Julie R. Dargis
Author, Poet, and Senior Global Management & Learning Advisor
Currently Based in Encinitas, California
KEY QUALIFICATIONS:
A highly qualified professional with over 20 years of professional experience in senior-level management and advisor positions in fast-paced and post-conflict environments worldwide. Currently supporting CORE Group’s Global COVID-19 Response. As UNICEF Emergency Specialist is Ethiopia, supported an eight million USD portfolio of emergency programs. Served as Director of the Capacity Development and Learning for Development and Training Service, Inc., managing a diverse international team responsible for monitoring and evaluation programs, strategic planning, and partnership development in the global health and humanitarian space. Team lead forbusiness development activities, culminating in a 17 million USAID multi-year, multi-country training contract to build the practice.
Served as Director of International Programs for the American Refugee Committee, including direct supervision of Country Directors for eight country programs responsible for monitoring, evaluation and program quality. Served as Country Director for the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in five countries. Responsible for the management of a $20 million multi-year program that included civil society development and grants programs associated to rule of law, gender-based violence, and primary health care and active member of the NGO Forum Steering Committees in multiple countries and NGO delegate on the Oversight Committee of the World Bank Multi-Donor Trust Fund in South Sudan.
Held Country Director and/or Team Lead posts in Afghanistan, Bulgaria, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Indonesia (Aceh), Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Serbia and South Sudan with responsibility for the overall management, operations, and program quality of complex community-based capacity building, training, and reconstruction programs. Conducted field work in assessment, program management, monitoring and evaluation in Costa Rica, Georgia, Haiti, Jordan, Liberia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda. Conversant in donor requirements for USAID, BPRM, World Bank, DFID, UNICEF, UNHCR and the European Union.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
September 2020 – present: Adjunct Faculty, California Institute for Human Science, Encinitas, CA.
Instructor, Academic Writing for the Human Sciences.
April 2020 – present: Senior Advisor (Part-time Consultant), Global COVID-19 Response, CORE Group, Washington, DC.
Provide support to the membership and global partners of CORE Group, consisting of over 185 international health organizations, researchers and donors working to address the COVID-19 response with a focus on women, children and communities worldwide. Develop a Bi-Weekly Webinar Series to address emerging issues and identify creative solutions to aid partners in accessing reliable information and emergency response approaches to quickly adapt to the pandemic. Lead writer and researcher, conducting assessments to advance COVID-19 activities within the COVID-19 Digital Classroom Consortium for which CORE Group is a member. Support CORE Group initiatives to provide information and training to members and global partners on COVID-19 mitigation measures, including needs and commodities matching on a Virtual Marketplace platform and through Virtual Online Summits.
September 2019 – February 2020: California Institute for Human Science, Encinitas, CA, Completion of Doctoral Program in Integral Health.
Completion of dissertation sequence for PhD program in Integral Health at the California Institute for Human Science. Oral Defense passed February 25, 2020.
September 2018 – June 2019: Emergency Specialist (Full-time Consultant), UNICEF Ethiopia, Somali Region Field Office.
Overall planning, management and monitoring support for Somali Region Emergency Programs for drought and conflict affected IDPs with an annual budget of 8 million USD, including capacity building and mentoring of emergency team, sector focal points, and implementing partners. Contextual analysis and integrated information management activities and operations. Inter-agency coordination, supporting UN cluster coordination mechanisms, especially UNICEF-funded WASH, Health, Education and Child Protection clusters. Lead Writer for workshops in five (5) regions to support the five-year Country Program Document (CPD) process. Convene joint monitoring field missions and incorporate multi-sectoral monitoring approaches and tools in field missions. Represent UNICEF on VVIP missions, including support for the Chancellor of Austria, Swiss Cooperation, and High-Level EU Humanitarian Delegations.
May 2015 – August 2018: Senior Management & Organizational Learning Advisor.
