ELSA BERHANE
Silver Spring,MD
Summary
Mission-driven and globally experienced leader with over 20 years of success in managing development and emergency relief programs across Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe. Strategic expertise includes cross-sector partnerships, health systems strengthening, and conflict-zone programming, supported by cultural intelligence and multilingual fluency. Recognized for fostering sustainable impact through data-informed decision-making, community empowerment, and inclusive program design. Prepared to deliver visionary leadership, operational excellence, and compassionate service in a Global Senior Manager role to promote equity, resilience, and dignity for vulnerable populations worldwide.
Overview
11
11
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Senior Program Manager, Child Protection and Education Team
World Vision U.S.
01.2025
- Selected for short-term secondment to support the global Child Protection & Education portfolio across Mongolia, Thailand, Indonesia, Romania, and Kenya.
- Provided programmatic and operational support to strengthen implementation, troubleshoot delivery challenges, and align field activities with technical standards.
- Managed donor relations and reporting cadence across multiple funding streams, ensuring timely updates, compliance, and strong partner confidence.
Senior Program Manager
Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs (HEA)
01.2022
- Temporarily seconded to Humanitarian Emergency Affairs (HEA) team to provide surge management support for high-priority projects in conflict-affected regions of Sudan.
- Headed the $3.6M Sudan Multi-sector Response Project across Blue Nile, South Darfur, and East Darfur, targeting 240,000 vulnerable individuals with critical health, nutrition, WASH, and protection services.
- Oversaw planning and execution of baseline and end-line surveys to evaluate project impact and inform program improvements, ensuring data quality and alignment with donor reporting requirements.
- Provided technical oversight and coordination with field teams, partners, and stakeholders to ensure timely delivery and compliance in highly fragile operating environments.
Senior Program Manager
Gavi RAISE 4 Sahel (R4S) Project
01.2022 - 01.2024
- Co-led Gavi’s first iNGO-implemented immunization project across 7 Sahelian countries, targeting Zero-Dose and Under-Immunized Children and shaping future vaccination models in fragile settings.
- Served as Acting Chief of Party, overseeing donor relations, partner coordination, and management of 70+ staff during a critical project phase.
- Spearheaded program inception, including partner identification, stakeholder engagement, and development of strategic documentation and performance indicators.
- Advanced policy and service delivery innovations by contributing to technical resources—such as micro plans, GESI guides, and learning agendas—driving scalable impact across regions.
- Strengthened donor confidence through high-quality reporting and deliverables, while negotiating scopes of work to align partner outputs with project goals.
- Advocated inclusive leadership, improving team morale, coaching performance, and earning executive recognition for resilience and results.
Program Manager
Northern Ethiopia Crisis Response (NECR)
01.2021 - 01.2022
- Seconded to World Vision Ethiopia to provide strategic grant management oversight for 10+ humanitarian projects in the Tigray and Amhara regions, focusing on WASH, Education-in-Emergency, multi-purpose cash assistance, and food security.
- Developed and advocated contingency operational plans, including cost and no-cost extension proposals and budget amendment requests, ensuring program continuity and donor compliance.
- Served as primary liaison with UN agencies to address programmatic and contractual matters, strengthening coordination and partnership effectiveness.
- Engaged key World Vision support offices to mobilize resources and reduce budget deficits for high-priority emergency response projects.
Program Manager
Food Security and Livelihood (FSL)
01.2021 - 01.2022
- Temporarily assigned to the Food Security & Livelihoods (FSL) team to oversee humanitarian projects in conflict-affected areas of Sudan.
- Led "Recovery in Sudan for Improved Nutrition and Growth II" project in South Darfur, enhancing food security and nutrition outcomes for vulnerable communities.
- Directed final phase of the COVID-19 Economic Recovery and Emergency Delivery Project, which delivered three-month food basket vouchers to at-risk households in South Darfur, supporting short-term recovery and resilience.
Program Manager
01.2016 - 01.2022
- Led implementation of several USAID-funded activities, driving household- and community-level transformation to improve health and development outcomes.
- Directed field operations for USAID WASH projects in Ethiopia and Kenya, enhancing water access for 330,000+ people in fragile contexts and advancing sanitation and hygiene practices.
- Supported global rollout of the Core Group Polio Project across 7 countries, improving uptake of vaccines for polio, measles, and COVID-19 through cross-sectoral coordination.
- Executed strategic oversight to DFID’s South Sudan Health Pooled Fund (Lot 23), contributing to maternal and infant mortality reduction and expanded universal health coverage.
- Secured $450K in private funding to fill budget gaps for programs in South Sudan, Kenya, and Ethiopia, ensuring program continuity and operational resilience.
- Facilitated M&E capacity-building training and supported high-quality donor reporting, including annual workplans, performance reports, and technical narratives.
- Championed storytelling in fragile settings, securing permissions to film WASH programs in Kenya, spotlighting women’s empowerment and resilience.
- Contributed to proposal development and technical reviews by providing strategic insights and institutional knowledge, strengthening program design and competitiveness.
- Advised on World Vision US global health strategies and contributed to country-level strategic planning to align field execution with organizational priorities.
