Paul Ranogajec
London,UK
Summary
Senior administrator with 12 years of experience committed to enabling leadership effectiveness through practical executive work plans, strong governance processes, and a deep investment in learning. Recognised for agility in turning vision into action and trusted for anticipating needs and enhancing services with thoughtful delivery.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
6042
6042
years of post-secondary education
1
1
Certification
Work History
Administration Officer, Legal Support - General Counsel's Office
OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS
London, UK
11.2012 - 04.2025
- Redesigned board meeting process, introducing stakeholder collaboration protocols and tighter reviews that cut prep time by nearly 20% and ensured 100% compliance with governance deadlines
- Freed 25% of General Counsel's schedule through horizon scanning, workload analysis, and standardised briefings and prep process that reduced ad-hoc requests and refocused bandwidth on priorities
- Coordinated 7-person Leadership Team, designing strategic annual work plan that streamlined cross-team functions and fostered group cohesion and trust with intentional team-building activities
- Launched 4 new legal training modules via two-tiered model (tactical + baseline), tailored to diverse internal audience needs and addressing critical learning gaps
- Streamlined legal processes via org-wide end-to-end operations review by mapping data systems, workflows, and overlaps, eliminating major redundancies, clarifying team roles, and drafting 5 SOPs
- Boosted client satisfaction with legal services by managing workflows with Lists and Asana and fostering cross-team partnerships, reducing bottlenecks and cutting resolution times by over 20%
Associate Director, Executive Support - President's Office
OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS
London, UK
04.2022 - 08.2024
- Launched President's new London office with 5 staff, implementing strategic scheduling and multi-time-zone coverage, delivering operational readiness 1 month ahead of schedule
- Drove President's strategic visibility by crafting work plans with KPIs aligned to priority initiatives (global finance reform, multilateralism, philanthropic impact), securing 50+ external partnerships and generating up to 4 advocacy opportunities quarterly
- Reduced diary conflicts and correspondence delays, freeing 25% of President's time for strategy and deploying strategic scheduling protocols to slash response-time rate by 50%
- Produced up to 3 monthly thought leadership pieces, growing stakeholder database by 300+ contacts and amplifying key messages on strategic priorities in 20+ countries
- Led team through restructuring and achieved 100% retention by implementing learning and development programme and recognising successes, sustaining morale and operational continuity
Program Operations Officer, Chief of Staff - President's Office
OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS
New York, USA
10.2019 - 03.2022
- Managed $130M Covid-19 rapid response fund operations, cutting grantmaking timelines by 40% through guidance materials and process protocols monitoring initiatives, budgets, and pipeline
- Launched 8-person policy-advocacy team (PACT), delivering 90% of projects on time and budget via robust operational protocols with KPIs and $800K budget stewardship
- Designed and delivered 10+ training and knowledge events, upskilling 100+ colleagues on critical advocacy and communications competencies as part of PACT's learning programme
- Designed 8 customised learning and development programmes for PACT, launching and online knowledge archive to bolster institutional memory and strengthen capacity
- Transformed Presidential Fellowship, strengthening recruitment process for 3 annual Fellows and enabling structured learning and mentorship, leading to retention of 2 Fellows in permanent roles
Senior Administrative Associate - President's Office
OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS
New York, USA
08.2017 - 10.2020
- Saved 15% as manager of $5M annual budget through cost-tracking tools and travel policy reforms, and introducing forecasting to enable timely executive decision-making
- Reduced Management Committee meeting time by 50% through agenda-setting and follow-up process optimisations, enhancing senior leaders' decision-making capacity
- Launched technical training programme across legal, grantmaking, IT, and finance functions, boosting staff problem-solving capacity and slashing reliance on external troubleshooters
- Secured UN civil society consultative status and 100% on-time delivery of ground passes
Executive Assistant, President - President's Office
OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS
New York, USA
11.2012 - 07.2017
- Consolidated network governing and advisory board calendars, saving $100K annually by reducing travel and operations redundancies
- Standardised email distribution lists with new SOP and training, boosting user confidence and ensuring the reliability of email recipients
- Authored comprehensive staff onboarding handbook, creating structured learning materials that simplified induction and accelerated integration of new hires
Adjunct Instructor and Special Project Coordinator - Fine Arts Department
YORK COLLEGE, CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
New York, USA
09.2006 - 12.2012
- Boosted student grades by 25% through inclusive pedagogy and assessments
- Increased course enrolments by 10% and attracted new degree majors by designing 'Art History Day' programme and $100 annual essay prize to enhance Department's profile
Education
Certificate - MBA Essentials
London School of Economics
LondonPh.D. - Art History
The Graduate Center, City University of New York
New York, U.S.A.B.A. - Architecture
University of Notre Dame
South Bend, USSkills
- Executive work plans
- Budget oversight
- Event planning & logistics
- Meeting design
- Strategic calendar management
- Operational planning
- KPI development
- Process improvement
- Service resolution protocols
- Stakeholder engagement
- Workflow design
- Project management
- Change navigation
- Performance motivation
- Internal communications
- Asana
- Google Workspace
- Microsoft 365 & SharePoint
- Salesforce
- Workday
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Certification
Certification of Excellence - American Society of Administrative Professionals, 2018
Languages
French
Advanced
sp
Advanced
Timeline
Associate Director, Executive Support - President's Office
OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS
04.2022 - 08.2024
Program Operations Officer, Chief of Staff - President's Office
OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS
10.2019 - 03.2022
Senior Administrative Associate - President's Office
OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS
08.2017 - 10.2020
Administration Officer, Legal Support - General Counsel's Office
OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS
11.2012 - 04.2025
Executive Assistant, President - President's Office
OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS
11.2012 - 07.2017
Adjunct Instructor and Special Project Coordinator - Fine Arts Department
YORK COLLEGE, CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
09.2006 - 12.2012
Certificate - MBA Essentials
London School of Economics
Ph.D. - Art History
The Graduate Center, City University of New York
B.A. - Architecture
University of Notre Dame
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