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CURRICULUM VITAE
Deen Sharp BA (Hons), MSc Cell: 917 574 4533
Nationality: British
Summary of Professional Experience
Strong research, analytical and writing skills. Technical expertise in the thematic areas of humanitarian relief, elections and crisis governance. Substantial knowledge of UN system and international NGOs, as well as experience in the private sector. Extensive knowledge of the Middle East (in particular Libya, Egypt and the Levant). Fluent in conversational Arabic.
Professional Experience
November 2011 - UN Women, New York Lead Consultant
Responsibilities included:
Production of a strategic note on UN Women’s engagement with Arab women and how to support efforts by women in the region to increase political participation, leadership and citizenship.
Development of a logical framework, a regional funding mechanism and a situational analysis.
November 2011 Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Germany
Participant in the workshop on ‘Suicide and Agency’
Responsibilities included:
The co-authorship of an academic paper entitled: ‘Dying to live in Palestine: Reclaiming the social body space through pollution’. Presentation of the paper at an academic workshop at Martin Luther University, Germany by the MPI for social anthropology entitled: ‘Suicide and Agency’.
September 2011 - Geoeconomica, Switzerland
Associate
Responsibilities included:
The co-authorship of a research report on the Libyan Investment Authority. This research report discusses Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) in the Arab world and focuses on the case of the Libyan SWF and the post-revolutionary environment.
The creation of this research report included: original research, editing and analysis. This report also entailed that I keep up to date on the latest socio-political developments in Libya.
2010 - June 2011 Small Arms Survey, Switzerland
Coordinator for the the Small Arms Survey project: Lebanese Armed Violence Assessment (LAVA).
Responsibilities included:
The production of an Issue Brief (IB) on armed violence in Lebanon. This IB assess the magnitude and dynamics of armed violence in Lebanon to inform policy and programme responses based on bolstering human security. The creation of this IB included: overseeing the work of ACLED (Armed Conflict Location and Events Dataset) and their disaggregated conflict analysis and crisis mapping for Lebanon; budget management for a full project cycle, recruitment of local staff; expert interviews in Lebanon on armed violence; and the production of a report on armed violence in Lebanon.
Creation of a research report on armed violence in and around Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon and Palestinian-Lebanese armed violence in general.
Preparation of Issue Briefs for publication. This included editing previous issue briefs on security provision in southern Lebanon.
June-July 2011 Economist Intelligence Unit, New York
Consultant for the Economist Intelligence Unit project: Global Microscope on Microfinance.
Responsibilities included:
Evaluating and scoring Lebanon’s regulatory and business environment for microfinance.
Writing the Lebanon country profile for the global report: Global Microscope on Microfinance.
January 2011 UNHCR, Switzerland
Writer-editorial Consultant
Responsibilities included:
Reviewing and editing of papers on Sri Lankan refugees in India and Burmese refugees in Bangladesh for publication in the 'New Issues in Refugee Research' series.
2010 - Feb. 2011 UNDP/BCPR, Switzerland
Writer-editorial Consultant
Responsibilities included:
The completion of three policy level papers on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) reintegration: the Transitional Solutions Initiative; A Strategic Review of IDPs: A UNDP Position Paper; Ending Displacement in the Aftermath of Conflict: Preliminary Framework for Supporting a more coherent, predictable and effective response to reintegration of displaced population.
The work on these documents involved research, writing and analysis, as well as the synthesis and editing of existing material.
2009 - 2010 The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), Lebanon
Communications and Research Associate
Responsibilities included:
Monitoring, evaluation, communication and advocacy for IFES Lebanon projects, such as the youth democracy awareness program and the Lebanese Electoral Violence Risk Assessment.
Assistance in the creation of policy related briefing papers concerning the June 2009 general elections and May 2010 municipal elections.This included explainers on Lebanon's electoral system and election procedures.
Creation of a publications strategy for IFES knowledge products.
Briefing of journalists, diplomats and NGO workers on the role of IFES in the electoral reform of Lebanon. This included the creation of an independent election analysis blog (www.lebelections.blogspot.com). The blog involved the exploration of electoral assessment tools and indicators, explaining concepts such as proportional representation, discussing quota systems and other issues related to the Lebanese electoral system.
