Professional Experience:
Nicholas Read is an experienced Programme Manager, Team Leader, and ICT4D consultant with over two decades of international work across Africa, Asia, Central Asia, and the UK. He has delivered major donor-funded programmes for the World Bank, DFID/FCDO, UNICEF, USAID, ADB, and MCA, combining strong programme leadership with technical expertise in monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL), supply chain reform, digital systems, and AI-driven reporting.
He has led more than ten programmes as Team Leader or Programme Manager, providing strategic oversight, governance, stakeholder engagement, and delivery of results in fragile, conflict-affected, and reforming contexts. Alongside this, he has contributed to more than 15 evaluations, ensuring evidence-based decision-making and adaptive management.
In Rwanda (2008–2025), Nicholas directed the design and rollout of the national Learning and Teaching Materials MIS, managing an $80m+ system that became a continental benchmark. Before this, he worked extensively on supply chain analysis and reform, consulting stakeholders and improving efficiency in textbook distribution. Findings from this reform informed and were published in the World Bank/UNESCO study Where Have All the Textbooks Gone? (2015), which he co-authored and which remains widely cited in UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Reports. He also pioneered iPad-based EMIS data collection in 2012 and later introduced AI-driven forecasting and dashboard integration.
As Team Leader in South Sudan (2016–2018, GESS II), he oversaw more than 15 studies, managed a multi-national research team, and worked with government stakeholders to establish a national research agenda and inclusion dashboards, strengthening the evidence base for FCDO policy.
In Namibia (2012–2016), he managed a $12m MIS and per-capita costing reform, strengthening the Supply Chain Management Unit, embedding transparent procurement, and ensuring equitable distribution. His work here was later cited in UNESCO’s GEM Report (2016).
In Lebanon (2017–2018, World Bank), he provided TA for RACE II and conducted a national textbook quality and procurement study, benchmarking supply chains against international standards and recommending procurement and QA reforms.
In Myanmar (2019–2021, TREE) he served as MERL Adviser, designing the MEL framework and Theory of Change for teacher reforms, integrating Power BI/SharePoint MIS, and piloting AI-informed CPD reporting. Similarly, in Bangladesh (2019–2021, TMTE) he designed a MEL/MIS suite, including dashboards, QA frameworks, and digital tools that supported 2,020 Master Trainers and 130,000 teachers.
In Ghana (2022–2024, GEOP/EOF), he built the first national outcomes dashboard for 170,000 learners, creating an AI-ready Power BI system and training MEAL teams.
His Central Asia and FSU experience is extensive: in the Kyrgyz Republic (2006–2019) he developed TRS/TRF MIS reforms and analysed supply chain flows for textbooks, contributing to UNESCO cost-modelling work (2015). Across Uzbekistan, Armenia, and Mongolia (2005–2012) he supported ICT-based reforms, authored regional policy papers, and lived six years in Bishkek with family ties in the region.
In the UK (Oxford Direct Services, 2022–2023), he served as PMO Lead Project & Programme Manager, implementing AI-powered dashboards, developing governance processes, and supporting benefits realisation across a municipal portfolio.
Across all assignments, Nicholas has demonstrated the ability to manage large-scale reforms, strengthen supply chain and procurement systems, deliver rigorous MEL, and introduce digital and AI-enabled solutions. He is recognised as both a programme leader and a published authority on sustainable textbook provision, widely cited by UNESCO and the World Bank. He is well suited for programme management, MEL leadership, supply chain reform, and ICT4D/AI advisory roles.