Hanan El-Wandi
London
Summary
I'm a highly motivated and dedicated professional with a passion for finding, developing and delivering humanitarian solutions, peace building and supporting refugees.
Overview
4
4
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Legal Researcher
AsyLex
Zurich, Switzerland
07.2025 - Current
- Supporting the Rights in Exile platform by researching and maintaining the Legal Assistance Database, a global resource that helps refugees and asylum seekers access accurate legal information and support.
- This involves gathering and summarising information on asylum law and procedures in different countries, including international and national legal frameworks, key legislation, and organisations offering legal aid and other services.
- The platform also provides resources for legal practitioners, including case law, guidance on special issues, and country of origin information.
- As part of this work, I am responsible for collecting and maintaining country information on the Syrian Arab Republic.
Finance Coordinator
British Red Cross
London
06.2025 - 09.2025
- Coordinated pension-related administrative duties, including uploading and indexing documents on SharePoint, maintaining version control, and supporting governance meetings with AI-generated minutes and action tracking.
- Liaised with internal stakeholders, including the insurance manager, to circulate pension updates, schedule meetings, and ensure completion of follow-up tasks.
- Supported and facilitated international due diligence processes with Finnish and Netherlands Red Cross by reviewing finance, safeguarding, and governance questionnaires, identifying incomplete responses, and coordinating follow-up with relevant stakeholders.
- Attended due diligence meetings to capture notes, raise stakeholder concerns, and support documentation workflows in line with PIMS requirements.
- Supported the Financial Accounting Team by verifying invoice submissions, addressing discrepancies, and contributing to balance sheet reconciliation activities.
- Assisted with audit preparation by managing large volumes of documentation, maintaining accurate records, and ensuring alignment with audit programme deliverables.
Crisis Hub Officer
British Red Cross
Manchester
03.2025 - 12.2025
- Respond to UK-wide emergencies including floods, fires, and power outages, delivering immediate humanitarian support to affected communities.
- Coordinate volunteer deployment in collaboration with emergency services and local authorities to ensure a rapid, well-organised response.
- Communicate empathetically with individuals in crisis, offering practical support, reassurance, and signposting to further services.
- Maintain clear and accurate records of actions during each deployment to support reporting, safeguarding, and follow-up.
Missing Migrants Research Officer
British Red Cross
London
05.2024 - 09.2024
- 'Challenging Invisibility, Promoting Agency: Understanding and Mitigating the Risks of Going Missing for Women and Children During their Journeys’ explores why and how gender and age influence the risk of family separation and going missing for women and children during migration journeys. It seeks to understand what can be done to strengthen protection, and reduce and address the risks of family separation and of going missing. This project is a joint initiative of the ICRC Missing Persons Centre and the Red Cross Red Crescent Global Migration Lab.
- Research findings informed the operational responses and advocacy of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other components of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (the Movement) to prevent women and children migrants from going missing and influence States to identify measures to mitigate and address this humanitarian issue.
- Planned and managed transnational research project. I established a research programme that places the voices of refugees and asylum seekers at its centre.
- Coordinated input from internal and external stakeholders
- Identified and managed emerging project risks in an effective manner
- Managed key ethical considerations within all research activities in line with British Red Cross policies and procedures and relevant academic or professional guidelines.
- Carried out interviews and focus groups as appropriate, managing data collection and storage in line with GDPR.
Diaspora Young Women and Girls Lead
British Red Cross
London
09.2023 - 03.2024
- Exploring ways to increase the Red Cross Red Crescent (RCRC) movement's humanitarian impact at home and abroad by broadening and deepening relationships with diaspora communities in the UK.
- Researching barriers hindering young women and girls from diaspora communities participation in humanitarian action.
- Facilitating focus groups, workshops and interviews to identify barriers and co-produce solutions.
- Co-producing a mutual mentoring pilot following insight and asks from diaspora young women and girls.
- Engaging external stakeholders such as the International Federation of the Red Cross Red Crescent (IFRC), USAID, the Danish Refugee Council and Save the Children in the Young Women and Girls project.
- Supporting the audit preparations and close out of contract proceedings.
- Supporting the final reporting of the Diaspora Humanitarian Partnerships Programme. This includes a final 6 month report to our donor, and an overall programme report.
- Supporting the finalisation of the programme's learnings and documentation process, including finalising key programme learning products.
Youth Research and Projects Officer
British Red Cross
London
01.2023 - 08.2023
- Conducting research for the British Red Cross Youth Engagement Strategy. Research projects have included external standards and quality marks, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, and finding ways to support neurodiverse youth in the organisation.
- Successfully pitched for funding from UK Youth's Inspire 2022 programme to host a mapathon event at the British Red Cross headquarters. I led a team of young staff members in planning, coordinating, and executing the mapathon project. We hosted and supervised 10 young volunteers, providing guidance and support throughout the event to ensure a smooth and engaging experience for all participants.
