I have extensive experience as a senior Program Manager, directing emergency and development programs for INGOs and governmental organizations.
My area of expertise is in access to justice initiatives, such as defending human rights and strengthening the rule of law.
I am an engaged and flexible professional, and I am currently seeking challenging opportunities in in the MENA region. |
 Contact Federica Riccardi
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Area of Expertise: |
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Fundraising, Business Development, Grants Writer
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Government/Governance, Reforms, Corruption
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Human Rights, Law, Migration, Conflicts, Justice
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Monitoring, Evaluation, Policy, Research, Analysis
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Social, Education, Gender, Youth, Child
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Professional Experience: |
With over ten years of professional experience in emergency and development interventions, my work has primarily been focused on the MENA region.
As a Programme Manager, I have worked on human rights, protection, and legal projects with international and governmental organizations such as Terre des Hommes (TDH), Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF), and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
My expertise lies in access to justice initiatives, defending human rights, developing informal justice mechanisms, and strengthening the rule of law. I have also worked on protection responses for vulnerable populations, such as children, women victims of GBV, refugees, and IDPs in humanitarian settings.
I have played a significant role in people-centred initiatives that guarantee access to justice for all and support the rule of law.
For example, I have designed and supervised juvenile justice reform programs in Mauritania and OPt. I organized an evidence-based mechanism to analyze the justice system's performance and inform the transitional justice process in Tunisia.
I have supervised interventions to strengthen informal justice mechanisms and promote mediation and alternative dispute resolution in Tunisia and DRC.
I have worked to identify legal remedies and developed innovative strategies to improve access to justice for populations affected by natural resource exploitation in DRC and Tunisia.
Additionally, I supported capacity-building plans for civil society organizations to monitor human rights violations in Tunisia, oPt, and DRC.
I have directed interventions to protect women survivors of GBV and victims of mass crimes in DRC. I have also worked to protect women's ESC rights in Tunisia, Mauritania, and DRC.
As a Senior Program Manager of INGOs, I possess documented knowledge and skills in applying the human rights-based approach to context analysis and program strategic planning. This includes identifying integrated approaches to responding to beneficiaries' needs and rights and strengthening community participation and coping mechanisms.
I have strong experience developing strategic plans and needs assessments. I produced numerous project proposals and identified and monitored MEAL systems in conflict and fragile contexts.
I have identified partnership strategies with numerous national CSOs and NGOs. Strengthening local organizations and contributing to that power shift in their favour has always been at the core of my work.
As Director for INGOs, I have always had the overall technical and financial responsibility of country offices, including financial management, budget preparation, and supervision. I have consistently been successful in fundraising and strategic engagement with donors, obtaining and managing grants from major governmental, multilateral, and private donors. I also acted as a government representative for SDC and deeply understood donors' strategies, procedures, and requirements.
Leading teams, the duty of care, and the transfer of knowledge have always been important to me, as I have managed multicultural and multi-skilled teams of different sizes consisting of 2 to 64 colleagues. I strengthened my staff capacities in various subjects, such as protection principles, M&E, TOC, and PSEA, and I have always involved them in planification, monitoring, and evaluation exercises.
I am currently providing M&E training to staff and members of CSOs from several African countries who work on democracy and youth political participation as a consultant for Elbarlament.
I have demonstrated an ability to create dynamic partnerships by fostering dialogue and collaboration with multiple stakeholders, even in challenging political and social circumstances. Overall, I am very determined and calm, and I can work both at the grassroots and institutional levels.
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Education: |
I hold a PhD in Cultural Anthropology from the University 'L'Orientale' in Italy (2003) and an LLM in International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law from the University of Essex in the UK (2018). My studies have been oriented to prepare me for the complex contexts in which I am professionally engaged.
My academic background has been instrumental in my ability to lead and contribute to complex research, need assessments, and result-based advocacy initiatives.
For instance, I built a research team comprising the World Health Organization, the Palestinian Ministry of Health, and the University of Novara to conduct a cohort study published in 2021. The study demonstrated the impact of movement restrictions imposed by the Israeli government on the right to life and health of patients from the Gaza Strip.
In 2021, while in the DRC, I organized an evidence-based advocacy campaign to ensure the effective execution of court-ordered civil reparations for victims of international crimes. The campaign targeted reforming the administrative procedures and including non-financial forms of reparations in the legislation, in line with transitional justice principles.
Between 2012 and 2014, I collaborated with civil society organizations to create and implement The Observation Network of Tunisian Justice in Transition (ROJ). The ROJ was a national mechanism that monitored the implementation of criminal law by courts and judicial actors in Tunisia, with reference to the applicable international standards on the right to a fair trial.
In 2012, I directed an assessment on child labour in collaboration with the ILO, which identified a new threat in the child protection system in the Gaza Strip. Based on our findings, UNICEF began to include the category of children victims of the worst forms of child labour in its reporting and analysis of the situation in the oPt.
I have always balanced work periods with breaks to focus on my studies. To this end, I am currently enrolled in intensive colloquial and modern standard Arabic courses at the Birzeit University in the OPT.
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Available for: |
- Consulting assignments
- Job opportunities
- Being headhunted – make me an offer
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