Omar Daair

How did your experiences at NYU Wagner prepare you for your career?

Wagner helped turbocharge my transition into senior management. Previously I had found myself struggling to find the right way to take that step up, but Wagner helped me reflect on, and enhance, my strengths. It also gave me the space to think both about how to tackle the big global challenges we are facing, and how to strengthen leadership within the public sector. I also met some very interesting people.

Why did you choose NYU Wagner for graduate school?

It has a great international reputation as a centre of excellence in public policy thinking. The fact that its Global EMPA programme is run jointly with University College London was also very attractive to me. And, of course, the opportunity to study in an incredible city like New York was a plus too! I had a brilliant time at Wagner but it went by too quickly.

Can you tell us a bit about your job responsibilities?

Most recently I was Head of Europe Department. I ran a team of 25 across London and Brussels, which was responsible for relations with the European Union on international development and humanitarian issues. This included planning how we should cooperate on shared priorities after the UK's departure from the EU. Before that, I was Private Secretary (Chief of Staff) to the Minister for Africa. I am now in pre-posting training for my next diplomatic assignment overseas.