Samir Raad Email & Phone Number

The Hague, South Holland, Netherlands

Provides the public and private sector with services in the following humanitarian and development sectors; Country & Regional Management, Economic Development, Cash Responses, Entrepreneurship, Resilience, Conflict Mitigation, Consortium Management, Program Start-Up and Close-Down, Remote Management, Business Development, and Localization Efforts.• SNV Cambodia: Inception Manager for SNV's Innovations Against Poverty (IAP) program (July–October 2024), responsible for leading team, consultant, and partner recruitment across Cambodia, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Zambia, while coordinating all start-up processes and leading website development to support the program's launch of the Challenge Fund.• Mercy Corps Palestine: Gaza Emergency Response Programs Lead for the Gaza response (October–December 2023), responsible for the startup of emergency programs, establishing emergency structure, and recruitment of long-term programs team members.• Mercy Corps Ukraine: Structure, Systems, and Strategy support to the Ukraine Cash Consortium, a $100M grant with 3 international agencies, delivering cash and emergency response funded by USAID/Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance to reach over 200,000 individuals across Ukraine.• Save the Children Netherlands: Provided proposal support for a $12M, 3-year, EU funding opportunity focusing on Resilience & Protection programming in Afghanistan.

Lebanon

• Founder and Executive Director of Izdihar Libnan, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to support entrepreneurs for a more prosperous Lebanon.• Initiated and executed all necessary documents and procedures for Izdihar Libnan to be a registered 501(c)(3) in the United States and a Non-Government Organization in Lebanon.• Developed a socio-economic development strategy to support entrepreneurs in Lebanon with a holistic business package that promotes meaningful employment, a positive community impact, and sustainable economic growth.• Recruited a diverse and experienced Board of Directors and Global Support Network to volunteer to be change agents for Izdihar Libnan.• Raised over $30,000 from private funding sources to implement Izdihar Libnan’s first pilot project that is currently being implemented.

Amman Governorate, Jordan

• Maintained role as lead focal point for Mercy Corps for the Syria Resilience Consortium, including being the Member Representative and an Area Coordinator.• Supported the Partnership Coordination Group (PCG) as the PCG Coordinator. The purpose of the PCG network is to facilitate the building and maintenance of relationships between NGOs – both local and international – with a historical focus on remote management and partnership modalities in Syria.• Lead focal point for a strategic multi-hub grant that has a multi-sector response (emergency, protection, market systems development, and social cohesion) and different modalities (direct and partner).• Supported in Concept Note and Proposal Development for the Syria response and specific Hub based funding opportunities across all sectors, recently including the successful achievement of a two-year multi-hub & multi-sector grant for 8 million USD (SIDA) and a one-year multi-sector grant for 1.2 million USD (French MOFA).• Surge support where needed; ex. Acting Director of Programs for Northeast Syria and South & Central Syria, and as Acting Emergency Lead during the emergency response in South Syria in the Summer of 2018 that supported over 100,000 individuals in less than 30 days.

Amman Governorate, Jordan

• Lead focal point from Mercy Corps for the Syria Resilience Consortium, a resilience and livelihoods consortium working in Syria comprised of Mercy Corps, NRC, DRC, IRC, HI, and CARE, which is funded by the EU, SIDA, DANIDA, NMFA, and GAC, that has supported over 1.5 million people since its foundation.• Oversaw area based coordination for the Syria Resilience Consortium’s South and Central Syria hub composed of five international NGOs, coordinating implementation planning, livelihoods program approach harmonization, and generating area specific tools and resources.• Represented the SRC and Mercy Corps at external inter-agency coordination and donor meetings.• Provided overall guidance for Whole of Syria livelihoods grants in program design and implementation of all related livelihoods activities including, but not limited to, agriculture & livestock support, cash programming, vocational & skills training, and Small & Medium Business Grants.• Led and assisted with Proposal Development for new livelihoods opportunities, including working closely with HQ and the Technical Support Unit to ensure a cohesive strategic approach.

Iraq, Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria

Middle East regional support for Mercy Corps programs in different capacities depending on humanitarian and staff needs. My roles were North Syria Food Security & Livelihoods Program Manager & Advisor (Turkey), Cash Transfer Program Advisor (Iraq), and Investing in Syrian Humanitarian Action Advisor (Jordan).• Managed the planning and implementation of food security activities in North Syria during the Aleppo Response.• Co-Lead for the National Cash Working Group (CWG) with UNHCR and supported the Cash Consortium of Iraq with Director responsibilities during the Mosul Response.• Participated in the CWG Steering Committee for the Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund that reviewed proposals from cash actors for the Mosul response.• Contributed to the design of strategy and new proposals while ensuring food security was integrated across Mercy Corps programming in accordance with programming approach.• Worked closely with the Director of Programs and the FSL PM to create documentation for all aspects of the FSL program including the work-plan, procurement plan, M&E plan, recruitment, team trainings, and compliance with donor requirements.• Along with REACH and UNHCR, led the introduction and methodology of synchronizing price-monitoring methodologies throughout Iraq with all cash actors.• Provided technical oversight to the field teams and mentored senior staff in the design, implementation, and adaptation of food security activities.• Drove the development of assessments, monitoring and market analyses that better understood and analyzed food security risks faced by communities, identification, and promotion of positive coping mechanisms in North Syria and Iraq.• Infused market interventions into existing programs to make emergency response programs more responsive to local markets and leverage interventions to build positive coping strategies.

