Aaron L. Greenberg

• Provide strategic, political and technical guidance to 25 country offices and refugee coordinators across the region.
• Advise the Regional Director and Deputy Regional Director on complex, political child protection issues.
• Advanced the regional child protection agenda for countries and the regional office, securing over 50 million USD for child protection mainly through strategic engagement with the EU, leading to multiple, multi-country grants relating to child care and justice reform, and to support UNICEF’s work to repatriate and reintegrate children returning from Iraq and Syria.
• Led UNICEF’s work across the region to support governments in reducing the number of children in institutional care from 666 per 100,000 to 243 per 100,000, with corresponding increases in foster care and violence prevention programs. Ending institutional care for children was the UNICEF Europe and Central Asia Flagship result area. I successfully harnessed the participation of UNICEF across the region to achieve this clear result for children.
• Successfully piloted the EU Child Guarantee in 7 EU member states for the European Commission, leveraging 5 Billion in earmarked EU funding for the Child Guarantee in Europe and raising over 50 million euros for UNICEF regional office and country offices to support its implementation, including in pre-accession countries across the Western Balkans, Moldova and the Ukraine.
• Led the regional response to the war in Ukraine, which was labelled a child protection crises by the organization, was elevated to an L3 emergency covering Ukraine and neighboring countries, and has required advanced political and technical engagement.
• Oversee cross border child protection interventions, including establishment of over 40 ‘Blue Dot’ child protection hubs with UNHCR that served over 1,000,000 children and women over a 18 month period; and the signing of an MOU with the government of Ukraine that has allowed UNICEF to work across all neighboring countries on separated and unaccompanied children, including thousands of children evacuated from Ukrainian orphanages to neighboring countries.
• Raised 60 million for the UNICEF’s Ukraine Response and positioned UNICEF as a partner of choice in the area of child protection.
• Coordinated and oversaw UNICEF’s support to the identification of unaccompanied and separated children passing through Ramstein Germany following the mass evacuations from Afghanistan.

• Responsible for steering UNICEF’s Child Protection work in the country during a critical time of political, economic and cultural transition and forging strategic partnerships with the Government, Civil Society and Private Sector partners.
• Developed and sustained partnerships with key influencers in the country, including major Bi-Laterals and Multi-Laterals such as the EU, Japan, Australia and the US Government; resulting in a joined-up advocacy agenda and significant funding for UNICEF priorities.
• Managed over 10 million USD annually and over 25 child protection specialists and officers who support strategic programmes and policy advocacy work across the country.
• Successfully oversaw the implementation of the Joint Action Plan to end the use and recruitment of children by the Myanmar military – leading to the release and reintegration of over 1400 children from the army – during a time of sensitive political transition and where UNICEF was the only international actor in the country with access to the Military.
• Led UNICEF’s engagement with Non-State Armed Groups listed by the UN Secretary General for Use and Recruitment, resulting in the development of the first Action Plan in Myanmar with a Non-State Armed Group to end the practice.
• Provided a strategic steer to the Government of Myanmar in the development of a social welfare system during a time of important government transition, placing emphasis on child protection and social work and resulting in an increase of children accessing public social welfare protection services in the country of over 900%.
• Transformed the office’s justice for children approach, securing agreement with the Myanmar Union Supreme Court and the Myanmar Police Force to revise the core curriculums of the Judges and Police, and institute rule of law reform for children.

• Forged partnerships with the government of Georgia and develop policy dialogues around childcare reform, juvenile justice, and education.
• Liaison with multilateral and bi-lateral actors including the EU, World Bank, US Government, Swedish Development Agency, and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, to influence and support government policies.
• Managed and provided structure to a team of 10 national and international staff and a range of consultants.
• Leveraged funds in support of key government reforms – in 3 years over $12 million raised.
• Key Sustainable Results Achieved: Childcare reform resulted in the closure of 16 large institutions for children over two years, with foster care, and small group homes replacing large soviet style orphanages – only 250 children remained in large institutions in the country; A new diversion program for young juvenile offenders created across the country which allows young people a structured second chance if they commit a minor offence; inclusive education for children with special needs and ethnic minorities clearly expressed in government policies.

