Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Timeline
Generic

Karim Bin-Humam

Innovation Programmes Expert
Vienna

Summary

Product Strategy & Customer Success Lead with 15 years of experience driving digital transformation and impactful change. Skilled in stakeholder management, strategic planning, and achieving product-market fit, with a passion for leveraging technology for social impact. I excel in cross-functional collaboration, using data-driven solutions and user-centric design to solve complex challenges and advance humanitarian goals.

Overview

19
19
years of professional experience
8
8
years of post-secondary education
4
4
Languages

Work History

Digital Livelihoods & Employment Advisor

UNHCR (The UN Refugee Agency)
12.2022 - Current
  • Coordinated cross-agency activities for the 'Promotion, Inclusion, and Protection of Refugees in the Gig Economy' project, including publishing best-practice research (1, 2, 3) and providing technical and operational support to country operations on digital employment projects
  • Currently leading the launch of a flagship global digital employment initiative for refugees 'Inclusive Digital Economy Alliance (IDEA)', a multi-year partnership to integrate refugees into the online labor market, focusing on: Fundraising: Developing multi-stakeholder proposals and budgets to fund global initiatives, Strategic Planning: Creating country-specific roadmaps for IDEA implementation, Partnership Development: Establishing partnerships to harness expertise in the digital economy

Product Strategy & Digital Technology Advisor

Upwardly Global
03.2023 - Current
  • Directed the transition from a service-based to a product-focused model, leveraging agile methodologies to scale services for immigrant and refugee job-seekers in the U.S
  • Defined product strategy, aligning leadership and business units around a unified vision and objectives
  • Established the organization's product management function, hiring key staff and implementing agile processes like roadmapping, journey mapping, user research, and release planning
  • Launched a customer success and analytics platform to measure product impact on user needs and business goals

Co-Founder and Director of Customer Success & Impact

SkillLab
01.2018 - 12.2023
  • Company Overview: A tech company leveraging AI to help refugees document and link employable skills to training and job opportunities
  • Developed and executed a growth strategy to achieve product-market fit, scaling the user and customer base across 20+ countries
  • Led Customer Success and Impact teams, integrating SkillLab's technology into global partner programs
  • Advocated as the 'Voice of Customer' to shape product development with data-driven insights, and implemented feedback systems to continually measure and improve product impact and user experience
  • A tech company leveraging AI to help refugees document and link employable skills to training and job opportunities

Principal Information & Communication Technology Specialist

Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI)
11.2015 - 06.2018
  • Member of DAI's Center for Digital Acceleration (CDA) acting as strategic ICT advisor to DAI's global development projects
  • Provided technical and operational support across DAI's global development project portfolio, strategically integrating ICTs into country operations programming improve drive impact
  • Led and supported fundraising efforts, developing ICT-related proposals and strategies for multi-million dollar projects financed by global donors including USAID, DFID, and the World Bank
  • Designed and delivered capacity building programmes across country operations, partner organizations, and donors/clients on the effective design of ICT-enabled programming in humanitarian and development contexts

International Programmes Officer

The Global Knowledge Initiative (GKI)
06.2013 - 07.2014
  • Acted as primary focal point for a partnership with the Georgia Technical Research Institute (GTRI) on a practical research project
  • Supported the developing and publishing of a systems-theory based methodology for assessing the Innovation Potential for Social Impact in developing economies
  • Designed and delivered human-centered-design trainings for social impact to university students

Engineering Project Manager - Electric & Hybrid Vehicles

BMW (via Altran Technologies)
03.2011 - 08.2012
  • Lead project manager for a high-voltage battery development and maintenance for select electric and hybrid vehicles
  • Coordinated cross-departmental activities for the design, development, implementation, and testing of high-voltage batteries for BMW's Active E flagship electric vehicle
  • Compiled system-level technical requirements in accordance with company, national, and international compliance standards
  • Monitored and reported to vehicle integration committee on the progress of system component development, manufacturing, and testing
  • Participated in international knowledge transfer task force to equip Chinese supplier Amperex Technologies Ltd
  • With specialized battery-manufacturing know-how

Scientific Research Assistant - Virtual Product Development

Technical University of Munich
01.2009 - 08.2009
  • Worked with researchers in the Virtual Product Development group to further the department's research initiatives in virtual product development
  • Supported the development of software prototype for automated engineering design synthesis - Prototype has since been developed into a Soley Technologies
  • Developed a proof-of-concept electric powertrain model for electric vehicles using the above mentioned software prototype

Associate Producer - Digital Media

UNICEF
11.2005 - 09.2006
  • Produced and edited video and radio news reports highlighting UNICEF's role in addressing global issues affecting children
  • Co-produced and managed media content for UNICEF's special partnership with FIFA for the 2006 FIFA football world cup

Education

MA - International Relations and Economics

Johns Hopkins University - School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)
Bologna, Washington
08.2012 - 05.2014

MSc. - Information Technology in Mechanical Engineering

Technical University of Munich (TUM)
09.2006 - 01.2009

BS. - Mechanical Engineering

Tufts University
09.2001 - 05.2005

Skills

  • Risk Management
  • Stakeholder Management
  • Capacity Building
  • Communication
  • Stakeholder Management & Coordination
  • Problem-Solving
  • Data Analysis
  • Leadership
  • Customer Success
  • Collaboration
  • Data-Driven Applications
  • User Testing
  • Product Management
  • Partnership Development
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Timeline

Product Strategy & Digital Technology Advisor

Upwardly Global
03.2023 - Current

Digital Livelihoods & Employment Advisor

UNHCR (The UN Refugee Agency)
12.2022 - Current

Co-Founder and Director of Customer Success & Impact

SkillLab
01.2018 - 12.2023

Principal Information & Communication Technology Specialist

Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI)
11.2015 - 06.2018

International Programmes Officer

The Global Knowledge Initiative (GKI)
06.2013 - 07.2014

MA - International Relations and Economics

Johns Hopkins University - School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)
08.2012 - 05.2014

Engineering Project Manager - Electric & Hybrid Vehicles

BMW (via Altran Technologies)
03.2011 - 08.2012

Scientific Research Assistant - Virtual Product Development

Technical University of Munich
01.2009 - 08.2009

MSc. - Information Technology in Mechanical Engineering

Technical University of Munich (TUM)
09.2006 - 01.2009

Associate Producer - Digital Media

UNICEF
11.2005 - 09.2006

BS. - Mechanical Engineering

Tufts University
09.2001 - 05.2005
Karim Bin-HumamInnovation Programmes Expert