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Social Innovation Consultant

Ilena Paltzer
With 13 years of experience in addressing complex social challenges around the world, I use innovative tools, methodologies and mindsets to help organizations and teams design the most effective solutions to systemic issues.
Bio - About Me

I am Swiss, grew up in London and now live in Mexico - I speak English, Swiss-German, German and Spanish and have spent the last 13 years living in East Africa, South Asia and Latin America, working on issues across a spectrum of development - humanitarian - peacekeeping challenges.
I've worked on peacekeeping and disarmament, climate & food security, disaster resilience, gender equality and governance. In roles spanning complex project management, strategic partnerships & coordination, learning and knowledge management. In Pakistan in 2018, I seized the opportunity to pivot and focus my expertise on using innovation to address the SDGs.
My motivation comes from reimagining and disrupting the traditional development and humanitarian intervention models to achieve deeper impact at wider scale.
I am deeply passionate about applying principles of human-centered design and collaborative innovation to complex and seemingly intractable social challenges. A few of my favourite things are open innovation, systems thinking, user insights, behavioural research, challenge mapping, portfolio approaches & scaling strategies!
If such an approach inspires you... please reach out - I'd love to collaborate.
Work
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2023 - Present, Global/Remote
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2020 - 2023, Remote/Mexico
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2018 - 2019, Pakistan
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Sep 2016 - Aug 2018, Pakistan
Consultant: humanitarian / international development innovation, Key Client CGIAR as Innovation & Scaling Consultant
Innovation & Partnerships Director, Global Knowledge Initiative
Innovation Portfolio Advisor, UNDP
Partnerships & Coordination Specialist, UNDP
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2014 - 2016, Kenya
Regional Evaluation Analyst, UN Women
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Sep 2012 - Jan 2014, South Sudan
Special Assistant to Chief / Reporting Officer - Disarmament, Demobilization & Reintegration
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2012, London, UK
Knowledge & Information Management Consultant, Child Protection in Emergencies, Plan International
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2011 - 2012, London, UK
Research Assistant, Humanitarian Policy Group, Overseas Development Institute (ODI)
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2010 - 2011, USA
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2009 - 2010
Consultant, Facilitator, Rapporteur & intern, UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations & United Nations Alliance of Civilizations
Consultant - Strengthening smallholder framer access to markets (East Africa), FARM Africa
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