Dr. Souad Mohamed is a Senior Visiting Fellow at ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳’s Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa and a valued contributor to the Programme for African Leadership (PfAL), a transformative capacity-building and leadership development initiative. She is a CEO, Senior Consultant and Senior Academic with 15 years of experience in UK higher education and learning and development. As an interdisciplinary expert, she holds a successful track record of global partnership development across sectors.
Currently, she leads the influential Women in Local Governance program at the King Salman Centre of Local Governance in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and holds the position of Chief Executive Officer at IEL International. Previously, as Principal Investigator at the Middle East Centre of the London School of Economics, she led the women leadership development project 'Understanding Barriers and Enablers to Women’s Leadership Development in Sudan’, collaborating with a diverse panel of experts from NGOs, government bodies, business leaders, practitioners, and academia.
Souad and her team at IEL International specialize in collaborative programs with leading UK universities, advancing governments, businesses, and organizations across the Middle East & Northeast Africa region (MENA). Her former executive roles encompass Chief Development Officer, Chairperson, Board Member of Trustees, Adviser to Board of Directors, Governor, and Leader of International Projects Group, contributing significantly to organizational strategies.
She has developed and led training and academic programs at different levels (Doctoral, MSc, MA and MBA), receiving university awards for her excellence. Her multidisciplinary research focuses on empowering women through policy reforms and enhancing women’s participation in decision-making roles across sectors, as well as Women Leadership Development within MENA with a emphasis on top management careers. Furthermore, her research extends to exploring Human and Sociotechnical considerations of new technology adoption in multinational companies and Knowledge Management. She co-authors academic papers with international experts and leads international projects and programs.
As a passionate keynote speaker, she advocates for sustainable leadership, inclusive workplaces, and empowers women and youth through capacity-building initiatives. Souad delivers speeches and workshops in both Arabic and English on a global scale.
Key Expertise:
Gender-Responsive Policies, Strategic Partnership Development, Women Leadership Development, Youth Development, Middle East & Northeast Africa
Expertise Details:
Leadership Development, Women & Youth Empowerment, Women in Local Governance, Inclusive Regulatory & Policy Reforms, and Stakeholder Collaboration for Gender Equality