PhD Candidate in Public Policy (2023–present)
Graduate School of Public Policy, Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan

MPA in International Management (2008–2009)
Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, USA

Bachelor’s Degree in State and Municipal Administration (2002–2006)
L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Kazakhstan

Head of Freedom Research Unit, Freedom Holding Operations (2026–present)

Senior Consultant on Public Administration, Alatau City Governance Design Project (2025–2026)

Advisor to the Chair, Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2022)
Developed public administration reform proposals and policy on open government, accountability, and civic participation.

Deputy Director, Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2020–2022)
Conducted policy analysis on administrative reform, social protection, and the political system; represented the Institute in public debates and the media.

Head of Research Programme, Human Capital and Public Administration, Institute of World Economics and Politics (2019–2020)
Researched human capital, institutional development, public administration, and civic activism in Kazakhstan.

Head of Centre, Centre for Evaluation of Government Agencies, Economic Research Institute JSC (2015–2019)
Provided analytical support for the annual performance evaluation of government agencies; led functional analyses and business process re-engineering in the public sector.

Head of Change Management, Business Transformation Programme, Kazpost JSC (2014–2015)
Managed internal communications and assessed the impact of organisational change.

Consultant, Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis, Administration of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2013–2014)
Conducted policy analysis and supported strategic planning and public service reform.

Civic Participation Programme Manager, Civil Alliance of Kazakhstan (2010–2013)
Implemented socially oriented projects, monitored regional public service quality, and conducted community needs assessments.

Intern, Public Accountability Mechanisms Project, Public Sector Governance Group, World Bank (2009)

Algorithmic governance; public administration reform in Kazakhstan and Central Asia; decentralization, local governance, and political liberalization.

Her doctoral thesis, “Algorithmic Governance as Institutional Response: Compensating for Bureaucratic Deinstitutionalization in Kazakhstan” (advisor: Associate Professor Dayashankar Maurya), examines whether algorithms can stabilize bureaucracies weakened by political interference and institutional erosion.

Sadiyeva, S. (2026). Subnational Executive Elections in Kazakhstan: Administrative Ritual or Step Toward Liberalization? In Public Sector Reforms in Kazakhstan: Exploring a ‘Listening and Just State’ Agenda (pp. 49–68). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.