Marcus Williamson

Marcus Williamson is a specialist in programming in conflict-affected areas with over 20 years of professional experience, including six years of experience on Syria. He has led and implemented projects for a range of donors, and has geographical experience in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, South Sudan, Liberia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Thailand and Myanmar. Mr. Williamson is an expert in program management with particular expertise in system-building, team management and grant management, and has served as Chief of Party, Director, Team Leader (TL) or Deputy Team Leader (DTL) for over a dozen projects and programs, including programs funded by USAID, the EU, DFID/FCDO and the World Bank. Mr. Williamson is currently Chief of Party of a $60m USAID Democracy, Rights and Governance activity. This activity is aimed at promoting federal democracy though support for political processes and political activism, supporting emerging local governance structures to provide essential services including WASH and education services, and supporting community resilience through humanitarian assistance. Mr. Williamson previously was the Chief of Party for the $75m USAID Syria Essential Services II project. Based in Jordan, the program worked with subnational governance structures in Syria to restore agricultural livelihoods, rehabilitate infrastructure (including WASH, health and education infrastructure) and strengthen governance through grants and technical assistance. The activity covered Daraa, Rural Damascus, Raqqa and Deir-Ez-Zor. In this role, Mr. Williamson oversaw an annual budget of $15 million, four project offices, and over 100 staff. Mr. Williamson was also previously the Deputy Team Leader of the UK Foreign Office's Support to Emerging Governance in Syria program, which supported Community-Based Development in 37 towns in Syria, across Idlib, Aleppo, Daraa and Rural Damascus. Mr. Williamson has a B. Phil in Philosophy (Masters equivalent) and an M.A. in Psychology, Physiology and Philosophy, both from Oxford University. He was formerly a lecturer at the University of Oxford and a consultant at McKinsey & Co.