Scaling nature-based solutions for climate resilient infrastructure

Role: Director of Operations in Sierra Leone
Project: Imperial- Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre Learning Alliance
Affiliation: Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre
ORCID ID: N/A
Email: aklingel@slurc.org

Andrea Klingel is the Director of Operations at the Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre. She has been living and working in Sierra Leone for eight years which has grounded her understanding of urban challenges and allowed her to build a network of critical urban stakeholders establishing invaluable relationships. 

Andrea’s main responsibilities at SLURC lie within the management of Operations such as human resources, finance, knowledge management, ICT, programme management, and event planning. She provides strategic overview and direction together with the other Directors to ensure SLURC achieves its goals and vision. 

Andrea also serves as SLURC’s Safeguarding Lead. She delivers safeguarding training, conducts risk assessments, and ensures that the organisation’s work actively protects vulnerable communities and staff, embedding a “do no harm” ethos across all projects.

She has served as local coordinator for multiple World Bank and African Development Bank projects in Sierra Leone. Her leadership skills and more than two decades of project management experience in the private, third and public sector in the UK ensured the bank projects delivered high-quality outputs within budget and timeframe. Her communication skills have allowed her to navigate complex, cross-cultural relationships with sensitivity and confidence.

On the FLOURISH project – a collaboration between Imperial College London students and the University of Namibia – Andrea oversaw and managed logistical aspects of the Learning Alliance. She planned meetings, recruited and supervised interns and created a safe, productive environment that enabled students to complete their full scope of work during their time in Sierra Leone.