Alumni
Former Student Plays Part in Reconstruction of Iraq
13th November 2007
Geoff Graves, a student here at College in the 1980s, is now working in Iraq where he is actively involved in the reconstruction of that war-torn country following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.
Geoff works for the United Nations Organisation, currently serving as a Project Manager for the Post-Conflict Reconstruction Programme in northern Iraq.
He told The Review “These community-based programmes involve liaising with all levels of government in order to achieve several key goals: to restore the faith of the people in the government, and to reduce threats to public health by improving community facilities.
I am responsible for developing and drafting projects, undertaking assessments through the appraisal process, implementing projects, and the monitoring, evaluating and reporting of finalised projects.
These include the implementation of community reconstruction programmes, addressing issues of public health (community robustness) and hospital resources (community vulnerability); the development, supervision and management of the implementation of the overall Project life cycles of a portfolio of US$9 million, and ensuring the project is delivered as expediently as possible.
This role requires me to lead, oversee and support Iraqi staff, as well as to recruit international and national consultants and contractors.
All of this involves coordination with other UN agencies, and designing and implementing project monitoring and evaluation tools, producing narrative and financial reports, and preparing and delivering project presentations.
There is therefore a need to identify, design, develop and draft complementary contextual programme and project opportunities in liaison with the Government of Iraq and with the Kurdistan Regional Government."
Geoff tells us that this involves him in leading field missions to project sites and counterpart agencies in the country (when the security regulations permit this) often in parts of Iraq many would consider unreachable.
Prior to his work in the essential reconstruction of Iraq, Geoff was involved in similar work in Amman, Jordan, and also in humanitarian relief programmes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. This followed six years working in New South Wales, Australia, which itself followed two years as a Director of Research and Programme Development in Chicago, Illinois. It was at the University of Illinois at Chicago that he gained his MSc degree in Urban Policy and Planning.
After leaving Hereford Sixth Form College, Geoff studied at the University of Loughborough where he was awarded a BSc(Hons) degree in Transport Management and Planning.