Veronica Machira

Church World Service is an international organization that responds to emergencies, supports development projects and advocates for policies that address hunger and poverty relief in 30 countries. In my role there, I have:

• Developed strategies to incorporate climate change into CWS's existing advocacy work.
• Conducted research, produced briefs, articles, letters, blogs, policy positions on climate change, statelessness, housing, practical and strategic gender needs in development.
• Initiated in-house blog series for CWS website on climate change; promoted climate change and gender learning into existing programmes.
• Co-Chaired and been fiscal agent for the Haiti Advocacy Working Group www.haitiadvocacy.org.
  
• Facilitated dialogue between civil society and state actors in Haiti and the Dominican Republic on housing, environmental management and climate change.
• Been an interlocutor to US government, including Department of State, USAID; U.S. Congress, the United Nations on behalf of CWS and the Haiti Advocacy Working Group.
• Managed and contributed to communications, press releases, information-sharing; social media accounts.
• Participated in various inter-agency networks on Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Gender Based Violence, Statelessness, Climate Change Finance Monitoring
• Participated in inter-faith advocacy on Green Climate Finance and Architecture and advocated to the US Congress for continued funding.
• Led outreach to US Congress, State Department, Multi-lateral Institutions, Government and Civil Society Organizations around climate, gender, democracy, housing, use of international development aid to further women's rights.

Christian Aid is a UK based charity that works in 60 countries through local partnerships to fight poverty, respond to and prepare for emergencies, and campaign for climate and gender justice. There I was responsible for:

• Development and management of advocacy strategies on Christian Aid programmes in Latin America and the Caribbean, specifically referring to climate change and accountable governance.
• Communications of corporate priorities on climate change to Christian Aid's partners in Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Central America and the Caribbean.
• Outreach to local partner organizations; programme development, monitoring, learning and analysis and partnership development.
• Initiation and development of workshops for partner capacity building on local advocacy strategies.

• Management of Christian Aid's $500,00 combined budgets for Jamaica and the Dominican Republic comprising more than 20 projects and partners.
• Grant management of projects on HIV, inner city conflict resolution, disaster risk management and preparedness, gender training for grassroots organizations, health and education, community mobilization projects.
• Leading on Christian Aid’s work in Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, negotiating between HQ and Christian Aid staff located in Latin America and the Caribbean; with other geographic teams on sectoral priorities, working within the corporate framework, agreed annual plans and reports, budgets and defined delegations of authority.
• Representative of Christian Aid's programmes in Jamaica while in London and on mission in-country; travel to region up to 9 weeks a year.
• Development and promotion of country and programmes profile within the region or continent and across the wider organisation.
• Contribution to priority setting and representation across the organization, engagement in networks and learning groups and to review and evaluate other programmes and grants across the region or continent as required.
• Member of Christian Aid evaluation team of Emergency Response to Typhoon Nargis in Myanmar. Spring 2010