Open to opportunities

Fareeda Abdulkareem

@fareedaabdulkareem

Message

Strategist and program manager driving high-impact, cross-regional development programs.

United States

Message

What I'm looking for

I seek roles where I can lead program design and operations, scale impact through partnerships, and use data-driven reporting to improve outcomes.

I am a strategist and program manager with demonstrated success leading and supporting over USD 30 million in projects across Africa, Asia, and the Americas. I design and implement programs in economic growth, tech, sustainability, and culture for multinationals, multilaterals, and NGOs, and I prioritize clear stakeholder coordination and communications.

My track record includes managing end-to-end project cycles, establishing donor dashboards and reporting templates, and improving operational efficiency—such as reducing project delays by 25% and cutting operations budgets by 10%. I have awarded and overseen portfolios ranging from USD 50,000 to multi-million-dollar grants and improved donor reporting through quantitative findings.

I bring hands-on experience in partnership strategy, grant writing, monitoring and evaluation, and capacity building, and I focus on delivering measurable outcomes—whether launching digital economy policy initiatives, securing investment at summits, or increasing donor renewals through data-driven reporting.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Senior Program and Operations Manager

National Geographic Society

Nov 2024 - Oct 2025 (11 months)

Led end-to-end project cycle for a USD 1 million portfolio of 35 projects with 100% completion; established donor dashboards and reviewed 700 proposals to award 25 grants of USD 10,000–25,000 to support research, education, and storytelling.

Program Management Grantmaking Donor Reporting Dashboarding Budget Management MS Office Salesforce

Insights Manager

Mercy Corps Ventures

Feb 2024 - Jun 2024 (4 months)

Designed a partnerships strategy with workplans, calendar and KPIs and reduced operations budget by 10% through contract and vendor reviews.

Partnership Strategy KPI Design Vendor Management Contract Review Stakeholder Management Asana Trello Google Suite

Senior Program Associate

Palladium

Aug 2022 - Jan 2024 (1 year 5 months)

Reduced project completion delays by 25% via onboarding materials and led lifecycle management of grants sized USD 250,000–1,000,000, ensuring milestone delivery and timely payouts to 34 vendors.

Grant Management Onboarding Donor Reporting Survey Analysis SharePoint Salesforce

Consultant, Positive Agriculture

PepsiCo

Nov 2021 - Apr 2022 (5 months)

Developed a strategy adopted to advance internal learning of PepsiCo's regenerative agriculture commitments.

Strategy Development Sustainability Stakeholder Engagement Knowledge Management Reporting MS Office

Consultant, Nature Positive Future

Olam

Oct 2021 - Jan 2022 (3 months)

Produced 10 case studies sharing strategies to improve Olam’s sustainability programs across four continents.

Case Study Development Strategic Sustainability Research Report Writing Project Coordination

Consultant

The World Bank

May 2021 - Aug 2021 (3 months)

Authored a successful USD 100,000 grant proposal including a Gantt chart to manage progress and deliverables.

Project Planning Gantt Charts Monitoring & Evaluation Proposal Development

Senior Program Advisor

Kaduna State Government

Jun 2019 - Dec 2020 (1 year 6 months)

Developed goals and implementation activities for the state's first digital economy policy in partnership with FCDO and the World Bank; organized panels at an investment summit that attracted USD 65 million.

Policy Design Stakeholder Engagement Strategic Planning Government Relations Survey Design Report Writing Project Coordination

Program and Communications Manager

Reach for Uganda

May 2018 - Dec 2019 (1 year 7 months)

Oversaw a USD 50,000 program for one school and two hospitals, maintained budget control, secured 100% donor renewals and increased funding by 10% through personalized reporting.

Program Management Donor Reporting Monitoring & Evaluation Survey Design Budget Management

Program and Communications Officer

Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism

Apr 2017 - Dec 2018 (1 year 8 months)

Designed and implemented a USD 100,000 McArthur Foundation-funded program to improve data-driven reporting, launched a fact-checking resource site and recruited 12 student interns.

Program Design Grant Management Training Development Website Launch Research Editing

Program and Communications Associate

African Artists Foundation

Jan 2014 - Mar 2017 (3 years 2 months)

Implemented over USD 300,000 in philanthropic funding for exhibitions and workshops, educated 350 children in outreach programs and led editorial coverage for ArtBaseAfrica.

Fundraising Implementation Community Outreach Event Management