Partnerships Associate - Technical (Impact & Innovation)

  Donors: EU, North America, Middle EastHumanitarian Assistance:• Contributed to WFP’s emergency response (Afghanistan, Ukraine, Somalia, Pakistan, Syria/Türkiye) to raise funds and to seek other support (In-kind, technical assistance, and other operations).• Blacksea Grain Initiative: Supported the first shipment to Djibouti by raising USD 1.5M including Minderoo Foundation and liaising with Comms, supply chain, shipping, and other teams.• Provided support to SC focal point to coordinate ad hoc requests during emergencies, translate Technical units' needs into value propositions, and facilitate joint private sector prospecting.Development Cooperation:• Outreach businesses to contribute to their ESG deliverables and to create shared value by building innovative partnerships to serve the development/humanitarian mandate of WFP.• Climate Change: Led the regional plans in West and East Africa to build a global partnership valued at USD 2M with AB InBev to promote innovative solutions supporting the food systems and providing access to SHFs markets. (Zambia, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana).Impact Assessment (Result-based measurement):• Led the pilot and testing phase of the project to implement a new methodology (Results-based Management) to assess non-financial contributions to complex, long-term systemic change interventions. Show less

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  Freelance

  Mar 2023 - Oct 2024

  Independent Consultant
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  One Acre Fund

  Nov 2024 - now

  Product Innovations Lead

  Combining data-driven insights with Human-Centered Design (HCD), I lead the design and testing of innovative products and services with a focus on areas like Early Warning Systems (EWS), Inclusion (Gender/Youth/SHFs), Nutrition, Resilience, Regenerative Agriculture (Precision Ag, Soil health, Agroforestry, Pest Mgmt), and Social Protection (Microinsurance).• Develop comprehensive trial strategies, theories of change, monitoring frameworks, and risk mitigation plans to test innovative products and services to improve farmer yields and incomes, aligned with strategic division goals.• Conduct feasibility, scalability, and impact assessments for portfolios related to nutrition, resilience, anticipatory actions, climate change, and gender, integrating research insights into trial designs and decision-making processes.• Establish robust methodologies for data collection and analysis, utilizing tools like Excel, Stata, and R to generate detailed reports, develop impact models, and deliver data-driven recommendations. Show less