Zonta Club of Ibadan l

·         Candidate for: Area 3 Director
·        Zonta  Club of Cotonou, Benin
·         Years in Zonta: 11
·         Classification: 3399  Managing Supervisor sale and service
 
·         District appointment:  2018-2020, UN. Committee co-chairman 2020-2022
 
·         Service Committee Chairman
 
·         District elected:  None
 
·         Club appointed: N/A
 
·         Club elected:  Vice-President 2014-2016
·         President 2016-2018
 
 
Main Achievements in Zonta
 
As a Vice President, led Zonta Cotonou Club during a long illness of the elected President, with a clear work plan, was able to increase attendance in Club meetings.
 
Took the lead in launching the first campaign “Zonta Say No to violence against women” with a participation of Government officials from the Ministry of Social Affairs, and Cotonou municipality.
 
Institutionalized the 2 weeks activism where Zonta was a major actor.
 
Beninese Civil society, UN entities, UNFPA and UNICEF, started co-sharing implementation of this activity, under different initiatives (zero tolerance for children marriage, fight pregnancy in schools due to sexual harassment, etc.)
 
Networked to have Zonta of Cotonou become a valuable partner in empowering women, advocating for women rights. Was able to build a strong relationship with UNICEF, UNFPA, the American embassy and USAID, the Ministry of Social Affairs. This led to Zonta Cotonou becoming a member of the closed Club
of Technical and Financial Partners concerting with the Government on issues and initiatives to empower women and to improve women status in Benin.
 
Built relationship with Zonta members of Europe and share information and knowledge. In October, with the International President Cheketé, with other sister Zontians from, Côte d’ivoire, Togo, Sénégal, Burkina Fasso, we shared virtually our experiences in education, economy and culture with the French club of Montpellier.
 
Service clubs often act as competitors, under my Club presidency, we were able to sign a collaboration agreement with other service organizations, Rotary, Lions, Innerwheel, Soroptimists, etc. We on different occasions co-organized and financed the activism to fight women violence with Soroptimist.

I put in place a system of systematically reporting of our activities to the district and Zonta
headquarters, leading to be cited on several occasion in the Zonta monthly newsletter.  I was also asked to be a speaker in sharing Zonta Benin Club activities in Yokohama Zonta International convention.
 
 
 
Responsibilities of position:  (Current company/previous company)
Describe how your business or professional experience and skills will contribute to the position  for which you are submitting your nomination:
 
 
Relevance of my previous experience in Zonta.
 
In charge of strategic planning for initiatives towards empowering women through advocacy and service, fund raising and networking to protect women’s rights and women status promotion.
Responsible for fundraising and prioritizing project and reporting to donors, led actions to suppress violence against women. Liaised with technical and financial partners to advocate for women rights, women empowerment and improving girls’ conditions through educations. In this regard, I networked with the UNICEF and UNFPA to advocate for eradicating children marriage and dialogued with the government, the community and religious leaders to convince the local population stop the practice of marrying young girls.
 
 
. Keeping this in mind, this experience which was on a local level can be put in use while working regionally in area 3
 
 
. As a manager of two small businesses, I have the responsibility entailed to the development of the overall company business strategy, business development and budgeting. This includes identification of opportunities for expansion. Initiate business ideas, develop proposals, business plans, and present them to the relevant stakeholder for instance for loans and preparing budget at
each end year and ensuring that monthly expenditures coincide with the planned budget. Furthermore, responsibility for acquisitions with the key role of identifying rational opportunities and investing.
 
This experience can be used when strategically planning within Zonta. For instance, in planning visits in my area, I can use the rational of how strategically the visit will contribute to the Zonta goals, plans training sessions towards expansion in Zonta. How to increase membership, how to use the scarce resources, how to be cost effective with District funds allotted to the area.
 
 
. Experience with Development activities, previous employment in
USAID, FAO, Danish Embassy,
 
As area 3 director, I can make my previous experience to good use, as it is relevant to what Zonta does in terms of fund raising, implementing activities towards empowering women and strengthening institutional capability of the Civil society.
 
Having worked for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, The German Technical Cooperation, USAID, The Danish Embassy and the Zonta International, I possess a very diversified expert management knowledge.
 
For instance, during my career, I Assisted the Missions to implement funded programs in compliance with Mission regulations and procedures and assisted the program and technical officers in preparing the Scope of work for Requests for Proposals (RFP). I assisted the overseeing and managing pre-award and post-award activities. Followed up and During project implementation, maintained close work relationship and communication with all awardees and other technical staff in regard to grants administration, Missions rules, regulations and procedures.
 
