Mustafa Kadhim is a Social Protection Specialist in the Social Protection and Jobs (SPJ) Global Practice of the World Bank. Since he joined the Bank in 2007, Mustafa has been a core member of the Iraq SPJ team who supported the government to advance important social protection reforms, which included the introduction of poverty-targeted Social Safety Nets in Iraq, and substantial support to pension and social insurance reforms based on international good practices. In addition, Mustafa contributed to the design, preparation and implementation of the large portfolio which presently encompasses emergency operations, social protection technical assistance, and the recently-launched jobs agenda. Presently, Mustafa plays a central role in the Iraq Social Fund for Development project, which seeks to improve access of vulnerable populations to basic services through a community-driven development approach. In addition to that, he co-leads a number of activities across the sector’s portfolio, particularly related to the systems building agenda at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (social registry, GRM, etc.). In the past couple of years, and beyond social protection, Mustafa has extended cross-support to gender, youth and behavioral activities in Iraq. Prior to joining the Bank, Mustafa held different positions at the Iraq Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and the Iraq Ministry of Defense. Mustafa holds a B.Sc. in Statistics from the University of Baghdad.