Bella Bird, a British and Australian national, joined the Bank on September 1, 2011 as the Country Director, Sudan & South Sudan, based in Nairobi, Kenya. Bella has served in various leadership positions in the UK Department for International Development (DfID). From 2009-2011, she was the Head of Governance and Fragile States Policy. Previously, she served as the Head of DfID Nepal after a similar stint as Head of DfID Vietnam. Prior to that she spent seven years as an adviser on poverty and social issues in Kenya and Uganda. She has played a leadership role for the UK government and internationally on policies to promote statebuilding and peace building, championing aid effectiveness and south-south collaboration.
Bird brings strong strategic leadership skills, cross regional professional experience in both stable low income and fragile and post-conflict states, and proven ability to establish credible and effective partnerships with diverse stakeholders. She holds a Master of Arts in Anthropology and Development from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
