Regional Director

Dr. Ruba Jaradat
Dr. Ruba Jaradat is the ILO Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Arab States, based at the Regional Office in Beirut.



Dr. Jaradat had managed economic growth programmes with annual budgets exceeding US$ 300 million and led teams of more than 250 multinational staff.

Prior to joining the ILO in November 2015, Dr. Jaradat established and managed the Jordan Strategy Forum, the most influential private sector-funded think tank in Jordan. From 2005 to 2008, Dr. Jaradat managed the U.S. Jordan Fiscal Reform and Cash Transfer Program that substantially improved fiscal conditions and business environment in the country, and from 2008 to 2013 she managed the USAID Economic Development Program that created 67,000 sustainable high value jobs. She has also previously worked as an international business development consultant in higher education in the United Kingdom.

Since Dr. Jaradat assumed office as Regional Director, the ILO Regional Office for Arab States has seen over an 8-fold increase in its Development Cooperation portfolio budget. Dr. Jaradat has led the development and signing-into-force of six Decent Work Country Programmes (DWCPs) - the ILOs main vehicle to implement its decent work agenda and to deliver support to member states - in Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Oman. The DWCPs in Iraq, Kuwait and Lebanon were the first to be instituted in these countries.

Dr. Jaradat is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Councils. She chaired Jordan’s Board of the British Universities Alumni Association from 2011-2015. She has served as a member of several councils including the Advisory Committee of the Euro Mediterranean Council, the Jordan Economic and Social Council, the Jordan National Competitiveness and Innovation Council, and the UK Arab Partnership Initiative.

Dr. Jaradat holds a PhD in Management and International Development from the UK. She holds several certificates in economics and leadership from international institutions such as Harvard University, the World Bank Institute, Georgia State University and the U.S. Federal Institute.