I currently serve on the National Reconciliation and External Affairs Teams of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). Since my arrival at the mission, my work has been to identify trends and to provide recommendations to the UNAMI leadership, and to inform some of the broader reporting and analytical work that is shared across the Secretariat, both at Headquarters and missions. I have also worked closely in supporting our senior leadership, particularly the Offices of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Political Affairs in their undertaking of conflict resolution, political reconciliation, and other efforts through analysis and advice on political developments in Iraq and the region.

I am particularly proud that my analysis and reporting is consistently on-message, as this has contributed to the development of options papers, briefings, and other reporting documents, including the Special Representative's regular and special Security Council briefings, and the Secretary-General's Report on Iraq.

By working on two seemingly distinct and disparate tracks of activity, I have supported the creation of linkages between them to advance UNAMI's advocacy efforts. For example, I developed UNAMI's regional engagement strategy, which now focuses on encouraging regional states to engage local actors in a constructive manner and in support of Iraq's national reconciliation efforts and political transition.

On a daily basis, my broad thematic and functional coverage requires maintaining effective working relationships with colleagues within UNAMI, Headquarters, other UN Missions, as well as colleagues in the United Nations Country Team in Iraq and elsewhere. Just as critically, I have also worked to develop a network of national and international interlocutors based in Iraq, which has been critical in enhancing our understanding of key issue.

Previously, during my time with the United Nations Development Programme in Lebanon, I was extremely proud to undertake the responsibility of sustaining effective working relationships with Goodwill Ambassadors for project promotion and resource mobilization. This led to the hosting of three major gala functions in Monaco, Melbourne and Brussels. Another highlight from this period was my role in developing the project's internship program, which hosted international university and graduate students to undertake specific projects across a variety of key areas in Lebanon. I was also engaged in an economic research capacity building project to assist various government units to enhance their negotiations and analysis capacities.

My background with the public sector prior to joining the United Nations enabled me to contribute to supporting the Middle East Peace Process due to my engagement with a range of projects and initiatives. My fluency in Arabic has allowed me to engage directly with the Organization’s regional and national interlocutors in the Middle East.

I have benefited from my work in several different roles and duty stations, which provides a broader perspective on the global issues and challenges that we need to overcome from a corporate perspective in political affairs. This kind of exposure enables me to contribute strategically as I strive to promote conflict resolution, and has served to help me keenly refine my political reconciliation objectives in the field.