Bekaa, Lebanon

• Oversaw the Beqaa region for the INTAJ program funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DfID) for an 8-month 4M USD pilot program supporting vulnerable communities in addressing their economic needs. • Assisted in the conceptualization of the proposal and writing of the newly awarded INTAJ grant that was approved for a two-year program of 15M USD.• Co-led the start-up of the pilot and follow-on program; Budget, Procurement, Hiring and Program Organization.• Supported the writing and information gathering for all reports including the quarterly report, final narrative report, and all ad-hoc reports requested by the donor. • Led a team of Project and M&E staff based in two different offices, including recruitment, training, performance management, and ensuring adherence to Mercy Corps internal procedures.• Managed Assessments, including an internal Labor Market Assessment of over 60 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and a Training Skills Assessment of over 30 Training Providers and identification of 10 SMEs in diverse sectors through a rigorous partner evaluation.• Coordinated specialized technical assistance support to SME partners in management, finance, organizational development, information technology, market research, marketing, and health and safety.• Coordinated all M&E activities, covering baselines of all training participants and SME partners, indicators and supporting documentation, spot checks of all partners, endlines of all training participants and SME partners, feedback interviews of all partners, analysis all M&E activities, and responded to frequent donor requested information. • Nurtured and maintained relationships with government and nongovernment actors in the Beqaa, including Municipalities, Mayors’ Offices, Mokhtars’ Offices, and the Chamber of Commerce and negotiated for permission to work in vulnerable geographical areas.

Baalbek, Lebanon

• Managed the WFP E-Card program in the Beqaa Valley based in Baalbek, Lebanon overseeing the Beqaa region of over 12,000 households (60,000 individuals). • Played a key role in proposal writing and budget for two successful renewals of the WFP program.• Served as the Mercy Corps representative in Food Security and Cash Working Groups.• Responsible for rigorous monitoring activities including 31 shops in the region to verify compliance with agency directives, including pre-assistance baselines and post-distribution monitoring, shop visits, household phone calls, and over 400 households per month for the Targeting Exercise.• Managed E-Card distributions; over one thousand people per distribution per month. • Collaborated with UNICEF on a distribution, training and validation of 12,000 card members over an intense two-week time period.• Submitted weekly, monthly, and quarterly reports on time to WFP on distribution, M&E, and targeting work.

Olympia, Washington & Portland, Oregon

• Researched and resolved non-routine residential and commercial issues, coordinated contracted services, prepared financial budgets for individual properties including future spending, assisted with bids solicitation, recommended final vendors• Managed all administrative functions and staff• Responsible for writing new leases for residential and commercial buildings• Sustained ongoing relationships with Washington legislators• Responsible for Raad Properties charitable donations• Reviewed and recommended new investment opportunities through presentation• Responsible for all property management and leasor to lessee relationship• Participated in contract negotiations for renewal of leases• Created financial reports

Portland, Oregon Area

Assistant Basketball Coach for the Portland Community College Women's Basketball team.

Portland, Oregon

• Served as Acting Education Director for my supervisor’s maternity cover.• Led the Mayor’s Future Connect Program with the goal of the program being to increase the high school graduation rate by 50 percent and double the number of youth going to and completing college or career training.• Provided administrative and technical support to the Multnomah Youth Commission (MYC); the official youth policy body for both Multnomah County and the City of Portland. • Assisted the Portland Mayor’s office, the Board of County Commissioners, and Portland City Council to implement the local “Our Bill of Rights: Children+ Youth.” • Sold over 5 million USD for Business Energy Tax Credits to ensure the continuation of the Youth Transit program that gave high school students in Portland free public transportation.• Organized and facilitated the first Youth Against Violence Summit for Multnomah County and the City of Portland with participation of City, County, and State decision makers.• Participated in multiple education advisory boards for local and state initiatives including the working groups Communities Supporting Youth and Eliminating Disparities in Children & Youth.• Wrote key messages for speeches in education and youth policy.

Beirut, Lebanon

• Participated in research, writing, organization and communication tasks to support the implementation of the regional ACIAC project, including in relation to events around the Arab Spring, and coordination with local and regional actors (including technical experts, Arab governments, CSOs, other UN agencies and international organizations).

Roosevelt High School, Portland, Or

• Coordinated a tutoring program designed to ensure that Senior students graduated and to assist all grade levels in achieving passing levels in their coursework• Worked with school counselors in advising students on their class schedules, aiming to secure satisfactory progress towards academic completion• Led tutor-groups that have upwards of forty students, establishing a productive and effective classroom environment• Supervised and managed student tutors (University of Portland work-study students)

Master'S Degree, Peace Studies And Conflict Resolution

Bachelor'S Degree, Social Sciences

Education record

International Business

International Business