Professional Experience:
Sandra Zerbo is a highly accomplished humanitarian affairs professional with over 14 years of experience working across multiple international organizations and UN agencies. Her career began in 2008 with Partners In Health in Rwanda and the United States, where she supported community health programs and conducted global research on women and HIV/AIDS. This early exposure laid the foundation for a career characterized by a commitment to community-centered and evidence-based humanitarian and development interventions.
From 2009 to 2015, Sandra worked with TrustAfrica in Senegal, advancing from Project Coordinator roles to Programs Coordinator. She managed significant programs, including the USD 1.3 million MDG3 Project focusing on women’s rights in seven African countries, and the Early Learning Innovations Program funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. In these roles, she led cross-country grantmaking, managed consultant teams, and ensured compliance, monitoring, and strategic coordination.
Sandra then moved into a series of senior advisory roles, including with Oxfam GB and Africa’s Voices Foundation. Notably, she designed a women’s economic empowerment program for post-Ebola recovery in Liberia and Sierra Leone and operationalized community engagement research projects across Kenya and Somalia. Her ability to align diverse stakeholders and deliver complex outputs was evident throughout these roles.
From 2019 to 2023, Sandra’s work increasingly focused on Accountability to Affected People (AAP) and community engagement. As Community Engagement and Accountability Coordinator with UNOCHA in Burkina Faso, she led the establishment of national-level CEA platforms and supported inter-agency collaboration. Her consultancy with the CDAC Network and senior coordination of Burkina Faso’s CEA Working Group further demonstrate her leadership in this area.
In 2022–2023, Sandra joined UNICEF Afghanistan as a Planning Specialist, managing the Extender Modality involving over 2,000 field staff. Her efforts strengthened program monitoring, data analysis, and accountability mechanisms under highly complex operational conditions. She conducted a comprehensive review of the modality and produced a management toolbox and recommendations to improve future deployments.
Currently, Sandra serves in Geneva with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC). Her roles involve supporting global AAP efforts and facilitating policy and advocacy through the IASC secretariat. She coordinates with diverse actors—including focal points for protection, disability inclusion, PSEA, and localization—to promote system-wide coherence and the Humanitarian Reset initiative.
Sandra holds master's degrees in Development Studies, Political Science, and Women’s Health, and a bachelor's in Business Administration (summa cum laude). She is PRINCE2® certified and fluent in English and French. Her work is recognized through contributions to international publications and thought leadership in community engagement. With a robust blend of operational, strategic, and policy expertise, Sandra brings a unique ability to drive people-centered humanitarian action in diverse and challenging contexts.