Ritu Bharadwaj

1. Senior leadership and strategic portfolio management experience of over 20 years. I have led the design and management of a comprehensive portfolio of programs valued at over $10 billion, focusing on climate change loss and damage, resilience, and adaptation across various global regions. These roles demanded strategic oversight, operational management, developing and managing partnerships with diverse organisations and stakeholders, and a deep understanding of the multifaceted impacts of climate change on diverse communities. I helped design and implement programmes while working with the Indian government, UK DFID (now FCDO - Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office), CWF (Climate Works Foundation) and IIED helping tackle diverse issues related to climate, environment, urban and rural development, energy and nature. These programmes have been recognised for their innovation, replication and scalability. 2. Developing practical solutions for enhancing climate resilience, delivering climate finance to local level and addressing loss and damage: I led the development of the Alliance for Locally Led Transformative Action on Loss and Damage (ALL-ACT) with 8 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), bringing together governments and grassroots organisations network, NGOs, research organisations, and humanitarian actors among others. This initiative have been at the frontline of climate finance, harmonising governance of a range of climate, humanitarian, private sector and development finance issues, and pioneering practical solutions to addressing loss and damage. 3. Managing multi-country and multi-cultural teams: I have led and managed multi-country, multicultural, and multidisciplinary teams of senior experts across diverse organisational settings such as government, funding agencies, NGO and research organisation. My tenure with the Indian government included managing extensive teams of over a thousand professionals, spread across various states, regions, and programs. Internationally, I have steered multi-country teams in the Asia region for UK DFID (now FCDO) and CWF, and I managed the Project Management Unit (PMU) of the G20 Secretariat in Saudi Arabia. Presently, I lead IIED's largest team and consortium of partners globally, extending across Asia, Pacific, Africa, Caribbean, Latin America, and Europe. In all these positions, I have demonstrated a strong commitment to promoting diversity, inclusion, and a positive work environment, enabling and supporting the team to develop and thrive. I am also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP)® which underscores my commitment to excellence in project management and team leadership. 4. Effective thought leadership and high-level influence demonstrated in a range of contexts, with southern governments as much as with development partners. Extensive experience of attracting funding agencies and multistakeholder partners to back initiatives (e.g. the SIDS Financial Compact for Resilience Prosperity) – including working with Presidents, Prime Ministers, Environment ministers and Finance Ministers – based on my strategic advice, robust technical analysis, and excellent communication and negotiation skills.