UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency

Leading the digital transformation of refugee assistance and internal support services, with a focus on AI, automation, and cybersecurity.

Led a team of 12 specialists to embed data-driven decision-making across protection, registration, and field operations.

Oversaw the digitization and optimization of 40+ workflows across HR, Admin, and refugee-facing services.

Designed and scaled AI-powered feedback platforms, incorporating transcription, categorization, and NLP-based insights.

Directed the automation of UNHCR’s legacy IVR helpline into a second-generation system, enabling over 600,000 refugees to schedule appointments, check case status, and access key services using basic phones no internet required.

Delivered $1.4M in cost savings through IVR system expansion and streamlined service workflows.

Led the strategic design and rollout of a Workflow Management System (WMS) that tracks refugee services from appointment to delivery. Worked closely with my DAG team to map business processes, remove bottlenecks, and reduce in-office service time by over 65%.

Created and implemented UNHCR Jordan’s first cybersecurity governance framework; six critical systems passed security audits with full compliance.

Co-led UNHCR’s technical input to Jordan’s National Census, ensuring accurate refugee representation and alignment with UN standards

Head of Data and Tech Group (DAG)

Data Analysis Group Lead

Drove Technology and information management strategies across diverse humanitarian contexts in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.  
Collaborated with cross-functional teams to enhance data collection and reporting processes, improving operational efficiency.  
Developed and implemented training programs for local staff, resulting in a 30% increase in data accuracy.
During my HQ deployments, I served in Sudan, Greece, Syria, Iraq, Uganda, Malawi, Tanzania, South Sudan, Lebanon, Jordan, and Chad driving data and information‑management strategy across diverse humanitarian contexts in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.

Information Management Officer

Statisticiantoolbox.org

Co-Founder

UNICEF

Established enterprise-wide data governance framework ensuring ethical AI use while maintaining GDPR compliance across all child protection data systems

Regional  Inter-agency Information Management

UNDP

I was responsible for and oversaw several tasks related to local government authorities through various approaches, including processing job requests into live jobs and deliverables. In the IT department, job responsibilities included managing applications, software development and deployment jobs, network, security, and infrastructure upgrades (both virtual and physical), as well as projects to support the first line of support for IT. Project meetings and delegating duties and other work are also part of this job. Projects are not limited to the IT department, but other departments also require extra support. This includes any department that has requested assistance from the IT Project Management team and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).

Project Manager 

Salam Technology

I delivered cyber security training to the banking sector workforce to increase their knowledge of cyber security tools and techniques.
Cyber security training covered below topics
Detection and prevention of cyber-attacks; how to respond to a cyber-attack; information security; risk assessment; threat assessment; vulnerability scanning; securing your emails; securing your data; securing your computer; securing your phone; social media awareness; cyber-bullying awareness; data privacy; data ownership; data protection; data ownership; email security; securing your computer; securing your phone; securing your data; social media awareness; social media safety; cyber-bullying awareness; securing your emails; data privacy; threat assessment; threat assessment; vulnerability scanning;

Cyber Security Consultant

Caritas Schweiz

Architected and deployed predictive analytics systems that improved resource allocation accuracy by 42%, directly benefiting 50,000+ IDPs .As the Chief Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Officer at Caritas Schweiz, I was entrusted with the pivotal role of designing and implementing a comprehensive M&E framework aligned with the organization's corporate standards. My responsibilities spanned across various sectors, including Food, Livelihood, and WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene), ensuring a holistic approach to monitoring and evaluation activities.

Chief Monitoring and Evaluation Officer

United Nations OCHA

Canadian International Development Agency 

In a challenging and rapidly evolving IT landscape, I stepped into the role ofChief of Data Management and  Digital Solutions Unit with a mission to modernize and transform our organization’s technological framework. My focus was on enabling advanced data management and analysis capabilities while ensuring scalability, security, and innovation. I led the seamless integration of cloud computing solutions, enhancing accessibility and operational efficiency, and spearheaded the development of cutting-edge software systems to automate and streamline data processes. Recognizing the critical importance of cybersecurity, I implemented robust protocols to safeguard sensitive information and ensure compliance with industry standards. Additionally, I managed server infrastructure to maintain high availability and performance, minimizing downtime and optimizing resources.

