Harini Dias Bandaranayake
Colombo
Summary
- Strategic communications expert and seasoned project design specialist with 20+ years’ experience, specialising in development/nonprofit and private sector.
- A business development expert, uniquely combining communications and resource mobilization strategies with exceptional project design and management expertise.
- Demonstrated success in developing organizational strategies and winning high-net worth grant bids through intelligently crafted proposals.
- Encompass a flair to develop high-quality publications and digital content in excellent English.
- Results-oriented achiever with proven ability to exceed targets and drive success in fast-paced environments. Combines strategic thinking with hands-on experience to deliver impactful solutions and enhance organizational performance.
Overview
21
21
years of professional experience
6
6
Certification
Work History
Consultant
Verité Research Sri Lanka
05.2025 - Current
- Developed proposal for UNICEF funding. Impact - Successfully obtained USD30, 000+ in funding for child protection awareness and fiscal accountability related training
- Developed proposal for UNESCO funding for training in fiscal responsibility-related capacity development for district coordination groups; other editorial support in research publications
Consultant
Sri Lanka Center for Development Facilitations
07.2025
- Developed a concept note for a European Union open call to strengthen development actors. Impact – Obtained Euro2,500,000 for a 3 year project across 11 districts in Sri Lanka.
Consultant
Hope for Humanity Sri Lanka
01.2025 - 03.2025
- Developed high-impact annual report and planning for a five-year strategy plan. Impact – Organization accessed a new German donor.
- Established internal content/reporting standards for donor engagement.
Consultant
ChildFund Sri Lanka
01.2020 - 01.2025
- Designed and wrote a Strategy Plan (2020–2025). Impact - lauded by the International Office; developed large grant proposals for a variety of bilateral donors including USAID, EU, JAIC Foundation (Switzerland), and DRL (United States’ Department of State)
- Impact – successful funding for two projects exceeding USD1,000,000 in funding each; increased capacity and knowledge in project design for staff at field and national-office levels; increased their ability to leverage evidence-based assessments and multi-stakeholder research.
- Successfully mentored the Resource Mobilization Manager on proposal development, strategy and donor communication; Impact of mentoring – resulted in several successful bids for funding.
Consultant Writer
Market-Oriented Dairy Project (MOD), IESC
01.2024
- Produced a comprehensive end-of-project legacy publication for USDA Impact – USDA releasing a second tranche of funding up to USD7,000,000 for Phase 2 of project
Head of Strategic Communications, Policy and Government Relations
Adfactors PR Lanka
01.2024
- Led strategic messaging and government engagement strategies for high-profile international clients including ByteDance (TikTok) in Dubai, Kaspersky in Singapore, CocaCola in Sri Lanka and Maldives Impact - resulted in TikTok’s work with the Government of Sri Lanka in responsible social media use for school children + two successful rounds of meetings with Sri Lankan Government officials.
- Led a fresh advocacy-focused PR strategy for the Joint Appeal Association Forum (JAAF) to steer visibility towards its climate sustainability and traceability achievements Impact - A series of international magazine write-ups and several positive engagements with the Government of Sri Lanka on fiscal policy and its impact on manufacturing exports.
Grant Writer
Habitat for Humanity Sri Lanka
01.2023
- Drafted a competitive proposal; Impact - USD180,000 in new funding
- Contributed to a comprehensive fund raising strategy; Impact - leveraged local partnerships
- Increased visibility for the organization’s work; Impact - introduction to BNI membership.