Senior Program Officer
Jhpiego/Johns Hopkins University
01.2014 - 01.2015
- Oversaw management and technical implementation of three U.S. Government-funded health projects in Rwanda, focused on malaria, HIV/AIDS, and maternal and child health (MCH). Co-led the design and planning of Rwanda’s $19M Maternal and Child Survival Project, aligning strategies with national health priorities and donor expectations.
- Partnered with Rwanda’s interim Country Director to lead strategic planning efforts in coordination with Ministry of Health, USAID, and the Department of Defense.
- Ensured timely and effective program implementation, securing technical assistance, allocating resources, and engaging external consultants as needed.
- Mentored and built capacity of field staff to take ownership of program development, execution, and ongoing management.
Senior Program Officer, The Maternal and Child Health Integrated Project (MCHIP)
John Snow, Inc.
01.2013 - 01.2014
- Drove flagship global program addressing barriers to maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) services from pre-pregnancy to age five. Contributed to strategic planning for the launch of the new Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Health (RMNCH) award by identifying best practices and lessons learned.
- Collaborated with USAID/Washington to define child health priorities and develop the RMNCH Year 1 work plan.
- Drafted initial submission of the child health end-of-project report, ensuring comprehensive documentation of results.
- Planned and facilitated two-day technical convening in Ghana for country-level child health advisors to showcase in-country program impact and share learnings.
- Conducted targeted technical support to child health initiatives in Kenya and Yemen, focusing on integrated community case management and ORT/Zinc interventions.
- Served as primary liaison between the Child Health team, USAID, and implementing partners on work planning, reporting, and budgetary matters.
- Facilitated routine review meetings with USAID/Washington to track progress, resolve challenges, and inform adaptive management strategies.
Senior Program Manager, Global Health Technical Assistance (GH Tech) Project
CAMRIS International
- 01.2013
- Acting Program Manager/Deputy Program Manager, Global Health Support Initiative-II (GHSI-II)
Education
Master of Public Health - International Health & Development
Tulane University, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
Bachelor of Science - Community Health
University of Maryland
Skills
- MS Office
- Asana
- Salesforce
- Problem-solving skills
- Staff leadership
- Project leadership
- Training and mentoring
- Risk management
- Relationship management
Accomplishments
- Co-led the first Gavi-funded initiative to provide immunization services through an iNGO in 7 Sahelian countries, influencing future vaccination programming in humanitarian settings
- Served as Acting Chief of Party overseeing donor and partners’ relationships and managing over 70 staff members
- Earned senior leadership team recognition and awarded financial remuneration for my resilience and commitment during a crucial project phase
- Led the implementation of USAID-funded WASH projects in Ethiopia and Kenya that resulted in improving water access to over 330,000 people living in fragile contexts as well as enhancing sanitation and hygiene practices
- Negotiated and secured private funding of approx. $450K to meet budget deficits for projects in South Sudan, Kenya, and Ethiopia
Certification
- Gender Equity & Social Inclusion, 2023
- Life & Leadership Coaching for Religious Women, 2022
- Emerging Women in Leadership Program, 2020
- Training of Trainers Workshop, 2019
- Gateway to Grants / Grant Management Certification Program, 2017
CORE COMPETENCIES
- Program & Grant Management (USAID, Gavi, DFID, UN)
- Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning
- Humanitarian Response & Resilience
- Food Security, WASH & Health Systems Strengthening
- Donor Compliance & Reporting
- Budgeting & Resource Mobilization
- Stakeholder Engagement & Partnership Building
- Gender Equity & Social Inclusion
- Cross-Cultural Communication (Fluent in English, Arabic, and Tigrinya)
Formally recognized for consistently going above and beyond the call of duty to ensure high-quality
In addition to my professional experience, I am fluent in English, Arabic and Tigrinya and bring working familiarity with multicultural and multilingual teams across East Africa and the U.S. I actively engage in community and faith-based programming and have a strong interest in youth mentorship and family-strengthening initiatives. I also recently completed PMP training to further strengthen my project management and operational effectiveness. I am known by colleagues for my reliability, calm problem-solving approach, and willingness to step in wherever needed to support team success.
Languages
Arabic
Native or Bilingual
Timeline
Senior Program Manager, Child Protection and Education Team
World Vision U.S.
01.2025
Senior Program Manager
Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs (HEA)
01.2022
Senior Program Manager
Gavi RAISE 4 Sahel (R4S) Project
01.2022 - 01.2024
Program Manager
Northern Ethiopia Crisis Response (NECR)
01.2021 - 01.2022
Program Manager
Food Security and Livelihood (FSL)
01.2021 - 01.2022
Program Manager
01.2016 - 01.2022
Senior Program Officer
Jhpiego/Johns Hopkins University
01.2014 - 01.2015
Senior Program Officer, The Maternal and Child Health Integrated Project (MCHIP)
John Snow, Inc.
01.2013 - 01.2014
Senior Program Manager, Global Health Technical Assistance (GH Tech) Project
CAMRIS International
- 01.2013
Bachelor of Science - Community Health
University of Maryland
Master of Public Health - International Health & Development
Tulane University, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine