Grants and Business Development Leader for Humanitarian Response
I raise the money that keeps aid moving, and I make sure it is spent the way donors and communities were promised.
For 14+ years I have worked where needs are greatest and plans change fastest. As Senior Grants Manager with the International Rescue Committee in Juba, I secured USD 33M through 20 proposals for programmes across South Sudan. Before that, in Cox’s Bazar during the Rohingya response, another USD 12M followed. In all, that is USD 50M+ from donors including USAID/BHA, ECHO, FCDO, Sida, the World Bank, GFFO, SDC, BPRM, UNICEF, UNFPA and IOM.
I trained as an anthropologist at the University of Rajshahi, and it still shapes how I work. Before a budget line, I want to know whose water point it is, who walks to it, and what the community calls it. That habit makes proposals stronger, partners more trusting, and reports easier for a donor to believe.
What I bring
- Proposals that win. From concept note to signed agreement, with programme, MEAL, finance and supply chain colleagues at the table from day one, not at the deadline.
- Compliance that holds. Donor rules turned into clear, practical checklists. At IRC I reviewed compliance documents for 115 local partner organisations across health, protection and economic recovery.
- Partnerships built on trust. Local organisations treated as partners, not subcontractors, because the people closest to a crisis usually understand it best.
- Calm leadership. Grants teams kept steady through funding shifts, insecurity and the long days that humanitarian work asks of everyone.
Beyond the desk
I am a Bengali poet and essayist; this site holds more than 300 of my poems, essays and translations. I contributed to an HPG/ODI working paper on the Rohingya refugee response, I am a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, and I advise two Bangladeshi organisations, Amra Bondhu and CEDIO, on business development.
I am now open to Head of Grants and Business Development roles in Bangladesh, English-speaking East Africa, or remotely. If your organisation needs funding that lasts and partnerships that hold, let’s talk.
- Critical Thinking
- Program Strategy, Leadership and Networking
- Budgeting, Contract Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
- Adaptability and Stress Management
- Knowledge and Data Management
- Communication Skills
- Learning & Documentation
- Public Speaking Proficiency.
- Proficient in SPSS, KOBO, Spreadsheet
- Website Management, WordPress & HTML.
- Experienced in working with Water Management issues.
- Experienced in working with Post Disaster Rehabilitation (Alia, Hoar Flood).
- Experienced in working with Health issues.
- Experienced in working with Youth Networking.
- Experienced in facilitating training and workshop as a master trainer of different network and platform.
- Collaborative working experience with EU, MISERIOR, SIDA, DIAKONIA, BOTH ENDS, BRAC, EPLC, PRISMA European Network, PANAP, University of Helsinki, Finland, SAFE, Help Age International, Global Green Fund, GIZ.
Masters of Social Sciences | Anthropology | University of Rajshahi | 2011 | First Class.
-Won a research fellowship from BARCIK for Academic Dissertation.
Bachelor of Social Sciences | Anthropology | University of Rajshahi | 2010 | First Class.
-Awarded Hall Gold Medal for Academic Result
Partnership Management Guidelines and Procedures for CSO Partners | UNICEF | 2021
PSEA Reporting Mechanisms | UNICEF | 2021
Conflict Transformation | NETZ Bangladesh | Savar, Dhaka | 2019
Develop Mobile Data Collection KOBO Toolbox | RRC Bangladesh | Dhaka | 2019
- The marginalization of uncultivated plants in terms of market system and culture practices, published in Trinomul Uddog, BARCIK, January 2018. ISSN 2219-7729.
- Social and cultural impact and reactions of the natural resource’s dependent population of development program on a natural water body, published in Trinomul Uddog, BARCIK, January 2018. ISSN 2219-7729.
- Impacts of development projects on declining fresh water resources in coastal areas of Bangladesh. Published in Peoples’ Preface, Vol. 02, Issue 02, October 2018. ISSN 2520-7679
- Corporate Responsibility and Accountability towards Pesticides, sharing at International National conference by PANAP & CEDAC at Phnom Penh, Cambodia.”
- Introduction of Coastal Embankment & TRM Project and its impact on availability of drinking water in South Western Coastal Region– Organized by Dept. Anthropology Rajshahi University, 2011.
- Connection, Cooperation and Commitment – organized by BARCIK (Bangladesh Resources Center for Indigenous knowledge) in collaboration with Anthropology Alumni Association of Dhaka University, 2011.
