A perfect match
Having wanted to work with international donor-funded projects for some time, I responded to an advertisement for a job in the department of international development consulting in Ramboll Management Consulting a few years back. With a background in political science and development studies this job matched my profile perfectly and so far I have had every opportunity to make use of my background and develop my understanding of the field.
Room for specialisation
Right from the start of my employment in Ramboll I was involved in all aspects of our public administration reform activities from market surveillance to project implementation. Over time, I have become more specialised, and today I manage our international projects in the area of public procurement reform and performance management. Within this field I also work with our clients in the European and US markets; a change that has added great perspective to my international experience and in the end enables me to help all my clients in the best way possible.
Challenging projects
I recently completed a very exciting performance management project in Kenya. The public procurement system in Kenya has undergone a number of major developments in recent years, including a complete decentralisation of the procurement process. This has produced a requirement on every public entity to execute their own procurements and more importantly to do so in accordance with the performance standards established by the central Government. In order to drive up procurement performance towards those standards, Kenya's Public Procurement Oversight Authority (PPOA) requested our assistance to design a performance management system enabling PPOA and the implementing agencies themselves to continuously monitor their performance and immediately address poor performance. The project involved designing the system, testing it and training relevant staff of PPOA and selected public agencies to be able to utilise the mechanism for continuously measuring and managing performance.
Opportunity to shape your own job
To me, Ramboll Management Consulting offers an ideal balance between a constant flow of new professional challenges and an invaluable flexibility to shape your own job according to your personal needs. That is one of the main reasons why I enjoy working here.
Marie Louise Refsgaard is a manager in the Competence Centre for Public Management in Ramboll Management Consulting in Copenhagen. Her main areas of expertise are international development and results-based management. Marie Louise has an MSc in Political Science from the University of Copenhagen (2003) and an MPhil in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge (2004). Marie Louise has worked for Ramboll Management Consulting since May 2006. Prior to that, Marie Louise was a consultant for Oxford Research A/S.