Executive Leadership
Farman Khan
Chief Executive Officer-CEO
The SEARCH Executive Team is led by Farman Khan, an award-winning educationist with over 18 years of leadership experience in designing and scaling impactful education programs. As a member of several global technical working groups, his expertise spans Safe Schools, Literacy and Numeracy, Early Childhood Development (ECD), Non-Formal Education, Child Protection, and Child Rights Governance.
He is a recognized leader in Education and Education in Emergencies (EiE), known for driving significant programmatic outcomes through strategic partnerships and innovative solutions. He has played a key role in the design and rollout of major initiatives, including:
- The Learning Tree Mobile Application
- The EiE Day – 1 Program
- Literacy and Numeracy Boost
- The CONNECT Program for Refugee Education and Child Protection
- Socio-Emotional Learning (SEL) for Refugee and Host Communities
Farman’s globally recognized expertise lies in designing and managing child-focused education programs that effectively integrate vital sectors such as Child Protection, Nutrition, WASH, Livelihoods, and Economic Empowerment.
The Executive Team is committed to delivering on SEARCH’s ambition: a society where every child learns, develops skills, and is protected within a resilient and safe environment.
G. Farooq Khan
Senior Advisor- Strategic Planning, Program Quality and Crises Management
G. Farooq Khan is a distinguished humanitarian and development professional with over 19 years of global experience. He specializes in strategic planning, program quality improvement, and crisis management across complex and high-risk environments. His technical portfolio spans key sectors including Education, WASH, Primary Health Care, Livelihoods, and Community Physical Infrastructure (CPI).
Throughout his career, Farooq has successfully led multidisciplinary teams and driven impactful programs with reputable organizations such as Save the Children, DAI, Palladium, Islamic Relief, IRC, ARC, and Euro Charity Trust. His geographic reach includes diverse contexts across Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Central America. Farooq is also well-versed in managing partnerships with a wide range of stakeholders and institutional donors, including BHA/USAID, UKAid/FCDO, ECHO, and the European Union.
He holds academic qualifications in Engineering and Management, supplemented by a Diploma in Sustainable Development from the UK, and professional certifications including PMP (PMI USA) and Project DPro. These credentials support his ability to design, execute, and scale transformative initiatives that deliver measurable impact and sustainable value.
Farooq is also the author of the Amazon best-selling book Decode Your Destiny, a highly acclaimed title in the self-help genre. His writing reflects his passion for personal growth, purpose-driven leadership, and unlocking human potential.
Asad Zia Iqbal
Learning and Development Advisor
Asad Zia Iqbal is a results-driven humanitarian and development professional with over 20 years of experience across Asia and Africa. He has led institutional and organizational development initiatives, designed and delivered strategic, competency-based humanitarian capacity-strengthening programs, and supported emergency preparedness planning and response efforts across more than a dozen countries, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Indonesia, and Mozambique.
In his current role with Save the Children UK as the Regional Humanitarian Capacity Strengthening Lead for Asia, he is leading regional strategies to bolster the preparedness and response capacities of both internal teams and external partners. This is achieved through context-specific trainings, Emergency Response Team (ERT) programs, and leadership development initiatives.
He has facilitated partnerships with national governments, local civil society, UN agencies, and donors to enhance operational readiness and foster equitable, sustainable, and locally-led humanitarian action. As a certified partnership broker, he has developed and institutionalized models for transformational partnerships, organizational self-governance mechanisms, and civil society strengthening—enabling local actors to access diverse funding streams, improve governance and accountability, and co-create innovative solutions.
His work is grounded in a deep understanding of the regional humanitarian landscape, civic space, and funding ecosystems, supported by evidence-based research and strategic collaborations with global stakeholders.
Adeel Ahmed
Child Protection and Child Rights Governance Advisor
Adeel holds a master’s degree in business administration from Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK. With over 15 years of progressive experience in the protection sector across both humanitarian and development contexts at national and international levels, Adeel is deeply committed to delivering large-scale, sustainable protection outcomes for populations of concern, particularly children at risk. He has worked with leading international humanitarian organizations, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Save the Children, International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps, among others. Adeel’s expertise spans across managing case management, the design and implementation of community-based protection approaches, strengthening of national child protection systems and child-friendly procedures. He has contributed to the development and institutionalization of organizational safeguarding frameworks, child protection policies, and protection mainstreaming strategies and strengthen institutional capacities on protection and safeguarding. With a strong understanding of the multifaceted protection risks faced by vulnerable populations, Adeel has successfully managed both dedicated and integrated child protection projects, focusing on prevention, response, and durable solutions. He has represented protection priorities and advocacy positions in national and international protection coordination forums, contributing to policy dialogue, inter-agency collaboration, and humanitarian development programming.
Mahrukh Qazilbash
Social Policy, Education and Child/Human Rights Research Advisor
Mahrukh Qazilbash is a policy and research specialist with extensive experience in human rights, legal reform, and youth-focused development programming. She currently serves as Research and Communications Manager at HIMAT Consulting, where she leads research design, capacity building, and advocacy strategy for multi-sectoral development initiatives. Mahrukh holds a Master’s in Human Rights from the London School of Economics and a Postgraduate Degree in Law from BPP University, with a focus on public, environmental, and human rights law.
Over the past decade, she has worked with leading organizations such as Save the Children, the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), and international government bodies, contributing to rights-based policy development, stakeholder engagement, and the design of child protection frameworks. Her experience working with vulnerable communities—especially children and youth—guides her contributions to SEARCH, where she advises on child rights, advocacy, and program strategy with a strong commitment to equity and inclusion.
Humera Qasim Khan
Climate Change and Environmental Advisor
Humera Qasim Khan is a seasoned development professional with 22 years of experience as a Climate Change and Environmental Specialist. She has contributed to major initiatives supported by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Government of Pakistan, USAID, and UNDP. Her core expertise lies in climate change adaptation, environmental assessment, and the development of training modules for environmental capacity-building programs.
A Fulbright Hubert Humphrey Fellow (2016–17), Humera completed her specialization in Climate Adaptation at Cornell University. She is also a Climate Reality Fellow and certified trainer under Nobel Laureate Al Gore, having completed her training in Denver in 2017. Humera is the author of several research papers and is currently working on a book exploring the intersection of race, gender, and climate change.
Her exposure to diverse functional groups and international donors has equipped her with the ability to bridge field-level insights with policy-making. She remains committed to developing institutional mechanisms grounded in the real-world experiences of developing countries.
Adnan Ullah Khan
WASH and Shelter Advisor
With a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering, Adnan Ullah Khan brings 16 years of professional expertise in designing large-scale WASH, Shelter, and Construction projects across both development and humanitarian contexts. Having worked with various international organizations, he has designed multimillion-dollar climate-resilient WASH and Shelter projects. He possesses strong expertise in technical proposal development and report writing.
Yasir Khan
Talent Acquisition and Development Expert
Yasir Khan is a talent acquisition, human resources, and development expert with over 12 years of experience managing donor-funded programs in both humanitarian and development sectors. He has led HR operations across multiple continents, with specialized expertise in Talent Acquisition, Performance Management, Compensation & Benefits, Diversity & Inclusion, and Compliance. Yasir is proficient in using systems such as Unifield, TAMIS (Classic and Pro), Homere, and various HRIS platforms to drive operational excellence. His professional journey includes collaborations with renowned international organizations such as MSF, DAI, IRC, Islamic Relief, EDC, and Internews Europe.