Nicole Jacobs

Nicole Jacobs has over 20 years of experience in international development. She possesses a critical combination of skills that include project management, business development, training, process improvement, and compliance. As Director of Training, Knowledge Management, and Quality within RTI’s Project Management Support Office (PMSO), Ms. Jacobs oversees a wide variety of project management initiatives to support staff development in RTI’s International Development Group (IDG). This involves heading up IDG’s project management training, creating new project management tools and guidance documents, and leading knowledge management of operational and managerial resources to support compliance and implementation excellence.

Mrs. Jacobs also currently leads IDG’s special initiative on locally led development (LLD) to shift power to local partners and deepen the impact and sustainability of RTI’s work. She is passionate about supporting local partners and ensuring that they co-design and implement projects so that they are leaders of their own development. She believes that local voices and leadership are at the heart of effective development. From 2013-2019, Ms. Jacobs was a Senior Capacity Strengthening Advisor and spearheaded IDG’s capacity development efforts and portfolio. In this role, she successfully led business development, product development, and research to position RTI as a leader within this area. Core competencies include participatory training design and delivery, mentoring and coaching, USAID rules and regulations, organizational capacity assessments, strategic planning, proposal design, and financial management.