2009 - 2010 UN HABITAT, Lebanon
Writer-editorial Consultant
Production of a comprehensive guidance note for UN-HABITAT’s policy and programming work regarding the adjacent areas of Palestinian refugee camps. The report entitled “Grey Areas: Access to Basic Urban Services in the Adjacent Areas of Palestinian Refugee Camps in Lebanon” was jointly produced with UNDP. The report was used as a basis for launching a community level dialogue on service delivery between Lebanese and Palestinian authorities, with the aim of promoting social cohesion in areas prone to conflict due to restrained services and resources.
Responsibilities included:
Compiling the guidance note and recommendations. I was also responsible for providing substantive oversight to the research and writing process of the note, through close liaison with the UNHABITAT research team.
Assisting in the initial stages of new programming stemming from the recommendations.
Editing other writers work in the team in addition to ensuring the overall structure and content of the report.
Conducting the final edit of the report and supporting the publishing of it.
2009 International Labour Organisation (ILO), Lebanon
Lead Research and Communications Consultant
Preparation of the ILO led conference entitled the Arab Employment Forum. The conference was attended by the Ministers of Labour from the region, in addition to other relevant delegates.
Responsibilities included:
Assisting in the preparation for the Arab Employment Forum.
Creation of 22 country profiles on labour standards for the Arab region for the ‘Arab Employment Forum’. Task included primary research of papers and writing up final documents to be published.
Providing research material and copywriting for the main conference document: The Global Financial, Economic and Social Crisis and the Arab Countries.
2009 Albany Associates (UK), Duty station: Lebanon
Writer-editorial Consultant
The consultancy was commissioned by the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue
Committee (LPDC) part of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.The LPDC is
an inter-ministerial committee working on Palestinian refugee issues in Lebanon
and reports directly to the Prime Minister.
Responsibilities included:
Working in a team of four to research and write the first LPDC Comprehensive Report. This report was the first official document to outline the Government of Lebanon’s official policy towards the Palestinian refugees.
The full cycle of the draft report including research, writing, and editing.
Project management in terms of deadlines and production of the draft report.
2008 - Freelance Journalist
Print and internet outlets included:
The Guardian, Electronic Intifada, Foreign Policy Centre, Middle East Monitor, IRIN (the UN’s Humanitarian news service), Executive Magazine, Vertu and Bespoke.
Articles included:
Real estate and the built environment; electoral reform in Lebanon; human rights and protection; business and economics; society and culture; art and architecture.
2007-2008 Executive Magazine, Lebanon
Editor, Journalist and Copy Editor
Responsibilities included:
Writing the book review section on a monthly basis.
Writing business articles, special reports and Q&As.
Copy editing magazine for print.
Editor of Sudanese edition of Executive Magazine, which included management of freelance team for the edition.
2005 – 2006 Sadiq Khan MP, current Shadow Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, Labour Party, UK
Political research assistant
Responsibilities included:
Responding to constituents requests.
Communication on research related issues with other governmental departments and members of the constituency.
Campaigning on local constituency issues.
Creation and maintenance of relevant contact lists.
Qualifications
2005-2006 MSc (Merit), International Politics at SOAS, University of London
(Thesis topic: A Comparative Analysis of the Rushdie Affair and the Danish Cartoons)
2002-2005 BA Hons (2:1), Human Geography at Queen Mary, University of London
(Thesis topic: Perceptions of street children in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania).
Language Qualifications
English Native
Arabic Fluent spoken Egyptian and Levantine
Upper intermediate reading and writing
Attended for one year the Arabic Language Institute, American University of Cairo
Significant Publications
Geoeconomica (2011), The Libyan Investment Authority, co-authored with Sven Behrendt. Small Arms Survey, The Human Cost: Armed Violence in Lebanon, 2008-2010. Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology (forthcoming), Reclaiming the social body and space through self-directed violence, co-authored with Natalia Linos. UNDP (2011), A Strategic Review of IDPs: A UNDP Position Paper. LPDC (2010), Lebanon and Palestinian Refugees: Policy Foundations and Milestones, 2005-2009.
Awards and Achievements
2005-2006 Founder and President of United Nations Youth and Student
Association, SOAS
2005 Queen Mary inter-college debating competition award.
2005 Undergraduate dissertation prize nominee for Developing Areas
Research Group (DARG) of the Royal Geographical Society (with the
Institute of British Geographers) for Perceptions of street children in
Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.
Professional References
Richard Chambers Nadim Shehadi Awa Dabo
Chief of Party Associate Fellow Team leader - Africa
IFES Lebanon Chatham House UNDP/BCPR
chambers.rm@gmail.com nadim.shehadi@gmail.com awa.dabo@undp.org |
