Youssef Saad specializes in procurement transformation towards modern, ethical, green, innovative, and socially responsible procurement with over 23 years of experience in procurement practice, policy making, capacity building, research and analytics. Youssef is a recurrent lecturer in ITCILO and the American University of Beirut since 2007. His consulting experience extends across the Global South spanning Latin America, Africa, and Asia with international organizations such as IFAD, UNOPS, UNDP, IsDB, and World Bank. Over his career, he has designed and delivered over 100 courses on procurement management, emergency procurement, project management, dispute resolution, delay analysis, and contract management and contributed to a large number of Training of Trainers’ programmes.

In addition, Youssef is the author of several peer-reviewed journal articles. His research interest is in designing procurement systems as complex adaptive systems. He is a Civil Engineer (B.E. 1995) holding a Masters’ degree (M.E. 2005) in Engineering Management both awarded by the American University of Beirut and is a certified Project Management Professional (2004-2028) and Prince2 Practitioner (2005-2010).

Senior procurement and legal professional with 20+ years of expertise in international organizations and multinational corporations. Proven track record in high-value contract negotiations, strategic sourcing, and complex procurement operations across diverse sectors including IT, telecommunications, software licensing, and technical services. Expert in AI applications for administration and procurement processes. Legal specialist in international contract law, commercial agreements, intellectual property, corporate due diligence and M&A, with strong knowledge of UNCITRAL standards and UN procurement regulations. Expert in AI applications for procurement and administration, driving process automation, optimization, and strategic tool integration. Career highlights include senior roles at CTBTO and IAEA (Vienna), managing global procurement operations supporting 210 installations and ~3,000 annual orders across 120 countries, plus experience with EUMETSAT (Germany) and ITALTEL (Italy) in high-tech negotiations and international joint ventures.

Amal El Jurdi is Head of Procurement at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in Lebanon. She is a former UNDP staff member at the Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform, an IFAD consultant, and a tutor/trainer at the ILO International Training Centre (ITCILO). With 20 years of experience in procurement, she has managed a range of complex contracts for goods, services/consultancy, works, and grants, and has strong knowledge of public procurement rules and procedures of international donors (UNDP, the EU, the World Bank, the Arab Fund, and the Government).

In addition, she delivers advanced public procurement courses and is an expert in reviewing bidding documents and training materials.

She holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the American University of Beirut (AUB) and has obtained multiple training-of-trainers certificates, CIPS UK certification (Strategic Procurement Programme), and advanced training in various public procurement areas under Lebanon’s public procurement modernization project.

Roberto Caranta is Professor of Administrative Law at the University of Turin (Italy), with a leading research and teaching profile in public procurement, particularly Sustainable Public Procurement and procurement remedies, as well as EU law and comparative administrative law with a focus on judicial protection. He has been a visiting professor at the Universities of Marseille–Aix-en-Provence (2016) and Lyon 3 (2023), and served as Co-Director of the Centre for Transnational Legal Studies (CTLS), London (2012/13). With A. Sanchez Graells, he co-edited European Public Procurement: Commentary to Directive 2014/24/EU (Hart/Oxford, 2021). Together with Steen Treumer, he founded the European Procurement Law Group and edits the European Procurement Law Series (now with Edward Elgar). He was General Rapporteur for the 2014 FIDE Congress in Copenhagen and is a member of the European Space Agency’s Procurement Review Board. For many years, he directed ITCILO’s Master programme on Public Procurement Management for Sustainable Development, and has delivered studies and training for UN and EU institutions. He has authored and edited numerous books and more than 200 publications, and recently coordinated or contributed to major EU-funded projects including Sustainability and Procurement in International, European, and National Systems – SAPIENS. Additional projects: Sustainable Market Actors for Sustainable Trade – SMART;  EU Trade and Investment Policy -Innovative Training Network - EUTIP, and Common Core of European Administrative Law -CoCEAL.

BLERINA POGACE PhD is the Lead Programme Officer, in DEVINVEST ITCILO and is in charge of the Procurement Management Training portfolio offered in English, French and Russian, including the Master in Public Procurement Management for Sustainable Development and the Diploma in Public Procurement Management. 

She manages Development Projects in Procurement Professionalization Initiative the ITCILO Centre delivers in collaboration with IFIs and UN.

Before joining the Centre, she worked as a consultant for both the public and private sectors on administrative and European law concerning public contracts, state aid, renewable energy and environmental and climate related investments.

Since 2006 she has been involved in training programmes offered by the Centre dedicated to public procurement in accordance with recognised international standards as well as in capacity building projects to assist countries’ reforms in the procurement field in accordance with relevant international and regional agreements as well as the International Financial Institutions Procurement Guidelines.

