Grace Najjar
Who Is She
Personal information
What I have done for Lebanon
Grace Najjar has over a decade being involved as national expert on international funded projects (by the European Commission, the World Bank, GIZ and USAID) with focus in Lebanon on public sector, most recent missions were on EU funded projects for the Lebanese parliament, modernization of its Information Systems, applications and infrastructure, building procurement guide for external expertise allocation, others supporting by USAID, consists of supporting the accreditation of the food testing laboratories of the chamber of commerce, industry and agriculture in Lebanon. Heavily involved with the Project Management Institute (pmi.org). Ms Najjar is a founding member of the PMI Lebanon chapter, she led various executive roles supporting the development of the chapter and its community, aiming at advancing the project management profession and building a professional network of qualified project managers in Lebanon. She has a large record in teaching and education for youth and professionals. She is handling the project management education, PMP/CAPM certification preparation at Ecole Superieure des Affaires- ESA- Beirut, ESIB and USJ- FS.
Contact information / Work
Education
- Master's Degree, Telecommunications, 2000-2002, Saint Joseph University in partnership with École Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications-Paris (ENST), Lebanon.
- Bachelor's Degree, Electrical Engineering/Information Systems, 1995, Saint Joseph University, Lebanon.
Areas of expertise
- People and capabilities alignment
- Growth & business development support
- Stakeholders | C-Level engagement
- Results delivery
- Performance improvement & enablement
- Arabic
- English
- French
Work history
- Corporate Relations Manager for Southern Europe and the Middle East, 2013-present, Project Management Institute (PMI).
- Founded own company in Beirut- Lebanon
- Managing Director and Founder, 2010-present, Align Management Solutions.
- Lecturer, 2010-present, Saint Joseph University.
- Visiting Professor, , 2010-present, Ecole Supérieure des Affaires (ESA).
- Long term Leadership roles in public & private sector: Microsoft, Bank of Beirut, Fransabank, Capital Banking Solutions, Audi Private Bank, BLOM, Chambers of Commerce Industry & Agriculture in Lebanon.
- Senior Consultant, 2002-present, International funded projects (on EU | World Bank | USAID|GIZ funded programs; worked for GOPA, IMG, WFD, ACDI VOCA, WCO, Interel Group).
Honorary office and memberships
- Member of the Order of Engineers and Architects-Beirut, 1995-present.
- Ambassador, The International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), 2013-2014.
- Regional mentor at the Project Management Institute (PMI)-Middle East, 2010-2013.
- Coordinator of the First Academic Forum Project New Management Teaching Opportunities for Business and Technical School Growth, October 2011.
- Co-founder and Vice-president and regional mentor (2010-2013) of the Project Management Institute (PMI) Lebanon's Chapter, 2004-2009.
Productions
- Featured by ITP- Arabian business - UAE, World Union of Arab Bankers (WUAB), Institute for Women Studies in the Arab World.
- Nominated on the Board of the Scientific Committee of Order of Engineers and Architects- Beirut - Lebanon.
- Invited Lecturer, a conference on "Project Management Value in Education: Skills Gaps", organized by the PMI-Arabian Gulf Chapter, Bahrain, 2013.
- Lecture entitled "Why Leadership is not an Option" at the Order of Engineers and Architects-Beirut , 2013.
- Keynote speaker at the First Project Management Conference in Lebanon organized by the Project Management Institute Lebanon's Chapter, Beirut, 2012.
- Lecture entitled "Why Teaching Project Management?" at the British University of Dubai, Dubai, 2012.
- Lecture entitled "Project Management Value-Required Skills" at the Order of Engineers and Architects- Beirut, 2012.
Awards and Distinctions
- Selected as one of the top 100 most powerful women for the year 2013 by the Arabian Business Magazine, a Dubai-based English-language weekly magazine, 2014.
- Nominated on the Board of the Scientific Committee of Order of Engineers and Architects- Beirut - Lebanon
- Featured by ITP- Arabian business - UAE, World Union of Arab Bankers (WUAB), The Arab Institute for Women (AIW).
- Awarded a special trophy as one of the most inspiring women by the minister of international cooperation and development, United Arab Emirates, March 2014.
- Trophy of appreciation by the Project Management Institute-Lebanon's Chapter as founding mentor and regional mentor, November 2012.
- Award of appreciation by the Alumni Committee of the College St. Joseph - Soeurs Antonines-Zahle, June, 2012.
