Our Executive Management Team:
Executive Director: Josephine OGAZI, PhD, BSc, MSc, member Institute of Director (IoD)
She is a Nigerian development professional with more than 20 years of experience in domestic and international resource mobilization and organizational development (OD). She is also a Gender expert and certified management consultant with over 20 years’ experience. She is experienced in developing public-private partnerships (PPP) to raise resources to fund projects, and also generating domestic funding from State governments by engaging State Ministries of Budget and Planning to allocate additional funding to specific projects.
She has in-depth hands-on experience in new business development with particularly strong expertise in competitive proposal writing which she has used to help local organizations and her own organization access funding for a direct grant from USAID Nigeria mission and this accounts for how she was able to lead WEWE to receive $11,049,990 for a 5-year cooperative agreement with USAID Nigeria mission.
The project was called USAID Local Partners Initiative for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (LOPIN) Region 2 (Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Imo and Rivers State in Nigeria). Josephine’s most recent and relevant OD experience was gained, when as the ED of WEWE (a Non for profit NGO also founded by her), she designed and implemented an OD project for 17 local CSOs sub-grantees of a sub-contract from USAID funded Strengthening Advocacy and Civic Engagement (SACE) implemented SAII associates limited by guarantee (an associate of Chemonics International Inc.).
The project was called Local Capacity Plus. Josephine coordinated this subcontract and provided leadership and coordination to strengthen the institutional capacity gap in 17 CSOs who were SACE sub-grantees in 10 states which include Abuja, Rivers, Kano, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Lagos, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom and Imo. The project focused on four areas of specialization which include (i) Institutional capacity, (ii) financial Management, (iii) procurement, (iv) Fund Raising and Report Writing, from August 1, 2017 to October 12, 2018 and the project budget was N113,283,084. (US$ 314,675). Josephine led an 8 man team of management consultants with expertise in the above mentioned four (4) areas of specialization and she used the methodology of developing training manual and tools and conducting trainings in the form of onsite one on one skill development and workshop trainings one in the south (Imo State) and one in the north. (Abuja).
Director Programs: Mrs Ngozi Orame – Okeke has a Masters in Cooperative Economics and Management and an HND in Agricultural Engineering.
She has over 16 years’ experience in OVC Programming, Monitoring and Evaluation. As Director Programs, 1 year as DCOP/Program Director on LOPIN-2 project (2018-2019), 4 years as Quality Improvement Director for LOPIN 2 project( 2014 to 2018), 2 years as M&E and Knowledge Management Advisor in USAID funded Health Care Improvement Project/Applying Science to Strengthen and Improve Systems ( USAID/ASSIST ) project for University Research company (2012 -2014), 2 years as Snr. M&E Specialist for European Cooperative For Rural Development (EUCORD) in USAID funded OVC Children of Hope project (2011 to 2012), She also worked as M&E officer in USAID OVC SUCCOUR project (2010 to 2011).
One year as M&E officer in USAID YCARE HIV prevention project of Young Women Christian Association (2008 to 2009), 5 years as Program Officer on USAID funded Community Care in Nigeria (CCN) project (2005-2008) and USAID GHAIN projects (2003 to 2005) respectively in Care for the Child organization. Okeke Ngozi has 16 years’ experience working on USG projects particularly USAID (2003- 2019) and is currently the Director Program in WEWE-IHVN ACHIEVE/SURGE CDC Funded project in Widows and Orphans Empowerment Organization. She has 16 years of uninterrupted experience in HIV programming from 2003 till date. Her areas of Core competencies include but are not limited to Monitoring and Evaluation of Projects on HIV prevention and intervention strategy, reproductive health, OVC, NGO Assessment and institutional capacity building, Community Mobilization and Staff Coordination and management.
Director Finance: Funmi Adegbesan FCA, ACIB, BSc, MBA, IoD
Funmi Adegbesan is the Director of Finance in WEWE, Nigeria. Before joining WEWE, Funmi worked with Center for Integrated health Program (CIHP) for seven years and rose to the position of Director, Finance and Subcontract. She started her career in NGO sector by working with International Center for HIV /AIDS Care and Treatment Program (ICAP) for five years and rose to the position of Finance Manager. She started her working career as an Audit trainee with an Audit firm named Z.O Ososanya & Co, Lagos office and moved to Wema Bank Plc. where she rose to the position of an Assistant Manager.
Funmi is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountant of Nigeria (ICAN) and Associate member of Chartered Institute of Bankers, Nigeria (CIBN) respectively. She had a BSc. degree in Accounting and Management from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife and Certification in Basics of Health Economic from World Bank Institute. She has MBA degree in Health Management from Paris Graduate School of Management, France.
Strategic Information (SI) Director: Chidimma Okoye, BSc., MPH
Chidimma Okoye is currently WEWE’s SI Director, she has over 12 years of professional experience in Monitoring Evaluation Learning and Adaptation. She has a MPH, (Major Health Promotion) from the Federal University of Technology Owerri, Nigeria, 2018 B.Sc., (Hons.) Biochemistry, Anambra State University, 2005.
Prior to this position Chidimma was the Director, Quality Improvement (June Director on WEWE LOPIN-2 project (2018-2019) and the Senior M&E Specialist/Advisor on WEWE LOPIN-2 project (2014-2018). Chidimma has 11 years’ experience of direct core HIV and OVC programming particularly in the area of M&E. Chidimma is a member of the National OVC M&E TWG, and has trained the Federal and State Ministry on NOMIS. Chidimma is outstanding in OVC M&E and as a result of her expertise, WEWE has received commendations from USAID SI M&E Manager – Mr. Akinyemi O. Atobatele on our high performance in M&E reporting.
Chidimma was the Senior M&E Specialist on MSH CUBS project (2013-2014), 4 years as M&E Specialist on MSH CUBS project (2010 – 2013), 2 Years as M&E Officer on Christian Aid funded Community Care in Nigeria (CCN) project (2008 – 2010) and 1 year as M&E Officer (Volunteer) on FHI- GHAIN project (2007 – 2008).
She is skilled in developing USAID M&E plans, facililating USAID Site Improvement Management Plans. She has conducting quantitative and qualitative data analysis using excel and SPSS to inform documentation of progress impact, decision making by stakeholders and lessons learned from projects/programs. Her areas of core competencies include but are not limited to Institutional Capacity Building, Community Mobilization, advocacy packaging and implementation, database management especially NOMIS database, gender mainstreaming and reproductive health, NGO assessment ,Monitoring and Evaluation of projects.
She has successfully built the capacity on Government and CSOs on M&E fundamentals and M&E management information systems in Nigeria for over 12 years. She has conducted training and facilitation of trainings on M&E for over 20 CSOs and implementing partners M&E staff, desk officers of state Ministries of Women Affairs and Social Development, M&E focal person of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development and over 9 LGA Desk officers on data collection tools and reporting and also built their on the use of the relevant National M&E tools and Management Information Systems such as National OVC Management Information Systems (NOMIS), and data demand and use, designed
Monitoring tools and evaluation methodology. She has developed training modules and conducted trainings for stakeholders (funders, implementers, beneficiaries and line ministries) on accurate use of data for decision making.
