Elissa Goucem
Elissa Goucem is an HQAI-registered auditor with extensive experience in humanitarian quality assurance, accountability, governance and organisational strengthening. She has worked across the humanitarian and development sector for over a decade, with particular expertise in the Core Humanitarian Standard, third-party verification, ethical standards and donor due diligence and localisation. Her work is informed by a strong commitment to inclusive and participatory approaches, shaped by her engagement with civil society initiatives working on questions of representation, access and social inclusion.
Elissa previously held senior leadership roles at HQAI, where she contributed to shaping and strengthening the organisation’s quality assurance and certification architecture.
Her work included the design and oversight of CHS certification processes, the development and maintenance of ISO 17065-accredited systems, audit quality control, and strategic engagement with organisations and donors on the role of independent assurance in strengthening accountability, organisational learning and trust.
Her work combines audit methodology, strategic policy analysis and field-informed practice. She brings experience across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Latin America, and is particularly interested in how independent assurance can help organisations move beyond compliance towards meaningful transformation.
Arabic, English, French and Spanish.
Trust, Learning, Transformation.
I became an auditor because I believe that accountability should be more than a principle on paper. Independent audits can create a rare space where organisations pause, listen, look honestly at their systems, and identify what needs to change. In my roles at HQAI and in other accountability-focused work, I have seen audits support real organisational transformation: helping teams strengthen their practices, improve how they listen to communities and partners, and make accountability more concrete in day-to-day decision-making. At their best, audits are not only about compliance; they can help shift power, strengthen trust, and support organisations to move towards more equitable and meaningful practice.