I am a development worker with project delivery and research experience in both Africa and Asia. I developed and led policy strategy for the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID). I am a fluent mandarin speaker, winning recognition as a Cambridge University Scholar for academic excellence in Chinese studies.
KEY SKILLS
· An experienced project manager with skills in delivering field level projects in developing countries
· Skilled in leading multinational teams
· Strong analytical skills and able to deliver donor level policy research
· Published researcher and writer on international development issues
· Fluent mandarin speaker
EDUCATION
London School of Economics and Political Science, Gender, Development and Globalisation MSc
London, UK; September 15 -
· I am reading my MSc at LSE's award winning Gender Institute.
· I am studying international development policy and practice with a focus on gender.
German Graduate School of Business and Law, MBA module
Heilbron, Germany; July 13
· In this intensive MBA module, I studied Germany's small and medium sized enterprises, Mittelstand, and what lessons other countries can learn from this social and economic success story.
Cambridge University, Churchill College, Chinese Studies BA
Cambridge, UK; October 07 – July 12
· Awarded title of Churchill College Scholar for coming top of the class in my first year of Cambridge University, gaining an overall first, and star first in speaking.
· I graduated with a dissertation topic on the experiences of Chinese economic migrant families in Glasgow, UK. The dissertation explored the challenges faced by this sizable yet overlooked community in the UK and made suggestions for how outreach projects could meet their needs.
China Ocean University & Taiwan Normal University, Chinese Studies
Qingdao, China & Taipei, Taiwan; September 09 – July 10 & June 08-August 08
· Part of my Cambridge degree involved a one year period and a 3 month period studying in Greater China.
· In China I studied contemporary social and economic issues through literature and newspaper analysis as well as living in local communities
· While in China I researched China's sex industry and visited Beijing brothels with an outreach worker. I went on to present my research findings to DFID.
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
Volunteer Services Overseas (VSO), International Citizen Service Entrepreneur Team Leader
Chittagong Hill Tracts and Rangpur, Bangladesh; October 14 – May 15
· I led the field-level delivery of a women and youth-focused livelihoods project in two of the most underdeveloped regions of Bangladesh.
· I managed a multinational team of Bangladeshi, indigenous Chakma, and UK volunteers and mentored team members on personal and professional development.
· I identified a need to improve VSO’s personnel selection and recruitment processes and I subsequently produced a Recruiting and Selection Handbook as a step-by-step guide. As a result, VSO were able to significantly improve the quality of team personnel.
· I compiled a comprehensive Team Leader Handbook, streamlining key information from over 400 documents into one easy-to-use guide after identifying lack of clear guidance for Team Leaders.
· I presented as a VSO Fellow at an academic conference hosted by the University of London in May 2015 on the role peer support can play in female empowerment in development programmes.
Department for International Development (DFID), Water Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) Policy Officer and Disability Lead
East Kilbride, Scotland, September 13 – August 14
I delivered three substantial policy research and analysis products for DFID. With these, I supported my team in managing and honing its substantial WASH portfolio worth over a quarter of a billion pounds.
1. I created an innovative WASH disability strategy which broke ground in allowing DFID to make disability commitments for the first time across the whole of its quarter of a billion pound large portfolio.
2. I evaluated DFID's working relationship with UNICEF and gave recommendations for improving the relationship in joint-projects.
3. I analysed down DFID's WASH sector footprint by spend, reach and impact, involving quantitative analysis of DFID's financial systems and programme documentation. I created a tool for measuring DFID’s “hidden WASH” spend, which gave DFID the unprecedented ability to track an extra half a million beneficiaries.
· As DFID’s WASH Disability Spokesperson, I engaged collaterally with development partners, including delivery partners and high level members of government such as Malawi's Permanent Secretary for Disability, to promote DFID policy.
· During my research I engaged with some of DFID’s most socio-economically deprived beneficiaries in Malawi and was able to put together concrete actions for better delivery of DFID programmes.
Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) Intern
London, UK, June 13 – September 13
· I compiled and edited the Humanitas programme’s publication. The publication reported on Oxbridge Visiting Professors’ groundbreaking arguments on the most pressing issues facing the world today, from women empowerment to environmental protection. Using this publication I targeted Oxbridge professors and donors worth millions of pounds. It was the most ambitious Humanitas publication to date; I produced a quality work within a tight deadline.
Doctor’s Against Forced Organ Harvesting Volunteer Communications Lead
Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, Scotland, April 13
· I led the communications and outreach strategy for a Scottish Parliament forum on behalf of Nobel Peace Prize nominees David Matas and David Kilgour.
· I managed the tasks, work load and progress of Communication Team members.
· I wrote the press release for the forum which went out to national press.
Contrisk & Lancaster University Research Assistant
Glasgow and London, UK, April 13 – June 13
· I researched and co-authored an academic paper on the role qualitative mechanisms can play in managing risk
· I co-presented the findings at a British Accounting Association conference. The paper was enthusiastically received by sector experts who welcomed how I introduced the concept of quality into risk analysis.
Glasgow University Chinese Teacher
Glasgow, Scotland, December 12 – March 13
· I designed and delivered a Chinese course to Chinese Studies post-graduate students.
· Many of the students were international and English was not their first language. I developed innovative and constructive ways to communicate challenging concepts.
· I was a mentor, confidante and supporter to post-graduate students. I was instrumental in improving the grades of struggling students and under my tutelage all students graduated with a first class grade in my course.
LANGUAGES
· Mandarin Chinese: fluent speaking, reading, and writing.
