Oumar Arby is an Africa Program Coordinator at CIVIC, where he provides strategic coordination and oversight of the organization’s Africa portfolio. He supports program design and implementation, organizational learning, partnership development, and cross-regional coordination to strengthen the Protection of Civilians in conflict-affected settings. 

With more than 12 years of experience in Security Sector Engagement, and Protection of Civilians, Oumar has managed complex programs across West, East, and Central Africa.

Prior to joining CIVIC, he served as WPS Program Coordinator with UN Women, Humanitarian Disarmament and Peace building Program Coordinator with Danish Refugee Council in Nigeria, Program Manager with International Alert in Mali, and Safer Communities Advisor with DanChurchAid in South Sudan and Sudan.

He contributed to security sector capacity-building initiatives through roles with U.S. Africa Command in the Sahel as a Cultural Advisor and Language Assistant, and with the European Union Training Mission in Mali as a Liaison Officer. 

Oumar holds an MSc in Organizational and Project Management from Techno-Lab University and is a 2022 Mandela Washington Fellow under the Young African Leaders Initiative, having completed the Leadership in Civic Engagement Program at Rutgers University, USA.

His professional interests include civilian protection, peacebuilding, and strengthening collaboration between communities, CSOs, and security actors.