The George Washington University School of Business

Skidmore College

Lead, Project Management at Population Services International

• Senior Management Team (SMT) member responsible for management of core deliverables on the $163,000,000 USAID-funded PMI Impact Malaria (IM) contract; 
• Directed project finances including supervising a team of 4 finance professionals, overseeing preparation of financial deliverables, and ensuring integrity of project's financial processes;
• Lead project’s emergency response efforts around COVID-19 including the rapid operationalizing and mobilization of resources in 3 countries and across 3 organizations. Projects were operational within 1 month and I oversee a team responsible for their implementation; 
• Organized and directed a 5-day virtual conference for 175+ participants connecting from 18 different countries and 5 organizations. The conference included parallel tracked presentations and was simultaneously translated in English and French; 
• Lead project procurement efforts including RFP/RFQ design, vendor selection and negotiation, and contracting. Procurements have resulted in a number of high complexity and high value ($450k+) contracts being awarded;
• Manage relationships with client and 3 project subcontractors through participation in routine calls to ensure necessary collaboration and project governance;
• Conducted routine oral presentations and executive level briefings on project strategy and the health of project finances including the defense of the project’s annual operating budget;
• Designed tools to monitor, track, and report on project obligations, staff level of effort, and subcontractor spending;
• Responsible for oversight and management of project's annual Core workplan including development of the workplan, preparation of the budget, and monitoring of activity progress;
• Responsible for the project's Annual Project Report including coordination with country teams, overseeing content creation, and packaging for final submission.

Population Services International

Lead, Project Management

- Manage financial and operational aspects of 6 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Gavi Alliance funded projects operating in 12 countries, ensuring that the financial systems and internal controls are in place and in line with JSI policy and client standards
- Led project start-ups in 4 countries and closeout activities in 3 countries in coordination with project teams to ensure the rapid mobilization and demobilization of resources 
- Initiate and direct process improvement initiatives across portfolio of projects including the standardization of templates and creation of tools such as a responsibility assignment matrix. This has led to improved efficiencies and greater transparency in decision making
- Perform new business development through the costing of proposal budgets for various donors in coordination with domestic and internationally-based program teams 
- Create client invoices and develop project annual financial reports in collaboration with program staff for submission to donors
- Provide direction, training, and mentorship to 4 direct supervisees through regular meetings designed to assess operational challenges, determine workloads, and provide ongoing performance feedback
- Monitor and assess projects for financial and reputational risk including performing routine country-level audits to review project health and identify the potential for risk mitigation as required
- Manage project budgets through routine updates and the creation of project management dashboards to assist with analysis thereby providing teams with the information to make timely and informed decisions

Finance and Operations Manager

- Led in-country project start-up to ensure rapid mobilization of the $6,900,000 USAID funded SPRING/Senegal program. Efforts included obtaining company registration, the establishment of corporate bank accounts, recruitment of F&A staff, and the establishment of financial and operational systems. As a result, the project was fully operational within one quarter after my arrival

- Lead and direct team of 13 local finance and administrative staff including supervision and mentorship of 4 direct reports. The team is responsible for implementation of project financial and operational systems

- Manage day-to-day operations of the program as part of the senior management team in the areas of financial management, procurement, contracts, human resources, and administration such as inventory and logistics. Responsibilities include multi-site operational oversight of 5 field offices at the regional and departmental levels 

- Review, negotiate, and approve all field office contracts (including service agreements, office leases, vendor contracts, and subawards), ensuring value for the project and compliance with regulations

- Oversee implementation of company HR policies including drafting of local-hire and consultant contracts, salary negotiations, and annual performance review process. Additionally, I work to ensure that the Local Hire Employee Manual is updated annually to comply with both Senegalese labor law and USAID policies

- Lead annual and semi-annual budgeting exercise in collaboration with the Chief of Party and technical team leaders to ensure program activities are budgeted in accordance with the approved workplan

- Oversee field office accounting and payments systems including the review and approval of all field office voucher transactions, ensuring adherence to JSI and donor policies 

- Strategically planned and oversaw high-value, restricted commodities procurements of items including vehicles and agricultural commodities

Senior Operations Manager

- Manage finances and operations of JSI led countries in Ghana, Uganda, and Haiti on the $200,000,000 USAID funded SPRING project. I specifically oversaw the management of country budgets ranging from $1,000,000 to $10,000,000.

