Open to opportunities

Zara Lalayan

@zaralalayan

Message

Humanitarian Project Manager skilled in budgets, risk management, and disaster resilience delivery.

Armenia

Message

What I'm looking for

I’m looking for a humanitarian or disaster-preparedness role where I can lead projects end-to-end—planning, budgets, stakeholder coordination, risk management, and compliant reporting—while building resilient communities and strong partnerships.

I lead the development and execution of humanitarian project plans, defining scope, objectives, and deliverables while assembling, delegating, and managing teams to meet deadlines. I prepare and manage project budgets, allocate resources, identify risks, and develop mitigation strategies, serving as a clear point of contact for stakeholders and ensuring quality and donor compliance.

Most recently, I managed UNHCR-funded disaster preparedness and community resilience programming across Armenia regions in partnership with ARNAP and local communities, coordinating DRM plan development and capacity-building through trainings and simulation exercises. I also led a Hungary Helps Agency-funded flooding response, overseeing procurement, relief distribution monitoring, psychosocial support activities, and timely financial and narrative reporting; earlier roles strengthened ARCS institutional preparedness through the IFRC PER approach and supported Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) and Disaster Response Teams.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Project Manager

World Vision Armenia

May 2025 - May 2026 (1 year)

Managed implementation of a UNHCR-funded resilience and disaster preparedness project across Ararat, Vayots Dzor, and Gegharkunik, coordinating with ARNP and local communities to deliver community DRM plans and capacity-building activities. Served as the primary liaison with UNHCR, the Rescue Service of Armenia, partners, and stakeholders to ensure reporting, quality, and donor compliance.

Project Planning Stakeholder Management Capacity Building Donor Compliance Program Coordination Risk Mitigation

Project Manager

Armenian Red Cross Society

Mar 2024 - Apr 2025 (1 year 1 month)

Led end-to-end implementation of a humanitarian response project funded by Hungary Helps Agency for families affected by severe flooding in Lori and during the Nagorno Karabakh escalation. Managed procurement and distribution monitoring, coordinated psychosocial support activities, and oversaw timely financial and narrative reporting to donors and stakeholders.

Procurement Coordination Relief Item Monitoring Financial Reporting Resource Planning

Financial Officer

Armenian Red Cross Society

Feb 2022 - Apr 2025 (3 years 2 months)

Managed financial planning, monitoring, and reporting for major disaster response and preparedness projects with IFRC, ICRC, Swiss Red Cross, Austrian Red Cross, and Hungary Helps Agency. Oversaw budgeting and expenditure tracking across multi-donor portfolios, ensured donor-compliant monthly/quarterly/final reporting, and supported audit readiness with many donor-funded projects receiving clean a

Budgeting Donor Reporting Financial Compliance Audit Support Cost Allocation Donor Portfolios

Project Coordinator

Armenian Red Cross Society

Jan 2023 - Mar 2024 (1 year 2 months)

Coordinated a long-term capacity-strengthening initiative to improve Armenian Red Cross Society preparedness and response using the IFRC PER approach. Supported activity design for identified organizational gaps, managed workplans and progress monitoring, and helped establish Disaster Response Teams across four regions while handling compliant financial and narrative reporting.

Program Coordination Progress Monitoring Preparedness For Effective Response (PER)Disaster Response Teams (DRTs)Donor Reporting

Project Assistant

Armenian Red Cross Society

Feb 2021 - Feb 2022 (1 year)

Supported project delivery by maintaining project documentation, assisting with team and stakeholder communication, and tracking budgets and expenses. Prepared meeting materials, created agendas, and supported invoicing and expense reporting.

Project Documentation Meeting Coordination Budgeting Expense Reporting Invoicing

Manager

Cross Resort

Jun 2019 - Jan 2021 (1 year 7 months)

Assisted with marketing and new initiatives while supporting reservations and complex scheduling activities. Coordinated with service providers to manage marketing-related schedules and service delivery.

Marketing Support Reservations Management Scheduling Cross Functional Communication Operations Support