Benjamin Safari

Benjamin Safari is a Rwandan humanitarian leader with more than 25 years of experience strengthening the systems that help organizations deliver assistance to people affected by crisis and displacement.

His career began in post-genocide Rwanda, where he supported food assistance for displaced communities. He later earned a Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of Adelaide and conducted policy research for the Australian Government, building a strong foundation in evidence-based decision-making and public-sector leadership.

Since 2021, Ben has led the Supply Management Service at UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. In this role, he guides global supply strategy, systems and partnerships that enable UNHCR operations to deliver essential goods and services more reliably, especially in emergencies.

Before joining UNHCR, Ben spent more than 14 years with Catholic Relief Services, serving in multiple roles and geographies across the supply chain function as well as in country, regional and global leadership, including as Director of its Global Supply Chain Management Unit, where he led supply operations across complex humanitarian relief and development programmes.

His leadership focuses on transforming supply management into a strategic enabler of humanitarian impact: simpler to use, faster to mobilize, more sustainable and better equipped to meet the needs of forcibly displaced people.