Maria Fustic

Maria Fustic is a Consultant in Universalia’s Organization and Partnership Performance Practice, where she contributes to business development and delivers evaluation mandates for a diverse range of UN agencies, development banks, and non-profit organizations. She is also a Co-Lead of Universalia’s Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8) focal area, supporting clients to track progress, measure impact, and optimize strategies to foster sustainable economic development that benefits all. She has worked on numerous assignments related to high-level global financing for development, including with the World Bank, Global Partnership for Education, Caribbean Development Bank, and UK Caribbean Infrastructure Fund, as well as initiatives that financially empower grassroots communities, with World Education Services, the Disability Rights Fund/Disability Rights Advocacy Fund, and Global Youth Mobilization. Her portfolio also includes assignments with the ILO, UN Women, UNICEF, WFP, and BridgeNorth.

With skills in both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis, Ms. Fustic effectively communicates evaluation findings and recommendations through reports, presentations, and other deliverables. She is particularly experienced in participatory and inclusive evaluation approaches and excels in facilitation. Additionally, Ms. Fustic contributes to Universalia’s Quality Assurance Practice. Over the past three years (2022-2024), she has regularly conducted quality appraisals for the ILO and led the analysis and writing of the annual ILO report for the United Nations System-Wide Action Plan on Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (UN-SWAP-GEEW). She is also a Quality Assurance Reviewer for UNICEF, assessing evaluation reports and other deliverables for their regional and country offices.

As Universalia’s Engagement Coordinator, Ms. Fustic manages Universalia’s engagement in global conferences, communities of practice, and other networks. She is also an active member of Universalia’s Lunch & Learn Committee, organizing opportunities for shared learning across the firm and wider community. She is fluent in English and Serbo-Croatian and has intermediate proficiency in French.