- Collaborate with country teams to ensure smooth daily operations of field offices. Provide operational assistance and capacity building support through field visits as needed.

- Designed and implemented human resource tracking system to ensure field office compliance within corporate and donor rules and regulations. 

- Lead creation of annual project budgets and subaward proposal budgets associated with JSI lead countries. This process involves close collaboration with technical staff to ensure alignment of the workplan and budget and that all technical aspects of the project are being accounted for financially.

- Support field office procurement and contracting through reviews of Requests for Proposals (RFQs) and Requests for Quotations (RFQs) and generation of purchase orders for items being procured internationally to ensure compliance with USAID regulations.

- Ensure proper management of monthly field office finances through the monitoring of burn rates and expenditures in addition to processing monthly cashflow requests after analyzing against the budget.

- Directed comprehensive review and revisions to project local hire employee and operations manuals to ensure compliance with JSI policy.

- Conducted independent field operational reviews of SPRING/JSI country programs to improve efficiencies, strengthen procedures, and identify program weaknesses. For each trip, I have produced detailed reports outlining program strengths, risk mitigation strategies, and process improvement recommendations.

Finance and Operations Officer

- Managed $29,000,000 in USAID funding on the TB CARE I and TB IQC projects, which are USAID’s main mechanisms for combatting tuberculosis around the globe, across 13 countries in Africa and Asia

- Facilitated, prioritized, and communicated functional and technical requirements of IT projects to field teams; specifically focusing on the web based e-TB Manager system that integrated data from all aspects of national TB control programs in Nigeria and Cambodia

- Directed the technical and administrative closeout of 7 country projects. This involved coordinating efforts of the Operations Support Team (OST), field teams, and partner organizations to ensure technical deliverables are met and that the budget is adhered to

- Created yearly project budgets and modified work plans on an as-need basis during the course of the project year based on activity revisions and/or realignment

- Organized and directed an online knowledge exchange seminar series focused on tuberculosis. Nearly 90 specialists from 19 countries and 4 continents participated in the 3-day event 

- Identified implementation issues and trends so they are addressed in a way that maximizes program impact. These analyses have resulted in the development of standard operating procedures and synergies throughout the portfolio

- Planned and facilitated coordination meetings and communications with country teams emphasizing the need for focused and timely management support

- Coordinated and executed procurement of equipment and services for project support teams, while ensuring that the integrity of the procurement process is upheld and within regulation

- Oversaw the hiring, vetting, and onboarding of international consultants based on project needs and in accordance with USAID regulations

Management Sciences for Health

Project Officer

- Developed an international distribution system for a Togolese agricultural organization and expanded sales of their natural insecticide into three new countries with an increase in annual revenue of 60%.

- Facilitated budget creation and implementation for four savings and loans institutions over a two-year period while averaging a 45% return on capital. 

- Worked with the president of the organization to cross cultural boundaries and combine western business conventions with local and regional norms for sustainable short and long-term growth.

- Partnered with local and regional business professionals to draft contracts under Togolese jurisdiction.

- Coordinated and developed multiple regional programming events on income generation and best practices for various non-governmental organizations and development workers.

- Designed and oversaw eight regional sanitation and infrastructure projects, which employed 2,000 individuals over three months and were adopted as models in various capitals throughout the region.

- Evaluated and revamped country-wide training protocols and educational programs for Peace Corps Togo's small enterprise development sector.

- Performed cost and revenue analysis with various enterprises throughout the country to determine long term strategies

- Created a country-wide curriculum focusing on business organization and project management for participating Togolese entrepreneurs and youth.

Mspm Jacob Odentz