Manisha Thomas

Manisha Thomas has been working on humanitarian and refugee issues for more than 20 years. As an InterWorks associate she has facilitated the Situational Emergency Training (SET) workshops in French, both for the virtual online SET addressing response planning for displacement scenarios in Democratic Republic of Congo (2021), and for the in-person SET held in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire (2022), addressing preparedness for potential refugee scenarios in the region.

In addition to this facilitation work, in her role as part-time Geneva representative of the Women’s Refugee Commission, Manisha currently forms part of the Reference Group for the Joint Evaluation of the Protection of the Rights of Refugees during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Manisha has also been involved in the comprehensive refugee response framework (CRRF) in Tanzania, Uganda, and at the global level, as well as advocacy related to the Global Compact on Refugees and the Global Refugee Forums. In addition, she has also served as Coordinator for the Emergency Appeals Alliance (EAA), which brings together joint appeals mechanisms across 11 countries.

Over the years, Manisha has facilitated numerous meetings of various sizes, including several related to the 2018 revision of the Sphere Handbook; the global Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Global Cluster; the Gender-Based Violence Area of Responsibility (GBV AoR) of the Global Protection Cluster; internal retreats for UNHCR and MSF; and during numerous UNHCR Annual Consultations with NGOs. She has served in roles such as the Interim Director of the Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA) in Palestine and as the Head of Secretariat for the Solutions Alliance. She has also worked in the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Secretariat (IASC), as an independent consultant, and held various positions at the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA), which included supporting NGO coordination in Sudan and Haiti. She has also facilitated numerous meetings, workshops, and trainings when working at the Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA), the Solutions Alliance, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Secretariat, and the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA).