Maria Rosario Arenas

Maria Rosario Arenas serves as a key procurement lead within USAID/Ukraine, supporting the agency’s mission to advance democratic governance, economic resilience, and public health stability through targeted technical assistance and capacity-building initiatives. She manages a diverse portfolio of acquisitions focused on institutional reform, civil society strengthening, and public service modernization, often coordinating complex, multi-year contracts for consulting services, training programs, and monitoring and evaluation systems. Her work is central to ensuring that USAID’s interventions align with Ukraine’s post-conflict recovery priorities and long-term institutional needs, requiring deep coordination with implementing partners and local stakeholders. Arenas collaborates closely with a broad spectrum of international and local implementing partners, including NGOs, think tanks, and technical service providers with expertise in governance, rule of law, and economic development. Her contracting patterns reflect a preference for performance-based, outcome-driven agreements that emphasize accountability and measurable impact. She frequently engages firms with demonstrated experience in post-conflict environments and adaptive program management, fostering long-term partnerships built on transparency and results-oriented delivery. Her procurement approach is entirely non-set-aside, with 100% of acquisitions conducted under open competition, reflecting the agency’s emphasis on global competitiveness and technical merit over socioeconomic preferences. While she does not prioritize 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB set-asides, her processes remain fully compliant with federal acquisition regulations and emphasize value, expertise, and local relevance. Arenas specializes in procuring services under NAICS categories related to management consulting, international development assistance, and public administration support. Her portfolio consistently includes expertise in institutional capacity building, anti-corruption frameworks, electoral systems support, and public financial management modernization. She brings deep domain knowledge in transitional governance contexts and is adept at navigating complex stakeholder environments to deliver high-impact, context-sensitive solutions.