DIANA ÇEKAJ-BERISHA

About

Senior programme, project and operations professional with 29+ years of experience across international development, humanitarian, governance, justice, infrastructure and civil-society programmes. Experienced in grants and fund management, donor coordination, reporting, compliance, team leadership, and operational delivery across UN, USAID, EU, government and NGO environments.

Experience

• Programme Manager
  UN Women
  Mar 2011 – Jul 2026

  Managed Promoting Rural Women’s Empowerment in Kosovo Project and Regional Women’s Lobby for South-eastern Europe (RWLSEE). Managed donor-funded projects, project coordination, capacity building, monitoring and evaluation, reporting, grants and budgets, fundraising support, stakeholder coordination, regional events, public relations, and work planning.

• Project Coordinator
  USAID / National Centre for State Courts (NCSC)
  Oct 2008 – Dec 2010

  Coordinated oversight of a USD 3 million grant supporting court renovation activities. Oversaw refurbishment and redesign activities, procurement documentation, contracting, stakeholder liaison, standards and systems development, budget monitoring, logistics coordination, and reporting.

• Event Coordinator
  USAID / National Centre for State Courts (NCSC)
  Oct 2007 – Oct 2008

  Planned and delivered regional and international conferences, roundtables, networking meetings, trainings and seminars. Managed staff, suppliers, delegates, venue negotiations, travel, accommodation, catering, media coordination, protocol, registration, budgets, event production and post-event evaluation.

• Project Manager
  ICITAP, U.S. Department of Justice – Forensic Program
  Mar 2001 – Oct 2007

  Coordinated oversight of a USD 3.2 million grant, liaison with donors and government institutions, construction oversight, budget reporting, project tracking, team management, training events, logistics, and coordination of laboratory equipment shipment and travel arrangements.

• Office Manager / Administrator
  CARE International Kosovo
  Jul 1999 – Mar 2001

  Set up and supervised administration services across Pristina and seven sub-offices. Managed staff contracts and salaries, operations workloads, petty cash, accommodation, rentals, travel and visa arrangements, recruitment support, performance appraisal, and on-the-job staff training plans.

• Office Manager / Finance
  CARE International, Macedonia
  May 1999 – Jul 1999

  Managed administration services, cash handling, treasury functions, vouchers, expenditure processing, accounting-system data, Excel spreadsheets and monthly project expenditure reports.

• Office Manager / Logistics
  CARE International, Albania
  Apr 1999 – May 1999

  Assessed rehabilitation sites, prepared work plans and field surveys, supervised administrative staff, managed petty cash documentation and logistics reporting, and maintained cargo tracking and supplier coordination.

• Shelter / Field Monitor
  CARE International, Yugoslavia · Kosovo
  Jan 1999 – Mar 1999

  Supported Shelter Programme setup and rehabilitation projects. Negotiated with contractors, supported pre-qualification and bid analysis, sourced materials, oversaw tenders and contractor procedures, supervised construction-site implementation, and maintained field data.

• Shift Leader / Operator
  BEL Pagette
  Jul 1997 – Mar 1999

  Managed a paging centre, systems and staff rosters for an enhanced alphanumeric paging services provider.

Education

• MBA – Master of Business Administration
  South-East European University
  Management, Leadership & Project Coordination · 2008 – 2010
• MA
  University of Pristina
  Faculty of Architecture & Civil Engineering · 1990 – 1996

Skills

Tools / apps / platforms

Languages