Staff

Ms. Desislava Gotskova was selected as the Director of Secretariat at the 34th RAI Steering Group Meeting held on April 28, 2021.

Ms. Gotskova holds a Master Degree in Law from the University of Sofia, Bulgaria and a Master Degree in International and European Law from the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Ms. Gotskova has a thorough knowledge and extensive experience in international cooperation in judicial and police matters and in anti-corruption policy, strategic and action plan development.

Prior joining the RAI, Ms Gotskova worked at the Bulgarian Commission for Illegal Assets Forfeiture (CIAF), now Anti-corruption Commission; EUROPOL and the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice. While at Europol, she was involved in national and international asset recovery investigations linked to corruption and organized crime, supported the CARIN Secretariat and the Asset Recovery Offices (AROs) Platform in coordinating their activities and maintaining close liaison with the relevant stakeholders and partners such as UNODC/WB StAR Initiative; Council of Europe, APEC Anti-corruption and Transparency Working Group, etc. In 2018, she was appointed by the Minister of Justice to chair COPEN Working Group on the proposal for a regulation on the mutual recognition of freezing and confiscation orders during the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU. As a Chair of the Working Group, she represented the Council of the EU at the negotiations on the proposal of the regulation with the European Parliament and the European Commission.

In the February 2019 – March 2021, Ms. Gotskova was a project manager of the regional project “Strengthening anticorruption in the South East Europe through improving asset seizure measures”, implemented by RAI Secretariat in cooperation with AIRE Centre. This engagement enabled her to get familiar with the political, social, economic and security landscape of the SEE region and has given her a broad overview and understanding of practical issues and problems related to anticorruption policies and mechanisms both on national and regional level. She is one of the founders of the SEE Good Governance and Anti-corruption Women Leaders Forum, established in March 2023.

Mr. Nikola Naumovski was born in Belgrade, Republic of Serbia. He graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Belgrade in 2008 with a Master degree from the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Belgrade in 2014.

Prior to joining RAI Secretariat, Mr. Naumovski worked in the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Serbia as the Head of Department for EU integration within judiciary and public administration. In the period 2020 until 2022 he was Head of Department for international legal assistance in civil matters after which he was promoted to Assistant Minister for international legal assistance.

Mr. Nikola Naumovski graduated from the Diplomatic Academy “Koča Popović” within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia in 2011/2012.

Mr. Naumovski was also member of the Steering Committee for projects iPROCEEDS 2, Supporting effective remedies and mutual legal assistance (Council of Europe), Countering Serious Crime in the WB IPA 2017, Countering Serious Crime in the WB IPA 2019, Legal Reform for Economic Development in the Western Balkans etc.

Also, Mr. Naumovski was a representative of the Republic of Serbia in the PC OC Committee, CDCT Committee, CDCJ Committee of the Council of Europe, participating in the Moneyvall and T-CY Committees when necessary, and a contact point for the Republic of Serbia for UNTOC Review Mechanism.

Ms. Aida Zukic is at the forefront of advancing financial policy and maintaining efficient and effective financial and operating systems and processes of the Organization. She brings more than a decade of distinguished experience in managing finances and operations to ensure the seamless execution of the Initiative's mission.

Prior to joining RAI Secretariat, she worked at a USAID Partnership for Advancing Reforms in the Economy (PARE) project implemented by the Chemonics International Inc. This experience at a globally recognized agency and a very dynamic team provided her with an extensive experience in finance and accounting as well as human resource and office management.

She joined RAI Secretariat in 2014 as Finance and Administrative Officer. During this time, she was dedicated to improving Organization’s procurement and internal controls policies, as well as driving the regulatory compliance, contributing to the overall success and growth of the organization. She was conducting all activities related to the financial management, accounting and record keeping of the Secretariat, including the preparation of complex operational and programmatic budgets and financial reports. She gained vast experience in drafting, negotiating and implementing large-scale projects from various donors, including the European Commission, Austrian Development Agency, British Government, Central European Initiative, as well as the EEA and Norway Grants. She is equipped with extensive experience in all aspects of the project-cycle, especially relevant to compliance with donor policies and standards, risk management, as well as pre-audit and post-audit processes.

In her role of Chief Finance and Operations Officer, Ms. Zukic has senior responsibility for financial management, operations, administrative, HRM and procurement management. She acts as the chair of Evaluation Committee for all procurement processes of RAI Secretariat.

Ms. Zukic graduated as the first student in the class at the International University of Sarajevo, Faculty of Business and Administration and holds a degree of Master of Science in Management, complementing her practical experience with academic excellence. She also has an ISO 37301:2021 Compliance management systems - Lead Implementer certificate. Throughout her career, she has gone through numerous trainings, including trainings on project management and gender responsive budgeting. She speaks English and Turkish languages, in addition to Bosnian being her mother tongue.

With a keen eye for detail and a proactive approach, she continually learns and improves and is committed to transferring knowledge to other people contributing to a dynamic and high-performing organizational culture.

Ms. Sladjana Cvijanovic joined RAI Secretariat in October 2023 on the position of Chief Program and Communications Officer.

Sladjana has graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy, University of East Sarajevo, and obtained a university degree in Art in Education.

Before joining RAI Secretariat, Sladjana has gained more than 25 years of experience in international organizations, governmental institutions, civil society organizations, and on international and bilateral projects in BiH. She possesses significant knowledge in project development and is skilled in monitoring and reporting. She is an expert in communication and in that area, she proved herself as a media courses leader and trainer, spokesperson, and moderator at media conferences and public events.

As a nature-lover, she enjoys walking, swimming and horticulture, enjoying all of these often together with her husband and daughter.