John Brownlee

Background

About John Brownlee

I'm an international development professional with 25+ years of experience in social protection, poverty reduction, gender inclusion, and democratic governance across a range of global contexts. I currently serve as Director of KINETIK, an Australia–Indonesia partnership supporting a just energy transition. Previously, I worked as an independent consultant on learning evaluations, donor reporting, strategic partnerships, and interim team leadership roles. Before that, I led PROAKTIF, another Australia–Indonesia initiative focused on strengthening evidence-based social protection policy. What I find most rewarding is collaborating with passionate, committed people on complex challenges—whether it’s the intricacies of sustainable energy transitions or building social protection systems that actually work for communities. I enjoy bringing teams together, navigating multi-stakeholder environments, and finding solutions that are grounded in real-world conditions. I'm especially interested in facilitating conversations that help partners find common ground and in supporting people to shape approaches that reflect their own priorities.