Ms. Selina Torrison Saaka

Ms. Selina Torrison Saaka is a higher education administrator at the University of Ghana, where she serves as Head of the University’s Students Financial Aid Office. Ms. Saaka has worked on different schedules over the period of her work at the University of Ghana. Beyond that, she has worked as a development worker and continuously looks out for opportunities to make her previous experiences relevant to her current job by enhancing and adding value to the work she does.

Her experiences span different layers in development cooperation, from the grassroots to the policy level. For a long time, she worked in the development cooperation space, holding jobs as a Program Officer at DANIDA, where she coordinated components of the Support to Private Sector Development Program. This involved facilitating complex stakeholder relationships, including senior government ministries, NGOs, private sector entities, and development partners (donors) across several sectors. Prior to this, she worked with Oxfam, GB, where her focus was to advocate for policies that improve the lives of farmers in Ghana and Burkina Faso, building coalitions to fight policies that were counterproductive to poor peasant farmers. This work covered several components, including research, advocacy, and actual program support. Earlier in her career, Ms. Saaka worked with World Vision, where her responsibilities covered three areas: economic empowerment for women, water and sanitation, and child rights-related issues. Beyond her roles at the University, she volunteers with some NGOs and undertakes short-term consulting assignments where possible.
Ms. Saaka holds a Master’s degree in Sustainable International Development and an Executive Masters in Development Policies and Practices, a Bachelor of Arts (Honors) in English and Law, and a Post-graduate Certificate in Development Evaluation. Her skills include partnership building and resource mobilization, gender, grant management, as well as program/project design and evaluation.