Grants & TA projects Specialist

More than ** years of successful track record in proposals and grants writing, government contracts management, technical and financial projects implementation in compliance with government and international funding agencies rules and regulations. Excellent project management, strategic planning, contract negotiation and budget planning skills. Strong ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams.

Technical skills:

Proposals & grants writing

Contracts management

Technical experts recruitment

Research and advisory

Pre-award budget development

Audit of expenditure

Project management

Advanced in MS Office (Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook), Internet

Post-award project monitoring

Public procurement in compliance with World Bank, European Commission, EBRD, UNDP, state funding agencies rules and regulations

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

White Glove Delivery Northeast, New York, USA 01/15 - 06/17

Manager, Risk & Compliance Department

Managed and optimized $3M national fleet lease and rental accounts. Secured insurance coverage and actively analyzed complex documents, provided operational support, while ensuring compliance with FMCSA regulations.

Decreased the annual fleet budget by 20% through audits and error remediation of rental and lease accounts;

Produced a 95% recovery rate for all truck cargo insurance claims with Lloyds of London, Chubb, Travelers;

Ensured compliance with truck agreements and protocols by instituting regular evaluations of rental and lease rates and services, and monitoring of fleet inventory;

Negotiated over $350K in invoice credits by performing thorough audits and discovery;

Built partnerships with Ryder, Penske, Enterprise, HUB’ senior lease and rental management resources;

Presented audit findings and recommendations to improve efficiency of billing systems;

Successfully passed multiple Federal (DOT) audits, ensuring operations compliance;

Implemented safety protocols and accurate data reviews, leading to satisfactory FMCSA ratings;

Reduced commercial insurance premiums for cargo, auto, general liability, and crime by adjusting policies and negotiating subcontractors’ liability.

GEA Strategy & Consulting, Bucharest, Romania 05/2012-10/2014

Director & Freelance Consultant, Strategies & Programs Department

Built key client relationships, negotiated successful agreements, coordinated technical & financial proposals, directly managed complex government advisory contracts and provided leadership for all project activities.

Responsible for market research and long term strategic client development to develop a presence for GEA in key sectors;

Responsible for recruitment of key individuals and strategic teaming with partner consultants;

Focused on European Union agencies, line ministries and large public agency clients by bidding for and winning strategic advisory projects;

Managed and prepared complex technical and financial proposals and grants, registering an average award rate of over 70%, bringing 8 government clients and over $4 million total projects value.

Directly managed internal and external cross-functional teams, including finance, banking, capital markets, IT, implementing 15+ advisory contracts at 8 clients’ sites in 30 months’ time span.

Provided technical expertise in areas covering national strategic planning, programming & evaluation of programs, socio-economic studies, market research, SMEs financing instruments, grants writing.

KPMG, Bucharest, Romania 05/2008-04/2012

Deputy Manager, Advisory Services – Public Sector

Directed cross-functional teams in preparing technical proposals and cost estimates in response to Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for both commercial and government clients. Contributed to the technical and financial management of contracts to ensure quality, client satisfaction and profitability within the design work.

Generated $3.5 million in revenue by effectively managing and preparing strategic proposals that were targeted to a variety of commercial and governmental clients.

Coordinated and managed the completion of over 25 proposals in accordance with European Commission, World Bank and Romanian Government procedures.

Covered all proposal development stages: public solicitations monitoring, kick-off meetings, proposal outline, schedule, technical proposal writing, budget estimates, team members recruitment, RFP compliance, document submission, agreements negotiation with business partners.

Created company best practices and standard procedures regarding bidding process.

Covered all the components of the projects cycle for 10+ government and commercial advisory projects, that were completed within scope, on time and on budget.

Provided technical expertise in areas covering governmental strategic planning, programming & evaluation of governmental funding, socio-economic studies, market research, grant applications for public infrastructure development.

Mercury 360 Communications, Bucharest, Romania 11/2005 – 03/2008

Proposal Coordinator & Project Manager

Managed and prepared technical proposals and cost estimates in response to Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for government and state agencies. Directed the efforts of cross-functional teams (graphic designers, editors, production personnel) during proposal writing and contracts implementation.

Contributed 60% in new sales to government by writing winning proposals.

Awarded over $ 3 million contracts covering national communication campaigns regarding government initiatives and programs.

Managed a significantly increased volume of technical and financial proposals.

Improved the proposal effectiveness and content quality.

Served as Project manager, directly managing the implementation of a $1.5 million government contract “Awareness campaign for the Regional Operational Program” (client: Ministry of European Integration, 2007 – 2008, European Commission funding).

Louis Berger Group, Bucharest, Romania 10/2003 – 10/2005

Business Developer

Managed and prepared Expressions of interest (EOI) applications for large infrastructure projects. Monitored and developed databases on public solicitations. Developed compliance and capabilities matrixes for decision makers conducting bid/no-bid reviews. Researched and selected company’s qualifications, evaluated other companies’ qualifications, negotiated Joint Ventures and prepared applications.

Shortlisted for over $ 10 million government contracts financed by European Commission, EBRD, World Bank, UNDP, foreign national governments in Central Eastern Europe & Balkans.

Managed a significantly increased volume of Expressions of Interest.

Reached an average shortlist rate of over 50% on all prepared Expressions of interests.

Gained access to new geographic markets in Central Eastern Europe & Balkans.

Extended the company’s areas of expertise (vocational training, education, grant scheme management).

Successfully trained staff members to become local representatives in Central Eastern Europe & Balkans.

EDUCATION

Academy of Economic Studies – Faculty of Management, Bucharest, Romania 2010 - 2012

Post-graduate courses - Management Consulting

Academy of Economic Studies – Faculty of International Relations, Bucharest, Romania 2011

Master of Science in Management of non-reimbursable funding (public)

Academy of Economic Studies – Faculty of Management, Bucharest, Romania 2003

BS Business Management

The academy is the most prestigious Romanian higher education institution in the fields of economics, management and public administration.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT / AFFILIATIONS

Certified in Project Management (10/2009), Government acquisitions (11/2009), Access non-reimbursable funding (04/2012).

Training courses in budget management & cost estimation, programming & evaluation of public funding.

Professional Project Manager (PMP) certification - ongoing.

Founding & Board member, Treasurer, Romanian American Business Council (RABC US) 2015 – present

Member of the Board of Advisors, United States Jewish Federation (USJF) 2017 - present

RESEARCH PAPERS & ADVISORY ASSIGNMENTS

List of research papers and advisory assignments will be provided upon request.

Contact this candidate