I’m an independent social policy consultant based in Vienna. My practice covers social policy and social protection reform, public finance for children, and humanitarian cash assistance. I work with governments, UN agencies and development partners on the design, financing and implementation of inclusive social protection systems and child-focused social policies, across the Western Balkans, Türkiye, Eastern Europe, the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Career
Since 2021 I’ve worked independently, advising governments, UN agencies and donor-funded programmes on social protection reform, public finance for children, and humanitarian cash. Recent and current work covers Kosovo, Türkiye, Serbia, the Caribbean, and a UNICEF emergency deployment to Ukraine in the early months of the full-scale war.
Most of my career before independence was spent inside UNICEF. From 2014 to 2021 I led the social policy and social protection portfolio at UNICEF North Macedonia as Chief of Social Policy, including the 2019 reform package and the COVID-19 response. During that tenure I was also deployed on UNICEF emergency assignments to Zimbabwe (2019, Hurricane Idai) and the Eastern Caribbean (2017, Hurricane Maria in Dominica), and took short-term assignments at UNICEF Headquarters in New York (2016).
Before UNICEF I worked at OSCE/ODIHR (2012–2014) on Roma inclusion across the Western Balkans, at UNICEF (2010–2012) as Child Protection Officer, and at the OSCE (2004–2010) on rule of law and anti-trafficking work.
Education and training
MSc in International Development, University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom.
Graduated Political Scientist (Master equivalent, pre-ECTS), Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje, North Macedonia.
Professional certifications include the IMF’s PFMx certification in Public Financial Management, Oxford Policy Management’s Public Finance for Children Global Learning Programme, and the World Bank’s Global Course on Social Safety Nets.
Working languages
Macedonian (native), English (fluent), Serbian/Croatian (fluent), German (intermediate).