Beyond technical execution, I prioritized building a collaborative and innovative team culture. By fostering skill development, knowledge sharing, and cross-functional collaboration, I empowered a multifaceted team of IT professionals to deliver high-impact projects with precision and creativity. Under my leadership, we successfully migrated to cloud platforms, developed bespoke software solutions, and fortified our cybersecurity posture, positioning the organization as a leader in technological innovation within our sector. These efforts not only strengthened our IT infrastructure but also enhanced data-driven decision-making, operational efficiency, and overall business resilience. My holistic approach as CTO has been instrumental in driving the organization’s success, ensuring we remain agile, secure, and competitive in an ever-changing digital landscape.

Chief of Data Management and  Digital Solutions Unit

The future of digital transformation will not be decided by the biggest platform but by the most trusted. I build trust into every system, whether scaling cloud solutions for people in need or designing AI strategies that protect human data.

I learned this early. A single data error once delayed school enrollment for thousands of children. My team fixed it, correcting 63,000 records and cutting delays by 90 percent. That day confirmed a lesson I carry into every project: technology is not about code, it is about human impact.

That belief has shaped my career:

Led the team that built, with my direct contribution, the first large-scale IVR appointment system in the humanitarian sector, connecting thousands to critical services.

Led and contributed to integrating fragmented education data, reducing school enrollment delays by 90 percent.

Forged and co-managed partnerships with Microsoft and AWS, raising more than $1 million for refugee-centric projects.

Directed and supported the rollout of DHIS2 open source platforms used by thousands.

Recognized as UNHCR’s regional technology champion in Jordan for leading impactful digital solutions.

These were not safe bets. They were calculated risks, projects others avoided. Risk is where innovation grows. Each success proved that trust, openness, and impact are not only ideals but also practical design principles.

My leadership philosophy is simple: execution over ego. The best ideas win, regardless of title. I focus on outcomes, empower teams, and create space for collaboration. That is how strong teams turn bold ideas into systems that last.

I stay ahead by learning. Every wave of AI, cloud, and governance reshapes how I work. I have shared these lessons on global stages, including TEDx and UN 2.0 events, where I spoke about building digital systems as public goods.

Core Focus Areas
Cloud Architecture | AI and Data Strategy | Digital Transformation | Open Source and Digital Public Goods | Governance and Security | Capacity Building

If your work touches AI, cloud, or open source for the public good, let us connect and build what lasts.

Principal Architect | Building Trusted Digital Public Goods | Cloud, AI and Open Source Strategy | Driving Innovation in the Humanitarian Sector

Technical Toolbox : Python, R, SQL, Power BI, Azure, AWS, Streamlit, LLMs, Transformers, LangChain, Prompt Engineering, Flask, HTML/CSS, REST APIs
Certifications (selected): CISM, PMP, ITIL, PRINCE2 Practitioner, TOGAF, Microsoft Azure AI Engineer Associate, IBM Generative AI Engineer ,Head of Data and Digital Solution.

Shahzad Asghar

Hoge Raad der Nederlanden

Senior Elastic consultant

Raad van State

Invert-IT

Elasticsearch consultant / Owner

CZ is a large health ensurensure company in the Netherlands. Its website has a intelligence search solution to allow diffent audiences (customers, partners, professionals) to use their own 'languages'. To create a connection between these worlds a good taxonomy has to be in place.

Rolf has been responsible for:
- Upgrade of Elastic clusters
- Extracting data from PoolParty and index with Elastic
- Developing a WebApi for Taxonomy and search
- Integrations with LUIS and MS Bot Framework
- Developing Content Tagging feature in Sitecore
- Training Sitecore .Net Developers to work with Elasticsearch
- Advising in security hardening using SAML 
- Implementing devops pipelines in Azure

Elasticsearch Consultant

Senior Elasticsearch consultant

Senior .Net Developer

Senior WCF/Biztalk Specialist

Rubicon: Gold Partner for Business Applications, SharePoint, Data Analytics, Apps and Cloud

Unit4

Software Architect

UNIT4 - HR Solutions is the Dutch market leader in delivering salary-software and Human Resource Management Systems. 
'Personeel & Salaris' provides over three million pay slips each month, which also can be viewed and downloaded from smartphones.

