Jawid Omar, a seasoned professional with a strong background in finance and administrative leadership, commenced his career in January 2024 as a Program Officer at the Ministry of Finance, under a UNDP-funded program, where he played a key role in enhancing capacity and developing systems for budget formulation, public expenditures management, and aid coordination.
With a wealth of experience serving as an Aid Coordination Expert and later as Aid Coordination Manager from 2008 to 2013 at the Ministry of Finance, Jawid spearheaded the establishment of aid information management system and co-authored the inaugural development cooperation report in 2010. He fostered robust partnerships with major donors, including USAID, DFID, the EU, WB, and ADB, facilitating the strategic allocation of development funds across vital sectors such as infrastructure, education, health, governance, and economic growth in Afghanistan.
Transitioning to the role of Senior Advisor to the Minister of the Economy from 2017 to early 2021, Jawid played a pivotal role in crafting a comprehensive five-year import-substitution strategy and was instrumental in founding the Afghanistan Center for Economic Analysis. He collaborated closely with the Eurasia Competitiveness Program of the OECD to develop a policy note to streamline the formulation of an SME strategy, promote awareness of the advantages associated with business formalization, and enhance the quality of public services, especially within industrial parks.
Subsequently, Jawid leveraged his expertise towards post-peace programming during his tenure at the High Council for National Reconciliation from April to August 2021. He also conducted mid-term and final evaluations of UNIDO’s country program for Afghanistan and collaborated on food security research with prestigious organizations such as the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Jawid currently serves as a Program Manager at Lapis-Afghanistan. He holds a master’s degree in policy economics from Williams College (2014) and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the American University of Afghanistan (2012).