Antonio Soares Email and Phone Number

Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) – Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit (UPMA):Provide planning, monitoring, evaluation and performance/program budgeting training and support to Ministry of State Administration (MSA) and the municipalities in order to continue implementation of Public Financial Management reform at the municipal level.- Support MSA and the municipalities to progress budgetary governance reforms, including continuing to improve program structures and prepare their own annual reports- Conduct ongoing training (workshops and on-the-job training) for MSA and municipalities in conjunction with UPMA training team- Provide advice as required to UPMA in relation to the preparation of annual plan, budgets and reports by MSA and municipalities- Assist UPMA in the development of planning, monitoring and reporting tools for municipalities, ensuring systems are efficient and effective.

Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) – Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit (UPMA): - Under the direction of UPMA: Support Municipalities and Ministry of State Administration including RAEOA in order to continue implementation of Public Financial Management (PFM) reform at the municipal level and RAEOA, in accordance with the Budgetary Governance Roadmap (continuing to improve municipalities and RAEOA program structures, planning and reporting, linking of program to SDP, SDG's and the Government program, Dalan Ba Futuru system through conduct ongoing training or capacity building support).- Support UPMA to develop Program Budgeting (PB) structures for Municipalities and RAEOA-ZEESM (Oecusse) in preparation for the 2020 annual budget and provide capacity building support to the municipal planning managers. Decentralisation: Assist GfD to understand the governance structure, the decentralisation process and arrangements in order to inform the GfD and DFAT how the Australian Aid program/DFAT can best support good governance, decentralisation and delivery of services under the government. Election: on March 2018, I have been taking part in providing the technical assistances for one and a half month to STAE (The Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration) through GfD/Australian Embassy and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) in the 2018 Parliamentary Election.

Communications Manager: Responsible for overseeing visibility for the project’s activities. Successful networking with radio, television and print journalists resulted in regular media coverage of the project’s impact. 117 articles in national journals. Established and regularly updated project’s Facebook page “https://www.facebook.com/BaDistrito/”, with 2600 followers, in English and Tetum. Refined and implemented an organizational capacity assessment of the communication and outreach capacity of partner CSOs (5) and village councils (100). Developed and delivered training to CSOs to increase their communication capacity. Grants Manager: Oversaw the design, award and management of annual grants to 10 national CSOs totally $1.8 million in accordance with USAID and Counterpart’s rules and regulations. Provided oversight and technical support to 3 local CSOs implement advocacy and outreach activities to support inclusive participation in elections by women, youth and people with disabilities. Elections Manager: Developed and oversaw successful implementation of all election activities including outreach campaigns, technical support to electoral management bodies, workshops and research. Provided technical support to the electoral management bodies (STAE and CNE) to design and implement a nationwide civic education campaign promoting the inclusive participation of women, youth and people with disabilities and combining radio, television, print media, social media, community theatre and community meetings. Managed the performance of 3 national communications advisors embedded in the electoral management bodies and 7 national staff members in 5 field offices. Provided capacity building support to local media including community radio and print journalists to better understand and report on technical aspects of suco election, decentralization, local governance and access to justice.

Developed and managed USAID-funded $110,000 in seed grants, including grants allocated for small-scale community development and peace building initiatives. Developed guidelines and application forms for the seed grants and disbursement to selected groups in coordination with Belun and CNJTL. Provided guidance and technical assistance to partners, including grant management and compliance with SFCG and donor rules, policy, and procedures. Designed systems for implementing partners to manage sub-grants and other financial forms and formats that reflect donor and SFCG policies and procedures. Supported the Finance and Administration Manager in developing country program documentation systems for compliance and audit preparation. Ensured that the implementing partners submitted all reports and financial documents on time. Troubleshot and developed solutions to sub-grantee concerns and issues as they arose. Communicated regularly with Country Director, Director of Programs, Project Manager and the Finance Manager to keep them up-to-date on project successes and challenges at the grants and compliance level.

Designed and delivered leadership and management training to Head of Departments at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dili Suco Council members, and civil society organizations.

Assisted in developing and implementing the project schedules and ensuring that all aspects of the project stayed on task. Designed and developed a Master Plan of the National Graphic Arts and Printing Center of Timor-Leste (NGPTL), Ministry of Education. Assisted the Project Management Consultant (PMC) Team in keeping track of any changes, progress and issues and adjusted schedules as necessary. Undertook project management and administration (assisted in the compilation of the project details and documents including organizing opening ceremony and handover of NGPTL to Ministry of Education). Liaised with Ministry of Education, KOICA and PMC Team. Designed a Distribution Plan and Implementing the Books Distribution, the books number: 240.000 students books and teacher guide for grade 10 Secondary School in Timor-Leste.

Worked with a small team of international and national advisers to develop and deliver leadership and management training to senior staff in the Ministry of Education on this AusAID/DFAT funded program. Assisted in the design and development of a Leadership Program including the preparation of all learning materials. Provided translation services from English into Tetun for materials. Provided support on project management and administration including organizing venue, accommodation, payment of per diems. Liaised with the Director-General and other Ministry staff as required. Facilitated the pilot Leadership Program. Supported implementation of the monitoring and evaluation plan and managing the quality assurance systems for the preparation and delivery of training.

Reviewed the Business Model of the newspaper and recommend new opportunities for product development. Reviewed existing The Dili Weekly products (newspaper and online) and recommended ways to improve and develop existing products.

Independent Printing Press Timor-Leste: Advisor/Mentor to a consortium of media organizations on setting up an Independent Printing Press Business. Sourced and procured a printing press machine, equipment and materials, and shipped from Indonesia to Timor-Leste. Coordinated construction of a building site to house the printing press. Organize official launch of the printing press. Developed a business plan with the consortium of newspapers to ensure the business sustainability of the printing press enterprise. Set up operational systems, including financial, human resource management and administrative for the printing press. Developed a market strategy to market the products and services and to attract new customers.Media Business Training: Trained marketing and advertising personnel from media organizations including Timor Post, The Dili Weekly, Jornal Nacional Diario, A Voz da Cultura, Teki Tabloid, Jornal Semanal Kla’ak, Time Timor Magazine and several community radio stations. The training aimed to increase their professional capacity to make their media organizations financially sustainable through advertising and other revenue generating initiatives.ICFJ’s Small Grants Funds Program: Oversaw the disbursement of USAID-funded small grant funds to 34 media partner organizations. Provided training on proposal-writing for grantees. Coordinated assessments and ensured grants disbursement were done through open and transparent processes.Market Share Analysis: Developed strategies to improve the media’s ability to track and analyze revenue performance with subsequent improvements in business planning. Media Awards 2009: Managed the 2009 Annual Media Awards, including fundraising, event management, stakeholder management, budgeting, reporting and public relations.