For this and the following functionality a cross-platform app had to be developed:
 - Viewing/editing personal details of both yourself and your employees.
 - Request vacation and manage sickleaves of your department.
 - View or download payslips and other documents in a secure manner.
 - Push-notifications of important signals within the entire organisation.   

Using a mobile-first approach the technical design, development and unit-testing was done in only 3 months using:
 - SPA, AngularJS framework and third party libraries (open-source over build), Ionic UI.
 - Blanket code-coverage, Jasmine unit-testrunner, eslint code-validator. 
 - C#, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, MomentJS, WCF, Rest, Soap, Selenium/Protactor end-to-end test.
 - Continuous delivery using VS2013, TFS2012, IIS deployment over RabbitMQ and PS.
 - Advanced multi-layered-security: XSS, token-based authentication, IP Filtering
 - Offline data, HTML5 caching, scalable stateless webserver, monitoring and logging

Senior Javascript Developer

UNIT4 - HR Solutions is the Dutch market leader in delivering salary-software and Human Resource Management Systems. 
Beside delivering over three million pay slips each month, it also provides modules for Employee Self Service and HR/Salary experts. 

I am approached to improve the technical architecture of the HR Modules with his team. This includes:
 -	Reduction in the amount of software layers
 -	Replacing WCF by Dependency Injection for performance
 -	Implementing code-generators for DAL, Security and Caching
 -	Coordinate/improve Security by using OWASP guidelines
 -	Reducing time spent in development by using Continuous Integration
 -	Improving quality with automated tests (incl. Selenuim)
 -	Logging and Monitoring tightening for support and installation
 -	Implementing an new Branching model in TFS to be able to perform CodeAnalisys
 -	Drafting Technical designs, for example: interfacing with other systems using a variety of                  protocols (AMQP, SoaP, UNC)

Senior .Net Specialist

HUMIQ B.V.

I worked on a project for ECT (Europe Container Terminals). 
ECT is responsible for a great amount of transferring products from the Rotterdam harbor to the rest of Europe.

The are several doane systems involved with this process, these are being maintaIned and modernized by Humiq for several years.
"E-services" are being re-implemented from Cassic ASP to MS BizTalk and MS SharePoint.
My task was to improve the level of .Net knowledge within the team and I have thought myself BizTalk and SharePoint.

Software Designer

Brainnet B.V.

My job here was to build a new internet-portal which provides real-time data from the back office systems to the customers and suppliers of Brainnet. I was responsible for the technical design and implementation of this highly secured portal.

Application Developer

My job was to create a framework for animations in pure JavaScript, because most of the customers of Brainnet are not allowed to install Flash or SilverLight. 
You can see the result on the new website of Brainnet: http://www.brainnet.nl/

Webdeveloper

As an .Net Consultant I was responsible, within a team, for the designing (Both functional and technical), developing and implementing of a new Web-application. The solution is based on a soa-architecture for interoperatebilty with other (financial)-software.

Application Consultant

Aquadis B.V.

Aquadis is a relative small and informal company. That is one of the reasons I enjoy working there. After my second internship during high-school, I started a professional career at Aquadis. During this time I've worked for one and a half year at a large Energy Trading company in the Netherlands. The last three years I was hired to a recruitment-office that contracts IT-professionals to the large banks in Holland.

Elasticsearch Expert

Young and dynamic professional, interested in new technologies and continuously searching for new challenges!!! (Also addicted to read IT-Related books)

Certified in Elasticsearch, Azure, .Net and SQL Server

Specialties: Elasticsearch (3 certifications) 
.Net Core, ASP.Net 2.0-4.5, ASP.Net 2.0-4.5 (MVC and Webforms),
SPA: Angular, Angular.js, Ajax/JavaScript/jQuery, 
Security: NCSC, OWASP, OAuth, SAML, WSFed, ADFS
SOA: WCF, SOAP, Rest, Webservices,
Emailapplications and protocols, SQL Server, Html/CSS
Automated testing (including Selenium)
SCRUM/Agile/DSDM with TFS 2008-2019 and Git

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Rolf de Vries

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