Dijana Elliott, Senior Program Manager

About

PMP certified and AI governance-trained program and foreign policy professional with 13+ years overseeing multimillion-dollar grant and contract programs and portfolios across Africa, Asia, and Europe/Eurasia. Extensive experience in managing federal budgets (up to $400M annual portfolio), aligning policy and operations through interagency coordination, and leading teams through organizational change. Skilled in strategic planning and strategy design, compliance and risk oversight, legislative affairs, cross-functional coordination, stakeholder engagement, and leadership decision-support. Technical background in governance, crisis, and economic development.

Roles

May 2024–Present

Current role

Foreign Service Officer (Deputy Division Chief for Conflict, Peacebuilding, and Governance)

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Africa Bureau

District of Columbia

International DevelopmentPlanning, Policy, StrategyPublic AffairsLegislative AffairsForeign Relations / Diplomacy

- Co-led democratic governance initiatives to achieve and/or sustain democratic gains in Africa.
- Briefed Africa Bureau leadership, the U.S. Congress, and interagency groups on democratic transition strategies, securing buy-in and resources for cross-governmental initiatives.
- Monitored governance and conflict developments in 10+ countries across Africa.

Jul 2022–May 2024

Former role

Foreign Service Officer (Program Manager)

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Conflict Prevention & Stabilization Bureau

District of Columbia

International DevelopmentProgram ManagerProgram AnalystPlanning, Policy, StrategyLegislative AffairsComplianceForeign Relations / Diplomacy

- Managed a $51.3M regional initiative, enhancing conflict mitigation and social cohesion in Coastal West Africa.
- Co-launched a $30M multi-donor, regional mechanism in Benin’s border regions to strengthen state presence and community relations as a barrier to spillover of violence from the Sahel.
- Strengthened the U.S. Global Fragility Act implementation through critical stakeholders engagement, donor alignment, and community resilience programming.

Oct 2020–Jun 2022

Former role

Foreign Service Officer (Strategy & Program Director)

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), USAID/ Tajikistan

District of Columbia

International DevelopmentProgram ManagerProgram AnalystPlanning, Policy, StrategyProgram DirectorProjects, Programs and AdvisorsForeign Relations / Diplomacy

- Led the first bilateral country strategy development, securing a $10.5M funding increase for programming that closed critical economic, social, and governance gaps.
- Supported USAID’s transition from a country office to a full bilateral Mission including by restructuring the Strategy & Program Office for alignment with the new Mission needs.
- Managed cross-functional coordination, achieving operational alignment for impact under the new strategy.

Jan 2018–Aug 2020

Former role

Foreign Service Officer (Program Officer)

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), USAID/ Democratic Republic of the Congo

District of Columbia

Program AnalystPlanning, Policy, StrategyBudget ManagerLegislative AffairsProgram ManagementForeign Relations / DiplomacyBudgeting and Budget AnalysisReport Developer

- Led the planning and execution of nearly $400M strategic resource allocation for governance, conflict, economic development, health, and education portfolios, enabling sustained impact across sectors.
- Served as liaison to the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) during the Ebola crisis, facilitating information-sharing and developing a $40M multi-sectoral framework for the post-Ebola zone in eastern DRC.
- Increased access to accurate information in target groups under a rapid-response mechanism to counter disinformation, hate speech, and reduce violence in the Central African Republic.

May 2017–Nov 2017

Former role

Foreign Service Officer (Language Student)

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Foreign Service Institute

District of Columbia

Language Specialist

Completed French language training at required upper intermediate level.

Feb 2017–May 2017

Former role

Foreign Service Officer (Program Officer)

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Africa Bureau

District of Columbia

Program AnalystBudgeting and Budget Analysis

- Supported budget planning and execution processes for country portfolios in the Central and East Africa region.

Jul 2016–Feb 2017

Former role

Foreign Service Officer (Program and Project Development Officer)

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), USAID/ Myanmar

District of Columbia

Project CoordinatorProgram CoordinatorLegislative AffairsBudgeting and Budget Analysis

- Supported resource management processes; monitoring, evaluation and learning annual report development; and governance design actions.

Mar 2016–Jun 2016

Former role

Foreign Service Officer (Program and Project Development Officer)

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Middle East Bureau

District of Columbia

Program AnalystBudgeting and Budget Analysis

- Supported resource allocation process for a large program in the Middle East region.

May 2012–Feb 2016

Former role

Project Manager

Chemonics International

Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Project CoordinatorContract AdministratorProgram ManagerGrant Review Budget ManagerRecruiterComplianceOperationsCommunicationsReport DeveloperProposal Writer

- Managed up to $60M in economic development and governance portfolio across Europe & Eurasia (E&E), ensuring contractual compliance, operational readiness, and on-schedule delivery.
- Trained partners and program staff in fragile environments in Africa, Asia, and E&E on grants, strategic planning, communications and reporting, increasing operational and programmatic capacity.
- Participated in 15+ program design teams globally including as a lead technical writer, securing multi-million dollar contracts.