Saji is currently Chief, Child Protection, UNICEF Gulf Area Office, based in Abu Dhabi. He also provides leadership to overall programmes in the UAE. Beginning his career in India, Saji has over 20 years’ experience working on human rights, child rights and child protection. He completes 15 years with UNICEF this year – a journey that started in India, included move to Sri Lanka, UNICEF HQ in New York and Egypt. As Child Protection specialist in Sri Lanka, he was part of the recovery and reconciliation process led by the UN after the end of the long-drawn conflict in the country. At HQ, he served as the global focal person for Mental Health and Psychosocial support for five years and provided leadership in the development of many a global guidance. While at HQ, he also served as the co-chair of the Inter-agency Standing Committee Reference Group on MHPSS. Since January 2017, he worked as Chief, Child Protection in Egypt providing leadership in child protection systems strengthening and supported putting in place a cross-sectoral approach to Ending Violence against Children (EVAC). He holds a Master of Social Work from Pune University, India, additional qualifications in Research Methodology and completed the UNICEF-INSEAD Leadership Development Programme in 2016.