Capacity Building, Learning, Writing, Editing, Monitoring & Evaluation support for knowledge management, organizational learning, education (formal and non-formal) and humanitarian response programs. Clients include: California Institute for Human Science, Development and Training Services, Management and Training Services, Invisible Children.
April 2013 – May 2015, Practice Director, Capacity Development and Learning, Development and Training Services, Inc., Arlington, VA.
Strategic leadership and overall management of capacity building, community grants, monitoring and evaluation programs. Direct oversight for a USG-funded multi-country evaluation program for global health services. Served as the project director for a US State Department evaluation of local integration of refugees as well as an evaluation program in Yemen, requiring remote management due to security situation in-country.Created and maintained partnerships, both nationally and at the field level to further build capacity and learning throughout the organization. Provided regular and ongoing mentoring and coaching to field and headquarters support staff. Secured multiple contracts ranging from $500,000 - $17 million.
November 2009 – February 2012, American Refugee Committee (ARC), Minneapolis, MN.
Director, International Programs, Minneapolis, MN. Overall management and supervision of eight country programs including direct supervision of country directors based in the field and a team of program management support staff based at headquarters in Minneapolis. Orientation, training and technical assistance to senior management teams in program design, partnership and grants management. Representation with regional and international donors, partners, and networks on issues related to refugee assistance and humanitarian response. Secured grant funding from multiple donors ranging from $200,000 - $3 million.
Senior Advisor, Field Support, Somalia, Liberia, Pakistan, Sudan and South Sudan. Assignments included: Interim Country Director in Liberia; New Country Entry Assessment Team Member in Somalia; Team Leader for USAID Request for Applications response for Liberia; Strategic Planning and Management Support to the Senior Management Teams in Sudan, Liberia, and Pakistan.
November 2008 – July 2009, International Rescue Committee (IRC).
Country Director: Juba, South Sudan: Managed a $20 million multi-year program to address the transitional needs outlined in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in support of the Government of South Sudan. Civil society development and grants management, primary health care sectors. Sub-grants for community-based organizations and capacity building support to state and local government partners. Member of NGO Forum Steering Committee and NGO delegate on the Oversight Committee of the Multi-donor Trust Fund.
Operations Advisor: N’Zerekore, Guinea. Developed a detailed work plan including asset inventory and disposition plan in addition to a closeout staffing strategy. Developed a financing strategy to achieve closure based on the current operating budget and country program funding realities. Analyzed and provided recommendations and contingency planning scenarios for an ongoing strategy for IRC to maintain the capacity to respond to any future humanitarian crisis.
February – September, 2008, Interim Training Director, World Learning: Kabul, Afghanistan.
Team lead for the Scholarships and Training Unit of the USAID-funded five-year $218.6 million Capacity Development Program to strengthen ministries, government agencies, NGOs and the private sector. Conducted training survey of 70 USAID implementing partners.
2003 - 2007, Country Director, International Rescue Committee: Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Cote d’Ivoire, and Chad.
Managed overall country operations for large, complex community-based humanitarian response and reconstruction programs. Responsible for integration of multi-sector programs to address the needs of children, refugees and the local populations. Portfolios included community-based restructuring, reproductive health, education, camp management, water and sanitation, gender and rights-based activities.
1998 – 2002 Country Director/Regional Office Manager, World Learning: Georgia, Bulgaria, and Serbia.
Responsible for the start-up of the USAID Strategic Technical Assistance for Results with Training/START Training Programs in Georgia and Serbia. Managed TRANSIT training programs in Georgia, Bulgaria and Serbia. Developed and implemented regional policies and procedures for small grants. Established and maintained relationships with USAID, US Embassy personnel, technical assistance contractors, and local NGO partners. Developed training plan to address privatization and capacity building needs of USAID partners.
EDUCATION:
- Ph.D. Integral Health, California Institute for Human Science
- Master of Arts, Education and Human Development, George Washington University
- Bachelor of Science, Communications/Public Relations, St. Cloud State University
LANGUAGES: English (native), French (professional proficiency), Arabic (basic)
Contact Julie
julie.dargis@gmail.com
