Our Team
Saif Ahmad
Chairman & Founder
Saif is a British Bangladesh humanitarian. He was formerly the Chief Executive Officer of UK charities Al-Khair Foundation, Muslim Aid and Islamic Help and a number of other UK based not-for-profit organisations. Saif has worked over 35 years spanning from local and central government, as well as in the private and voluntary sectors. He has sat on numerous boards and committees including the Policy Action Team of the Social Exclusion Unit of the Cabinet Office; the National Young People’s Learning Committee of the Learning and Skills Council; and the Regeneration Practitioners’ Group of the Home Office.
In 2016, Saif realised that he wanted to share his expertise of the NGO sector with others, especially those who were looking to get into work involving international development. This provided the spark that led to the creation of McAndrew Leadership. Since this time, Saif has devoted himself to building up young professionals in the skills required to excel in the line of work. Furthermore, he has been instrumental in acquiring institutional funding for multiple organisations and capacity building these entities in many different areas, ranging from fundraising to international programmes.
Zahra Ahmad
Managing Director
Zahra is the Managing Director of McAndrew Leadership. Her role involves ensuring the smooth running and day-to-day operations of the company. Zahra is responsible for managing several clients ranging from NGOs, faith-based institutions, and tech start-ups. She works to build strong relationships with clients, colleagues, team members and stakeholders to better assist in alleviating human suffering and improving the lives of the most vulnerable.
Zahra graduated from King’s College London in 2017 with a BA (Hons) in History. For the past decade, she has built her knowledge, understanding and skillset in the non-profit sector, working with a number of humanitarian and grassroots entities, such as Global One, Oxfam, MADE, and the Alliance of Religions and Conservation.
In 2018, Zahra visited the Rohingya refugee camp in Cox’s bazar which sparked an interest in teaching and supporting young people to achieve their goals and ambitions. Through Teach First’s Leadership Development programme, Zahra spent a year teaching Geography in a secondary school in North London from 2020 – 2021.
Adam Folorunsho Olowo
Director of Programmes
Adam Folorunsho Olowo recently completed his MA in Religion in Global Politics, Department of Religions and Philosophy at SOAS University of London. He holds his first Master’s degree in Comparative Religion from Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar where he graduated with distinction in 2021. He also obtained his Bachelor’s Degree from the International Islamic University, Malaysia. His internship with the Centre for Arab-West Understanding CAWU in 2019, in Cairo, Egypt solidified his natural interest in the humanitarian sector as he engaged in a wide range of humanitarian activities across Cairo’s most deprived regions.
As the Programme Research Manager for McAndrew Leadership, Adam’s primary responsibility has been to manage our donor database, coordinate programs, collaborate with clients, and research new grant opportunities while assessing their suitability. Alongside conducting comprehensive research into a wide area of development and humanitarian activities around the world, Adam also assists with writing grant proposals to secure funding for development and humanitarian projects across different sectors including WASH, education, agriculture, health, and many more.
Chloe Woolford
Head of Client Relations
Chloe graduated from King’s College London in 2021 with a Master’s degree in Global Affairs. Whilst studying, she specialised in the history, politics and culture of the Middle East and North Africa which has led to a passionate interest in the role of local/community-led action within the framework of global development, as well as interest in work which promotes access to education and healthcare.
Since joining in September 2021, Chloe currently works as McAndrew Leadership’s Client Relationship Manager. Chloe is responsible for maintaining and building strong relationships with clients as well as overseeing the delivery of funding proposals, working closely with both clients and team members. She also works to support clients with resource mobilisation, research and writing, offering bespoke and tailored support to clients, and working across multiple geographies.
David Ball
Programme Development Coordinator
David graduated from the University of Leeds in 2021 with a degree in History. At Leeds, he specialised in the study of Afghanistan and later applied his knowledge of the country as a volunteer Secondary Data Analyst at UN-OCHA. This experience introduced him to the humanitarian and development sectors, which he built upon in a voluntary role at the UN DCO.
