Rodrigo Cruz is the Ford Foundation’s program manager for the Andean Region. He oversees all grant management operations and supports the enhancement and improvement of program systems, processes and procedures and is responsible for communicating and engaging with grantees and other stakeholders.

Before this role, Rodrigo worked as the Andean region’s executive office coordinator, overseeing administration and operations, supporting the staff through human resource coordination, liasing with the foundation’s New York office and working closely with external contractors to achieve the foundation’s needs. Rodrigo was also responsible for the business continuity management system implementation and part of the new operations model executed in the Andean Region.

Before joining the foundation in August 2016, Rodrigo served as program implementation manager in Colombia at OXFAM GB. He led efforts to ensure development and achievement of high-quality programs, including humanitarian responses in Colombia, especially in Nariño, Chocó and Guajira, and all the administrative and operations needs in finance, human resources, logistics, accounting and program administration required to operate in the country. Previously, he worked as national executive president at ACOPI, the Colombian association of micro, small and medium private sector enterprises, assisting small private sector entities in achieving their needs by garnering support from the broader private sector.

At OXFAM GB, Rodrigo also served as business support manager in Colombia, as regional business support manager for Latin America based in Mexico, managing operations from Mexico to Chile. He was previously director of operations at Conservation International where he was appointed to manage response to humanitarian needs in Sierra Leone, Guyana, Chile, and Haiti and to assist with operations, risk management, internal audits, logistics, finance development and change management processes in Liberia, Chad, Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Oxford in the United Kingdom, and in Latin American countries.

Rodrigo holds a master’s degree in business administration, a master’s degree in project management, a specialist in international finance, a specialist in tax management, a risk management diploma and an accounting degree as a certified public accountant, all from the University Externado of Colombia.