Biography

Natalia Catrinescu is a Senior Consultant in OPM’s Regional Development and Local Governance portfolio with wide-ranging government and consulting experience. Natalia is currently leading a project in Tajikistan seeking to estimate the impact of migration on children left behind, through a combination of quantitative and qualitative research. Recently, Natalia worked on a large DFID UK project supporting implementation of regional development policy in Moldova, which includes support for regional strategy development, setting up new regional development institutions and design of new financing mechanisms. She has also had a lead role in supporting the design and inception of a regional migration project in central Asia for DFID UK. In 2010, Natalia also conducted a baseline study on service delivery in selected districts of Moldova, identifying indicators and targets for a UNIFEM Women’s Economic Empowerment Programme. Before joining OPM, Natalia served as a senior civil servant in Moldova’s Ministry of Economy and Government Office, where she led on central government and civil service reform, policy coordination, and monitoring and evaluation, as well as aid effectiveness and donor coordination. Before that, she carried out analytical studies and consultancies for various international organisations, including the World Bank, the European Commission, and the OECD. Natalia holds a master's degree in public policy from Harvard University and is fluent in English, Russian and Romanian.