Joel Winckler is co-founder and managing director of MatchLocal.

Prior to this engagement, he was a post-doctoral researcher at the Center for Crisis Early Warning at Universität der Bundeswehr Munich.

Between 2018 and 2022 Joel served as team lead and desk officer at the German Federal Foreign Office. Primarily responsible for strategy planning, early warning and conflict analysis, he worked closely with political and programmatic divisions to improve strategies and solutions of the German government within the nexus of humanitarian assistance, peace and development.

Joel also gained significant field experience in crisis and emergency settings, most notably as Protection of Civilians Advisor at the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). Here, he coordinated the response to ongoing fighting and atrocities, monitored and assessed threats and vulnerabilities of civilians and was a key liaison to humanitarian actors.

Joel also worked as a researcher, consultant and lecturer on issues related to peace, stabilisation and humanitarian assistance. He holds a doctorate degree in Political Science and graduated at Freie Universität Berlin.