Programme Officer
Diakonia
01.2021
- Oversaw six long-standing NGO partnerships; Impact – successful core funding for FY 2021 – 2022
- Supported partner organizational development by assessing their administrative, financial, human resource and safeguarding policies; Impact – organizational longevity and access to new projects
Freelance Writing and Consultancies
01.2003 - Current
- Develop donor reports, funding proposals, project reports and conference papers for various organizations (World Vision, UNFPA, WFP, ILO, World Bank, and Christian Aid, as well as for private clients) Impact – successful project completion and phase out
- Published extensively in newspapers and magazines, with a focus on emergency response to climate disasters and conflict, development issues, diversity and inclusion; Impact - Visibility and awareness
- Ghostwrote and edited book chapters and manuscripts for five private clients + ongoing project Impact - Published authorships
- Freelance editing/proofreading to global students with Masters/PhD level theses (4+ to date; professor-endorsement from University of Brandon, Canada)
Communications & Research Roles
ICES
01.2014 - 01.2020
- Managed communications for a Transitional Justice project hosted by the University of Lausanne and funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation; Impact – led to continued funding by donor
- Designed and led the launch of Sri Lanka’s first digital social science archive; Impact – made raw data sets available for all local researchers
- Contributed to the development of a digital Museum of History by way of research and technical input Impact - developed institutional policies and implemented organization-wide content strategies for the organization (resulting from the digital archive)
- Coordinated an international research symposium on transitional justice in Colombo – 2016; Impact – increased visibility for ICES’ international research collaborations
- Presented a paper on the “Transfer of Inter-generational Memory in Conflict” at an international research conference in Bern, Switzerland in 2017.
Education
MA - Development Studies
University of Colombo
01.2012
BA - Government of India ICCR Scholar
University of Bangalore
01.2002
Diploma - Journalism
Xavier Institute of Mass Communications
01.1999
Skills
- Project Management & Leadership
- Strategic Communications & Content Strategy
- Corporate & Donor Communications
- Grant Management & Proposal Development
- Editorial Oversight & Digital Content Development
- Media Relations and Stakeholder Engagement
- Budget Development, Project Reporting and MEAL (MonitoringEvaluation, Accountability & Learning)
- MS Office
- Adobe InDesign
- Google Workspace
- Ai-conversant for data analytics and high-quality research
Accomplishments
- UNOPS, World Bank, Practical Action – Grant writing, media outreach & programme comms (2008 – 2012)World Vision Sri Lanka – Led conflict and disaster recovery programme design and project management in the North and East; collaborated with international donors; designed successful proposals for emergency funding to States of Jersey, UK (USD 100,000) and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (USD 400,000)
- The International Water Management Institute (South Asia) – Developed communications materials for digital and print publications; provided editorial support (2004)
- The Island Newspaper – Journalist covering investigative features, business, and editorial content (1999); shortlisted for investigative journalism training by senior journalists
Certification
- Career Coaching: Life Coach Certification (Accredited) (Udemy) - Februrary 2026
- Grant Seeking Essentials Certificate (NonprofitReady) – May 2025
- Fund-raising Essentials Certificate (NonprofitReady) – May 2025
- Social Media for Development (USAID) - 2015
- Logical Framework Approach, Proposal & Budget Writing, Project Planning (Red R / CHA) - 2008
- Conflict-Sensitive Programming (World Vision) - 2005
Timeline
Consultant
Sri Lanka Center for Development Facilitations
07.2025
Consultant
Verité Research Sri Lanka
05.2025 - Current
Consultant
Hope for Humanity Sri Lanka
01.2025 - 03.2025
Consultant Writer
Market-Oriented Dairy Project (MOD), IESC
01.2024
Head of Strategic Communications, Policy and Government Relations
Adfactors PR Lanka
01.2024
Grant Writer
Habitat for Humanity Sri Lanka
01.2023
Programme Officer
Diakonia
01.2021
Consultant
ChildFund Sri Lanka
01.2020 - 01.2025
Communications & Research Roles
ICES
01.2014 - 01.2020
Freelance Writing and Consultancies
01.2003 - Current
BA - Government of India ICCR Scholar
University of Bangalore
Diploma - Journalism
Xavier Institute of Mass Communications
MA - Development Studies
University of Colombo
EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT/ ACADEMIC HIGHLIGHTS
- Invited to present on “Inter-generational Memory” at a research symposium in Bern, Switzerland (2017)
- Winner of inter-university essay competition on Knowledge Economy World Bank (2008)
Work Availability
monday
tuesday
wednesday
thursday
friday
saturday
sunday
morning
afternoon
evening
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