Meet Dr. Mardieh Dennis, Liaison Officer Liberia since 2019

In this issue, we would like to bring some stories from   Liberia. Dr. Mardieh joined The GFF in early 2019 and successfully hit the ground running.  Liberia’s Investment Case was midway into its lifespan and the country had just undergone a change in government. She shares her experience mastering the art of managing expectations, reflects on how the COVID 19 pandemic has impacted her work and life, and shares some milestones from her journey.

Reflection on the role

The role of the Liaison Officer is not one shy of complexity. Its demands are multi-faceted with often no prior reference point, so relying on the experience of those who have performed it is crucial to not only understanding what the day today entails but also understanding the traits and soft skills required to efficiently accomplish it.

Self-awareness

Among the many soft skills is understanding one’s (own) capacity. In as much as you are a conduit, the most successful approach is knowing what you can as Liaison Officer bring to the table: that becomes the basis of engagement

It is important to find the things that interest you and get involved with those things, so that they see you as someone who’s there to help, a critical member of the team.

Balancing Act

However, she is quick to note that this is a balancing act. Well as the GFF agenda comes first, one needs to keep in mind that its success is dependent on others “seeing themselves” as part of it.

Art of saying “No”

It is also important to master the art of saying no because left unchecked one is likely to be pulled into different directions. The trick she says lies in either knowing who within the stakeholders can offer the same request and then make that connection between the one making the request and the team that needs the additional help; One needs to also know the broad landscape and have an ear to the ground for them to be good process consultants. That way, they are aware of which new stakeholders have recently joined, what their niche is and more importantly how they can be brought to the country platform

Looking at the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic; she points to disruption around the work culture as something she had to face and immediately adapt: The office culture was one that best yielded results if you were face to face with each person with whom you had to work with

I’ve found it to be a bit of a challenge. Everything moves better when you can just go into someone’s office and work on things together or resolve issues face-to-face.

As we conclude our conversation, she shares another example of how the role can be used to leverage relations and create synergies in service delivery

One example that comes to mind is a recent interaction with an NGO that has just started working in Liberia in an area relevant to the RMNCAH Investment Case. So far, they haven’t been working very closely with the Ministry of Health, so I’ve been in touch with them to discuss the importance of engaging with Family Health Division and how they can participate in the country platform.