David is interested in the power of partnerships in solving the world’s most pertinent problems; namely, the role of knowledge exchange in facilitating timely, informed and effective decision-making in the humanitarian and development sectors.
Yukiko Takahashi
Marketing Specialist
Yukiko graduated with an in MA Globalisation, Business and Sustainable Development from the University of East Anglia. Following her Masters, Yukiko worked at a marketing coordinating company in Thailand for 3 years, where she developed effective marketing plans and implemented marketing activities utilising creative tools and strategies.
She fostered her knowledge and experience in marketing when securing a role at a Japanese Consulting firm. As a consultant in the research department, she worked closely with clients and was responsible for overseeing a project from proposal to completion.
Yukiko has also studied and volunteered in the Philippines, Cambodia and Rwanda as she has a keen interest in travel, and exploring multicultural settings, in order to contribute to the International Development sector. Yukiko is passionate about how business and the third sector can work together for a better world.
Ahmad Munir Hossain FCS
Director of Quality Assurance and Compliance
Ahmad Munir has more than two decades of corporate experience in the areas of corporate governance, stakeholder management, regulatory affairs, responsible marketing and human resources.
He served in different senior management and leadership roles, both in leading MNCs, JVs and local conglomerates across diverse and highly regulated industries in Bangladesh.
Ahmad Munir has an MBA from University of Dhaka. He is also a qualified Chartered Secretary and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries of Bangladesh (ICSB).
Jo Jones
Head of Resource Mobilisation
With experience of senior management and strategic roles in the public and voluntary sectors, Jo Jones is well placed to support organisations in their development.
A former secondary head teacher with a Masters’ Degree in Management, she has over 25 years’ experience in senior management roles in education and the voluntary sector. She has presented at conferences and led workshops across the UK and in the USA, Australia and France.
Jo has extensive experience working with voluntary sector organisations and faith communities, supporting organisational development and helping them access funding for projects in the UK and worldwide.
Our Research & Development Officers
Sashi Singhal
Sashi recently completed an MSc in the Politics of Conflicts, Rights and Justice from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, as well as obtaining a First Class BA (Hons) in French and History from the University of Warwick in 2021.
She is particularly interested in the field of migration and mobility with a focus on the experiences of women and girls, and in the future, hopes to work in Policy and Research to help create more equitable, sustainable, and humanitarian approaches to vulnerable migrants, asylum-seekers, and refugees.
Milo Basak Whitbread
Milo is a recent graduate in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics and previously studied History and Politics at the University of Oxford. His academic interests focused on gentrification, international law, development and neo-colonialism. Milo hopes to build upon the skills and knowledge he acquired during his education in more practical contexts by assisting with the work of NGOs and charities within the UK and internationally.
Dr Rebecca Louise Hiscott
After completing a PhD with the University of Hull in 2016, Rebecca decided to have an adventure in China to broaden her mind. In the past six years, she has gained an insight into a different world view from social, cultural and political perspectives. In light of these new insights, Rebecca hopes to make a difference to the lives of others, and use her skills to be helpful to those who need. She believes that the value of making a contribution to the life of one person is time that is spent worthwhile. Rebecca hopes to use her experiences and skills to have a greater, and more positive impact on the lives of others.
Jonathan Marriage
Jonathan recently graduated from the University of Manchester with a First Class Undergraduate Degree in Politics and International Relations. With a particular interest in climate-related issues, Jonathan took up the position at McAndrew Leadership to gain exposure in the field of International Development and have the opportunity to engage in valuable work spanning a wide range of different issues.
Jacob Prah
Jacob holds a Master’s Degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Western Australia, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Entrepreneurship Development from University for Development Studies, Ghana. He has over 9 years of experience working with international and local Charities and NGOs in agriculture, livelihoods, economic empowerment, social and financial inclusion among others. Prior to joining McAndrew Leadership, Jacob worked with SEND Ghana and World Vision Ghana as a Civil Society Advisor and Development Facilitator respectively.