Sanum Downton-Jain
Senior Manager
Sanum is a Senior Manager with 11 years’ experience in global development, within operational, project management and consultancy roles, and deep understanding of delivery across a range of thematic areas including global health; public procurement; climate and sustainability; Gender, Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI); and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). Responsible for managing our internal operations, Sanum maintains our organisation’s policies, processes and compliance standards, as well as contributing to Agulhas’ strategic direction. Sanum spearheaded our recent policy refresh, in line with our core principle of Equity, and has led key best practice initiatives, including our successful B Corp certification process and Agulhas’ membership of the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. She is committed to the organisation’s internal development and fostering a compassionate, inclusive workplace.
Sanum is also a technical expert in organisational strategy improvement and evaluation of ethical frameworks, with a particular focus on Protection against Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (PSEAH). She is currently the PSEAH expert for a portfolio of MOPAN assessments of UN Entities including UNHCR, WHO and WFP, and was a researcher on the Safeguarding Review for ICAI. Additionally, in line with her thematic interests, she contributes to research and evaluation services for climate funds, working on the Adaptation Fund Mid-Term Review of the Medium-Term Strategy 2 (MTS2) and conducting project scoping for the Amazon Right Now Climate Fund.
With a background in start-up social entrepreneurship, Sanum was a co-founding member and Head of Operations of a Y Combinator-backed social enterprise, improving water access in Ghana through global corporate partnerships. She has an MSc in Sustainability in Management, from the University of Bath School of Management, focused on corporate governance and accountability, business ethics, and sustainability strategies. She is Project DPro certified and has a foundation certification in Agile™ Project Management.
Key work interests
Sanum is an advocate for addressing the issue of under-representation of minoritised ethnic groups in the UK international development sector, having co-founded REDI Collective, a community network for People of Colour in the sector, which provides a platform for practitioners to exchange knowledge, share opportunities and feel empowered. She is also a co-lead of the Agulhas Unlearning team.
With special interests in safeguarding and PSEAH within international development, Sanum sits on the coordination team for the cross-sector safeguarding working group, Safeguarding Leads Network, engaged with knowledge sharing and the building of best practice.
Other interests
Outside of work and advocacy, Sanum enjoys her weekly contemporary choir Some Voices, long Thameside walks, and letting her personal trainer shout at her to lift heavier weights. On weekends, you can find her exploring the food markets of South London or visiting her family in the West Midlands and honouring her Brummie roots.