Ms Giulia Botta works as Associate Programme Officer at the Development & Investment Programme of ITCILO, under the Procurement Management Training portfolio. She conducts research and professional training in procurement management of goods, works, services, sustainable public procurement, advanced contract management. She coordinates and supports training activities under the Diploma in Public Procurement Management for Sustainable Development and the design and development of multiple procurement management projects and capacity building in procurement professionalization in collaboration with national governments, international organizations, IFIs and MDBs.

She has previous experience in professional training for the UN System having worked for the UN System Staff College (UNSSC), for the Knowledge Center for Sustainable Development in Bonn (Germany) and for the Knowledge Center for Leadership and Management (KCLM). She holds a Ph.D. in Law and Sustainable Development, with focus on Sustainable Public Procurement, at the University of Milan, Faculty of Law, with research focus on the integration of social considerations, labour standards and human rights criteria in public procurement processes.

Esmerina Petutschnig works as Programme Officer, expert in environmental and social safeguards in the DEVINVEST unit at ITCILO. She manages the project SUSTAIN II on safeguards for IFAD

She is a public procurement management expert with extensive experience in training and mentoring in Public Procurement Capacity Building reforms. She has supported ITCILO in  building and executing comprehensive national training programs, specifically on the Reform of the Public Procurement System in the Republic of Vietnam; Bangladesh’s Public Procurement System’ Capacity Development and Professionalization (DIMAPPP-CDP) programme, and ‘Capacity Building for IFAD’s Project Procurement Investment portfolio (BUILD PROC)’.

She has worked with the ITCILO since 2017, in various capacities as tutor, lecturer and thesis supervisor at the Master course of Public Procurement Management for Sustainable Development, both in Turin, Italy and Kigali, Rwanda.

Mrs. Petutschnig obtained a Master's degree in Public Procurement Management in Sustainable Development from University of Turin, in 2013.

Valentina Maksiutenko is a seasoned procurement and project management expert with extensive experience as a training designer, manager, trainer, and facilitator. She holds a Master’s degree in Project Management from Rome Business School and the University of Valencia, and a degree in CAD Engineering from St. Petersburg State Institute of Technology (Technical University). Her professional background spans sustainable development, public procurement, contract management, and institutional capacity building. She has worked on high-value development projects co-financed by international financial institutions, including the World Bank and the New Development Bank, and has supported end-to-end national and international procurement processes for goods, works, and services, from tendering through contract implementation. Her portfolio includes complex flagship procurements such as the restoration and reconstruction of the General Staff Building of the Hermitage Museum. Since joining ITCILO in March 2020, she has contributed to the design and delivery of training, advisory services, and capacity-building programmes in public procurement and contract management, later expanding her focus within ODPS to include project management. She currently serves as a Project Officer within the DEVINVEST programme at ITCILO. She is responsible for the training components of the Buildproc Phase II project, a capacity-building initiative funded by IFAD. In this role, she leads the design, delivery, and management of learning and training activities aimed at strengthening the capacities of procurement specialists working in rural development contexts. Her work supports the effective implementation of procurement practices within IFAD-funded projects, contributing to sustainable development outcomes through enhanced institutional capabilities.

Marie Clarisse Chanoine is a Programme Officer in Environmental, Social, and Governance Safeguards. She holds a Master's degree in Social Anthropology in development contexts from the Université Libre de Bruxelles, a Specialized Master’s in Development, Environment and Societies (with a focus on Agrarian Dynamics) from Gembloux Agro-Biotech, and is currently completing a Master of Science in Environmental Management at Ulster University.

With long field experience in international development, Marie Clarisse specializes in designing and implementing ecologically sustainable and climate-resilient agricultural projects in East and Southern Africa. She has in-depth knowledge of Environmental and Social Safeguards standards and requirements, ensuring not only project compliance, but also long-term environmental and social sustainability.

Prior to joining ITCILO, she worked at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) as an Environment and Climate Specialist, where she collaborated with a wide range of stakeholders—including the private sector, financial institutions, non-profit organizations, and research centres—to promote innovative and inclusive solutions for transformative rural development.

Thaer Ziyadneh joined the ITCILO as an Associate Programme Officer for Development and Investment Programme in September 2023. His responsibility includes trainings on designing, implementing and evaluating Employment Intensive Investment Programme. Prior to the current assignment, he has worked at ILO for 4 years in the Employment-Intensive Investment Programme (EIIP) in Jordan and Afghanistan.

Before Joining ILO, he worked as a Procurement Specialist at the Municipal Services and Social Resilience Project. Prior to that, Thaer worked at Royal Scientific Society and the Jordan Engineers Association. He holds a Master's Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Jordan. Thaer holds a NEBOSH certificate in Occupational health and safety.