Hermann Thiel

Governance and institutional development specialist with over 25 years' experience designing and implementing large-scale and complex donor-funded initiatives that strengthen public institutions, enhance accountability, and support democratic transitions in developing, transitional, and post-conflict environments. Proven expertise in project management, policy reform, institutional strengthening, strategic planning, electoral management, and capacity building for government institutions, election management bodies, and civil society.

Knowledgeable researcher, educator and manager with proven track record in overseeing national operations and driving strategic initiatives. Successfully led cross-functional teams to achieve organizational objectives and fostered key partnerships. Demonstrated expertise in project management and stakeholder engagement.

Professional leader with strong background in strategic management and organizational development. Adept at fostering team collaboration, driving performance, and adapting to evolving challenges. Skilled in stakeholder engagement, resource allocation, and impactful decision-making. Known for effective leadership and consistent achievement of results in dynamic environments.

• Program Leadership and Strategic Management – Managed nine multi-year USAID, US State Department, and DFID-funded projects in democracy and governance, ranging between $2.5 million and $102 million, leading multi-sectoral and multi-cultural teams of up to 40 employees and more than 80 consultants and experts.
• Institutional Development: Supported the establishment of election commissions in Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt, substantially improving professional management of elections in these countries. Supported the establishment of internal control and governance units in government entities in Egypt, including in the Ministries of Finance and Social Solidarity, and the National Council for Women, to combat corruption.
• Policy Advice and Reform: Provided high-level advice on electoral policy and reform to senior government officials and stakeholders in Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and Nigeria, leading to substantial amendments in legislation, regulations, and procedures.
• Evidence-Based Policy Development: Led public opinion research to inform the development of electoral policy in Nigeria. Developed research reports to inform and support government decision-making on electoral and anti-corruption policy in Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and Nigeria.
• High-Level Political Briefings: Provided high-level political and electoral briefings to senior decision-makers. This includes briefings for the Vice President of the United States, U.S. Senators, Congressional delegations, as well as regular briefings for U.S. Ambassadors, U.S. Embassy staff, European Union delegations, and election observation missions from the US, EU, OSCE, and African Union.
• Elections, Governance and Anti-Corruption Strategy Development and Implementation: Led teams of experts that supported the development of Strategic and Operational Plans for conducting elections in Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, and Nigeria. Supported the development of a National Anti-Corruption Strategy in Egypt and an implementation plan for the National Climate Change Strategy in Egypt.
• Institutional Assessments: Conducted institutional assessments to inform the development of capacity-building programs for election commissions in Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Ukraine, and Nigeria.
• Leadership Development, Capacity Building, and Training: Designed training curricula and trained over 10,000 civil servants and representatives of election management bodies, anti-corruption agencies, members of parliament, and civil society organizations on governance, anti-corruption, election administration, strategic and operational planning, budgeting, and leadership across multiple countries, including Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Nigeria, Tunisia, North-Macedonia and Pakistan.
• Civil Society Strengthening and citizen engagement: Provided sub-awards, technical assistance, and capacity building for civil society organizations to enhance citizen participation in advocacy and reform, policy formulation, and governance; improve public service delivery feedback mechanisms; and monitor election-related violence, electoral campaign spending, and dispute resolution in Nigeria and Egypt.
• Performance monitoring: Led the development of an electronic performance management and monitoring system to track implementation of the national anti-corruption strategy in Egypt. Developed tracking systems to track implementation of operational plans for elections in Jordan and Iraq.
• Electoral Management: Performed senior management roles in large electoral processes in Kosovo (in charge of field operations for voter registration and polling) and East Timor (district electoral officer in charge of voter registration, voter education, and polling in an electoral district).
• Research and Academia: Taught undergraduate courses in political behaviour, political economy and research methodology in South Africa, and conducted research on democratic consolidation and election-related violence for think tanks in South Africa and Namibia.

• Guest Lecturer, Department of Political Studies, University of Cape Town (Cape Town, South Africa), Jul 2003 – Dec 2003
• Research Consultant, Institute for Public Policy Research (Namibia), Nov 2002
• Senior Researcher, Institute for Multi-Party Democracy (IMPD) (Durban, South Africa), Apr 1999 – Nov 1999
• Lecturer, Department of Political Science, University of Stellenbosch (Stellenbosch, South Africa), Jan 1994 – Apr 1999
• Visiting Lecturer, Department of Political Science, University of the Western Cape (Cape Town, South Africa), Jan 1997 – Dec 1999
• Visiting Lecturer, Kanya College, (Cape Town, South Africa), Jan 1998 – Dec 1998
• Research Associate, Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA) (Cape Town, South Africa), Jan 1997 – Dec 1999
• Research Analyst, Independent Electoral Commission (Cape Town, South Africa), Feb 1994 – Apr 1994
• Assistant Lecturer, Department of Political Studies, University of Cape Town (Cape Town, South Africa), Jan 1993 – Dec 1993
• Assistant Lecturer, Department of Political Science, University of Stellenbosch (Stellenbosch, South Africa), Jan 1991 – Dec 1992

Hiking, pickleball and literature.