· French: A-level standard speaking, reading and writing
· Bengali: basic spoken
INTERESTS
· I am development blogger. As well as running my own blog, I am also a permanent contributor to the Development in Action website, a leading UK platform for young development workers.
KEY SKILLS
· An experienced project manager with skills in delivering field level projects in developing countries
· Skilled in leading multinational teams
· Strong analytical skills and able to deliver donor level policy research
· Published researcher and writer on international development issues
· Fluent mandarin speaker
EDUCATION
London School of Economics and Political Science, Gender, Development and Globalisation MSc
London, UK; September 15 -
· I am reading my MSc at LSE's award winning Gender Institute.
· I am studying international development policy and practice with a focus on gender.
German Graduate School of Business and Law, MBA module
Heilbron, Germany; July 13
· In this intensive MBA module, I studied Germany's small and medium sized enterprises, Mittelstand, and what lessons other countries can learn from this social and economic success story.
Cambridge University, Churchill College, Chinese Studies BA
Cambridge, UK; October 07 – July 12
· Awarded title of Churchill College Scholar for coming top of the class in my first year of Cambridge University, gaining an overall first, and star first in speaking.
· I graduated with a dissertation topic on the experiences of Chinese economic migrant families in Glasgow, UK. The dissertation explored the challenges faced by this sizable yet overlooked community in the UK and made suggestions for how outreach projects could meet their needs.
China Ocean University & Taiwan Normal University, Chinese Studies
Qingdao, China & Taipei, Taiwan; September 09 – July 10 & June 08-August 08
· Part of my Cambridge degree involved a one year period and a 3 month period studying in Greater China.
· In China I studied contemporary social and economic issues through literature and newspaper analysis as well as living in local communities
· While in China I researched China's sex industry and visited Beijing brothels with an outreach worker. I went on to present my research findings to DFID.
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
Volunteer Services Overseas (VSO), International Citizen Service Entrepreneur Team Leader
Chittagong Hill Tracts and Rangpur, Bangladesh; October 14 – May 15
· I led the field-level delivery of a women and youth-focused livelihoods project in two of the most underdeveloped regions of Bangladesh.
· I managed a multinational team of Bangladeshi, indigenous Chakma, and UK volunteers and mentored team members on personal and professional development.
· I identified a need to improve VSO’s personnel selection and recruitment processes and I subsequently produced a Recruiting and Selection Handbook as a step-by-step guide. As a result, VSO were able to significantly improve the quality of team personnel.
· I compiled a comprehensive Team Leader Handbook, streamlining key information from over 400 documents into one easy-to-use guide after identifying lack of clear guidance for Team Leaders.
· I presented as a VSO Fellow at an academic conference hosted by the University of London in May 2015 on the role peer support can play in female empowerment in development programmes.
Department for International Development (DFID), Water Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) Policy Officer and Disability Lead
East Kilbride, Scotland, September 13 – August 14
I delivered three substantial policy research and analysis products for DFID. With these, I supported my team in managing and honing its substantial WASH portfolio worth over a quarter of a billion pounds.
1. I created an innovative WASH disability strategy which broke ground in allowing DFID to make disability commitments for the first time across the whole of its quarter of a billion pound large portfolio.
2. I evaluated DFID's working relationship with UNICEF and gave recommendations for improving the relationship in joint-projects.
3. I analysed down DFID's WASH sector footprint by spend, reach and impact, involving quantitative analysis of DFID's financial systems and programme documentation. I created a tool for measuring DFID’s “hidden WASH” spend, which gave DFID the unprecedented ability to track an extra half a million beneficiaries.
· As DFID’s WASH Disability Spokesperson, I engaged collaterally with development partners, including delivery partners and high level members of government such as Malawi's Permanent Secretary for Disability, to promote DFID policy.
· During my research I engaged with some of DFID’s most socio-economically deprived beneficiaries in Malawi and was able to put together concrete actions for better delivery of DFID programmes.
Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) Intern
London, UK, June 13 – September 13
· I compiled and edited the Humanitas programme’s publication. The publication reported on Oxbridge Visiting Professors’ groundbreaking arguments on the most pressing issues facing the world today, from women empowerment to environmental protection. Using this publication I targeted Oxbridge professors and donors worth millions of pounds. It was the most ambitious Humanitas publication to date; I produced a quality work within a tight deadline.
Doctor’s Against Forced Organ Harvesting Volunteer Communications Lead
Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, Scotland, April 13
· I led the communications and outreach strategy for a Scottish Parliament forum on behalf of Nobel Peace Prize nominees David Matas and David Kilgour.
· I managed the tasks, work load and progress of Communication Team members.
· I wrote the press release for the forum which went out to national press.
Contrisk & Lancaster University Research Assistant
Glasgow and London, UK, April 13 – June 13
· I researched and co-authored an academic paper on the role qualitative mechanisms can play in managing risk
· I co-presented the findings at a British Accounting Association conference. The paper was enthusiastically received by sector experts who welcomed how I introduced the concept of quality into risk analysis.
Glasgow University Chinese Teacher
Glasgow, Scotland, December 12 – March 13
· I designed and delivered a Chinese course to Chinese Studies post-graduate students.
· Many of the students were international and English was not their first language. I developed innovative and constructive ways to communicate challenging concepts.
· I was a mentor, confidante and supporter to post-graduate students. I was instrumental in improving the grades of struggling students and under my tutelage all students graduated with a first class grade in my course.
LANGUAGES
· Mandarin Chinese: fluent speaking, reading, and writing.
· French: A-level standard speaking, reading and writing
· Bengali: basic spoken
INTERESTS
· I am development blogger. As well as running my own blog, I am also a permanent contributor to the Development in Action website, a leading UK platform for young development workers.