- Planning, developing and delivering ‘Takeover Challenge’. Takeover is an annual event led by the Children's Commissioner for England. It sees organisations across England opening their doors to children and young people to take over adult roles.
- Liaising with the 'Strategy Through a Youth Lens' team as an Integration Programme Designer to create a virtual integration programme for young refugees and asylum seekers.
- Developing a Youth Leadership Development Programme in line with the British Red Cross leadership framework to encourage and empower young people to become leaders.
- Designing and developing a Duke of Edinburgh Missing Maps volunteering opportunity at the British Red Cross for young people aged 16 and over.
- Co-produced proposals for new services that address young people’s needs and better include youth in the organisation in line with the British Red Cross' Strategy 2030.
Cash Based Assistance Coordinator - Ukraine
British Red Cross
London
11.2022 - 01.2023
- Supporting the card operations team to issue and distribute cash modalities to service users.
- Assisting the cash distribution leads in implementing new processes and procedures.
- Helping to progress and implement new cash products.
- Contacting service users to support with their cash application or any cash related issues.
- Translating in Arabic to service users calling in.
Refugee Support - Project Volunteer
British Red Cross
London
11.2022 - Current
- Showing people where to find the local services they need.
- Helping the team to set up and help to run group work activities.
- Distribution of things such as food parcels, toiletries and clothing.
- Supporting the team with some administrative tasks.
International Family Tracing Casework Volunteer
British Red Cross
Manchester
10.2024 - 05.2026
- Leading sensitive conversations and interviews to help people find and reconnect with their families
- Analysing information from service users and using IFT knowledge of the family’s country to agree a plan of action
- Recording clear and accurate case notes and completing tracing forms
- Working sensitively with unaccompanied and separated children
- Carrying out local searches (in pairs) and research to find people in the UK
- Signposting to other organisations when appropriate
- Keeping the casework management database accurate and up to date
Delegate
UN Women UK
New York City
02.2024 - 02.2025
- Selected as a UN Women UK delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. The UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to shaping global standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women.
- CSW consists of two weeks of meetings of high-level government ministers, representatives from NGOs and UN delegates, as well as hundreds of events set up by grassroots organisations and activists to discuss and make progress on specific issues, from child marriage to equal pay.
Leaps & Grounds - Mentor
British Red Cross
London
05.2023 - 09.2023
- Leaps & Grounds is a British Red Cross speciality coffee social enterprise supporting refugee women who’ve experienced forced displacement into work. My role as a mentor involves helping to empower my mentee into taking her first steps into employment in the UK.
- I meet my mentee in person for an hour every fortnight for around four months, supporting with areas such as goal setting, CV writing and navigating the UK job market.
Refugee Support - Women’s Group Volunteer
British Red Cross
London
03.2023 - 09.2023
- Using my Red Cross training to provide emotional support to refugees.
- Organising, running and supporting activities for women with a focus on psychosocial support and developing skills (such as art, pampering and language classes).
- Closely monitoring the needs and concerns of the women in the group, which entails supporting women experiencing or having experienced sexual and gender-based violence and responding to their individual needs.
Education
BSc - International Disaster Management and Humanitarian Response
University of Manchester
2027
Skills
- Research
- Project Planning and Delivery
- Event Planning and Management
- Youth Engagement
- Safeguarding
- Leadership
- Co-Production
- Administration
- Problem Solving
- Time Management
Awards
- Young Humanitarian Award | British Red Cross
- Exceptional Values in Action Award | British Red Cross
- Academic Community Builder of the Year (Shortlisted) | University of Manchester
Certification
- British Red Cross, Humanitarian Service Points Training (Issued September 2024)
- Disaster Ready, Project Management Essentials (Issued April 2023)
- British Red Cross, Certificate of Co-Production - International Youth Volunteering Programme (Issued February 2023)
- British Red Cross, Cash Assistance E-Module for Emergency Response Staff and Volunteers (Issued January 2023)
Languages
English, Arabic
First Language
Timeline
Legal Researcher
AsyLex
07.2025 - Current
Finance Coordinator
British Red Cross
06.2025 - 09.2025
Crisis Hub Officer
British Red Cross
03.2025 - 12.2025
International Family Tracing Casework Volunteer
British Red Cross
10.2024 - 05.2026
Missing Migrants Research Officer
British Red Cross
05.2024 - 09.2024
Delegate
UN Women UK
02.2024 - 02.2025
Diaspora Young Women and Girls Lead
British Red Cross
09.2023 - 03.2024
Leaps & Grounds - Mentor
British Red Cross
05.2023 - 09.2023
Refugee Support - Women’s Group Volunteer
British Red Cross
03.2023 - 09.2023
Youth Research and Projects Officer
British Red Cross
01.2023 - 08.2023
Cash Based Assistance Coordinator - Ukraine
British Red Cross
11.2022 - 01.2023
Refugee Support - Project Volunteer
British Red Cross
11.2022 - Current
BSc - International Disaster Management and Humanitarian Response
University of Manchester