• Developed policy guidance and partnerships around social protection, alternative care and social work.
• Coordinated academic research and develop advocacy initiatives with partners around social welfare sector strengthening, including a clearly defined role for the relevant ministry in terms of minimum oversight, coordination and monitoring of child welfare services.
• Fundraised – successfully raised $3 million for strengthening child protection systems in Guatemala, Cambodia, Liberia and Malawi.
• Focal point at Headquarters for all country requests and support for alternative care and adoption issues. Supported 20 assessments, including in Namibia, Malawi, Uganda, Swaziland, South Africa, Nepal and India.
• Responded to media requests around inter-country adoption and alternative care; and develop responses and key messages for Section Chief, Director of Programs, and the Office of the Executive Director.
• Supervised two professional staff members and the Better Care Network Secretariat.
• Member of UNICEF Social Protection task team in New York; and Steering Committee member – IATT on Children and AIDS.

Overview: The position was seconded to the Child Protection Section at UNICEF Headquarters in New York. The Network's steering committee included CARE, UNICEF, Save the Children UK, Bernard van Leer Foundation, Firelight Foundation, the Displaced Children's and Orphans Fund, and the Africa Bureau for USAID.

• Transformed the idea of an inter-agency network on alternative care and prevention of family separation into a globally recognized technical and advocacy resource hub.
• Managed high-level partnerships between various organizations around care and protection, including National and International NGO's, bi-laterals, academia, government, and international organizations.
• Co-chaired the Inter-Agency Task Team on Children and AIDS working group – Social Protection.
• Developed and reported against strategic and annual workplans to various partners including USAID.
• Successfully fundraised $1 million for three years of core funding.
• Supervised a number of consultants and advanced degree research associates.

• Special Rapporteur at UN Security Council Retreat and High-level MDG roundtable events
• Co-facilitated two-day Security Council retreat; published a summary of the meeting.
• Published detailed reports on the results of five Roundtables concerning the implementation of the MDGs: Meeting Africa’s Needs; HIV and AIDS; UN Reform; Humanitarian Concerns; Peace and Security.
• Participated in the production of key policy papers on UN reform, the impact of HIV/AIDS on sub-Saharan Africa, and regional security arrangements on behalf of the Secretary General.
• Participated in and contributed to weekly meetings of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ IASC.
• Organized special events around technical issues for the General Assembly and key bodies of the Secretariat, such as health, education, and security roundtables.

Company Overview: FIND is a sub-regional NGO with a presence in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea. Its primary mandate is to facilitate good relations between refugee and host community populations, provide some protection services as deemed necessary, and prepare children and families for return to their home country or transition to life in a new country.

• Facilitated Conflict Resolution, leadership and good governance workshops in three refugee camps.
• Strengthened safe spaces for women and children in partnership with community groups, children and camp management partners.
• Assisted a refugee youth theater initiative that integrated messages around anti-violence and protection against HIV.

• Built upon and created new citywide sports events for low-income neighborhoods in the five boroughs of New York City.
• Wrote, administered and monitored multi million dollar grants for citywide sports tournaments and structural refurbishments.
• Supervised and oversaw regular meetings with borough sports coordinators and 5 office staff.
• Successful partnerships established or expanded with Police Athletic League, City Parks Foundation, National Football League, New York Jets, National Basketball Association and Fleet Bank.

• Coordinate cross-agency objective to improve for children and adolescents living in Group Homes that for various reasons could not be placed with families. The program goal: provide life skills and vocational training to at-risk youth.
• Developed and implemented educational, vocational and mentoring programs for at-risk children and young adults where foster care and reunification were unsuccessful.
• Co-chaired district Alternative Care Task Force and oversaw a successful expansion of joint activities between the Administration of Children Services, the Parks Department, and community-based social work and social welfare NGOs.
• Fundraised and partnered successfully with the private sector to expand and improve programming.
• Supervised 8 staff and 10 consultants for the different facets of the program.
• Administered $1,500,000 fiscal budget and managed / approved sub-office expenditures.
• Conducted community sensitization programs in an effort to engage community leaders in an extended support network.

• Taught English to 7th and 8th grade students in the town of Adi Ugri; conducted a series of teacher trainings in Asmara.
• Assisted with identifying separated children and assisted with family tracing and reunification follow-up.
• Co-wrote and co-administered $80,000 grant from the British Council to build a library and audio/video resource center.