I am skilled with on-hand knowledge and experience in project management. Specifically, among many management responsibilities, have also served as the USAID’s Agreement Officer’s Technical Representative (AOTR) for very highly visible programs, e.g., the Ambassador’s Human Right Small Grant to Support different initiatives falling outside USAID approved bilateral portfolio. Both in Rwanda and Benin, I oversaw the management of various Grants and sub-Grants programs with American Non- Government Organizations and Private Volunteer Organizations (NGOs, PVOs). I managed a 12.000.000 dollars Umbrella program with 4 components:
 
1. strengthening the institutional capacity of the parliament technical staff,
 
2. component to increase the independence of media,
 
3.component to support the efforts in decentralization and
 
4. a component to support the civil society flourish as an active public interest group.
 
Some of my tasks consisted in setting goals and objectives, clarify results to achieve and develop indicators to evaluate the results, plan the resources to achieve the results, monitor, evaluate and report on progress.
 
In addition to managing development programs, as the mission gender appointee, I was responsible to ensure the incorporation of gender consideration issues in all projects implemented by USAID Rwanda. In Benin, using AID/W Central funds, I initiated an activity to increase Beninese women’s participation in public affairs by financing an effort to secure women access to elector’s cards.
 
Involvement with civic, community or professional organizations, positions held in the last five years and any future commitments:
 
 
 
. I am actively involved in civil society and volunteer service, on a voluntary basis, I consult a NGO “Talk thru Art” which empower financially handicapped women who make designed basked, I help them have access to expatriate market.
 
. I still do service through Zonta, I have held different leadership positions: Vice president and President at Zonta International, Benin
 
Co-chairman of Zonta International district 18 UN committee
 
Co-chairman of Zonta International District 18 Service Committee
 
. Treasurer, MAFUBO Association, an association involved in improving Women status internationally.
 
What  are your goals for advancing globally the objects of Zonta  International and how do you propose to accomplish them?
 
For me, committing and contributing to serving the mission of Zonta is a passion.
 
 
– I am committed to advance the conditions and rights of women both locally and globally. I am committed towards achieving this goal by assisting in improving greater communication and collaboration between the Clubs of Area 3, among them and with the club of other areas, especially with clubs in countries close by and build networks with international clubs as we did with France.
–     I will increase efforts to launch initiatives in collaboration with other clubs in other Districts, by sharing experience, knowledge, mentorship,
 
 
–     Within my area, I will develop strategies to increase membership. Eventually, help introduce Zonta in other African countries.
 
 
–     I will set up initiatives for coaching and mentoring for new presidents, I will help with Communication from International and District direction to Area 3 Clubs. I will Follow up and ensure reporting of activities to the District and Zonta headquarters.
 
 
What  special competencies and attributes, do you possess which qualify you to serve  in the position(s) for which you have been  nominated?
 
 
 
I feel confident that I possess the Management and Leadership Core competences to fulfill the Area Directors’ duties and responsibilities.
 
. Integrative and varied public and private sector experience from the perspective of strategic decision-making:
 
. competence and aptitude to synthesize and conceptualize ideas in a strategic context and in an evolving global environment.
 
. Ability to work in a multicultural environment. All my previous experience was in a multicultural setting, studying, and working (with European, Americans, East and West Africans, Asians) thus, the Ability to understand the interaction of an organization in a multifaceted environment, more specifically, ability to understand

the dynamic of negotiation in a multicultural environment, and about the differences in national cultures, differences within cultures, cultural values and their impact on business practices in different context.
 
. Worked for various donors, worked in the private sector and NGOs in a leadership capacity where I was empowered, hence my competence in Leadership and transparent and empowering management competence in formulation and implementation of strategies and policies. Specifically, capability to understand the functional interrelationship within the organization and to conceive their integration in the processes.
 
. Managing private businesses has improved my skills in managing the value chain and managing the just on time logistic. My teachers at the university and my supervisors taught me the thoughtfulness of implications of integrating and the advantage of taking benefit of
the human, economic and technological resources available. This is used in my leadership style.
 
. During my employment, I have learned by doing and developed the Capability to understand and foresee that it is necessary, according to specific situations to integrate personal values, ethics, existing policies, coordination, and competitive conditions in selecting courses of actions.
 
. In my leader capacity in Women Associations, I have strengthened my skills in advocacy and empowerment of women and girls and in gender integration of male in promoting women status.
Leadership, and business development that I would like to bring to
this position to serve Zonta.