Rifat has thirty five years of experience managing organisations and programmes at senior level in the Middle East, Central Asia and Europe and experience working for donor agencies. As a consultant Rifat has designed projects, has conducted needs assessments and baseline studies, drafted policy papers, conducted external evaluations and assessments, implemented training and capacity building and has helped with strategic planning and organisational de-centralisation and restructuring.
As a manager/director he has been responsible for organisations and programmes with multi-million dollar budgets and funded by foreign donors, including governmental bodies. Rifat has vast experience in child rights and child protection having established the Palestinian section of Defence for Children International, and was the elected President of the global movement for around 7 years and has conducted several consultancies in this field.
His experience also spans human rights advocacy, development, humanitarian assistance, youth development and rehabilitation. He is an author of three books and has contributed to other 12 books and several articles in human rights and civil society topics.
Rifat is fluent in Arabic (mother tongue) and English. He is based in Beit Sahour, West Bank, Palestine. He has worked with INTRAC on the evaluation of Transparency International’s NIS II project in the MENA region (summer 2016).