Zafran has over 9 years’ experience in International Development, and currently is Head of GPG’s Strategy and Business Development. Since 2017, Zafran has led on GPG’s projects in the MENA, Eastern Europe and Central Asia Regions. He led on supporting the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to open the Parliament’s first ever Education Centre to improve the Parliaments relationship and engagement with Ukrainian citizens, whilst supporting the Speakership of the Rada. He has led GPG’s Iraq portfolio to improve policy, service delivery, gender equality and responsiveness to Iraqi citizens, through supporting the Iraqi Council of Representatives and civil society, and programming in the GCC region. He has also led on GPG’s projects in Central Asia, namely in Uzbekistan, to establish the first ever Human Right Commission in the Oliy Majlis (Uzbek Parliament).
Zafran has also developed several research and analysis papers on Youth and Economic Reform policies in Iraq, and several political economic analyses (PEAs) in Central Asia and MENA. Zafran has been invited to several policy roundtable discussions and events to speak on these topics. Prior to GPG, Zafran led and managed a parliamentary inquiry into building young people’s resilience to violent extremism in MENA, the first of its kind for the British Council, resulting in the development of several policy papers on security and stability, preventing violent extremism and the concept of resilience. He spent over four years managing the British Council’s UK and North Africa Relations based in Tunisia. Zafran has spent over 4 years in the MENA region studying the Arabic language and calligraphy to a proficient level, whilst working with several charities.