INTRAC is delighted to announce that Paul Knipe is joining us in the new role of Director of Consultancies, Impact, and Influence. Paul will be a member of our Senior Management Team, and as of April will be working together with our incoming Chief Executive Kate Newman.
Paul will provide strategic direction for INTRAC’s consultancy and research services, helping to increase our impact and influence in the sector. He will oversee INTRAC’s consultancy work and our network of skilled consultants around the world, helping to deliver projects which serve our mission: to strengthen civil society organisations, helping them develop, engage with others, and do what they do better. Paul will begin working in the role on Thursday 20 January.
Yvonne Taylor, Chair of INTRAC’s Board of Trustees, said of the appointment, “We are pleased to welcome Paul as Director of Consultancy, Impact and Influence. As well as his wealth of field experience, Paul also brings knowledge and know-how on developing positive collaborative networks and partnerships. This will be very important for INTRAC and the wider civil society sector going forward. This is an important new role for INTRAC, and we very much look forward to supporting Paul to develop the role working with colleagues, associates and partners over the coming months.”
Paul has held advisory, management and leadership roles in civil society, academia, and government for 15 years. He has worked extensively with civil society, national and local government, ethnic political organisations, the private sector and international community on civil society, livelihoods, and democracy and human rights strengthening initiatives. He is an experienced knowledge broker, familiar with accompanied learning processes to influence policymaking, and believes strongly in the importance of locally led development.
He lived in Myanmar and Sri Lanka for seven years, working with national NGOs and community-based partners to increase organisational capacity and programme impact. He was also Country Representative with Democracy Reporting International, setting up and leading their Sri Lanka office, and Deputy Officer-in-Charge at Myanmar Institute for Integrated Development.
Before joining INTRAC, Paul led various research, knowledge translation and accompanied learning initiatives at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS). This included the Knowledge, Evidence and Learning for Development programme (K4D) working with the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to influence development outcomes. He was also co-convenor of IDS’ Shaping Policy with Evidence short course.
“I am excited to welcome Paul to INTRAC”, said our interim Chief Executive Peter Sargent. “He brings a huge breadth and depth of experience in locally led development and civil society strengthening to the role and this will enable INTRAC to further develop and deliver impactful projects and services that support civil society to be sustainable and thrive.”
For his part, Paul said “I am delighted to join INTRAC at a very important moment, with so many complex challenges and opportunities for civil society. It is a privilege to be part of INTRAC’s mission to influence positive social change, and to work with such committed and experienced colleagues, partners, and clients.”