POLICY, GOVERNANCE & COMMUNICATIONS LEAD – LAIKIPIA, ISIOLO, SAMBURU TRANSFORMING THE ENVIRONMENT THROUGH NEXUS (LISTEN) PROJECT

FCDC – Frontier Counties Development Council, January 2019 to date

My role involves:

Policy, Governance and Communications 30%

Provide technical support to various counties in terms of policy and bill development namely:

- The Counties of Isiolo, Samburu and Laikipia to develop their County Climate Change Fund (CCCF) Policies;

- The Samburu and Laikipia Counties to develop their CCCF Bills;

- The Samburu County Forest Management Policy & Bill;

- The Laikipia County Rangeland Management Policy and subsequent Grazing Control Bill;

- The Regional FCDC Peacebuilding and Conflict Management Policy & Bill;

- The Frontier Counties Development Council Regional Policy & Bill;

Provide technical support to the counties to enact some of the laws mentioned above, namely:

Establishment of Ward Adaptation and Planning Committees in Samburu and Laikipia Counties;

- Train the Ward Climate Change & Planning Committee’s (WCCPCs) in Laikipia, Samburu and Isiolo Counties;

- Coordinate efforts to support training of more WCCPCs in the FCDC counties;

- Support the establishment of the Independent Panel of Eminent Persons, a regional mediation council for FCDC member counties as a body formed in the Regional Peacebuilding and Conflict Management Act

- Support the counties in reviewing of the second generation County Integrated Development Plans (CIDPs) to ensure the third generation CIDPs include conflict, climate and gender sensitivity mainstreamed across all sectors;

Prepare policy briefs, newsletters and annual reports for the C.E.O, Project Staff, Governors – quarterly – and the Offices of the President and Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya when needed on issues affecting the ASAL Counties; Support the Pastoralist Parliamentary Group on Policy issues relevant to the region on pastoralism, livestock, environment and climate change – this includes briefings to the FCDC Vice Chair who serves as the Chair of the ASAL committee at the Council of Governors;

Keep track of all legislations at the National and County level that may affect the LISTEN Project, as well as other projects or legislations at FCDC through regular updates of a Policy & Bill Tracker and giving updates to the entire team;

Set up the communications department at FCDC, oversee daily activities such as redesign of the FCDC website, writing blog posts, press briefings and statements, organize for media engagement, develop documentaries for the organization and specific projects;

Project Management 30%

Project Management and implementation of the LISTEN Project consortium for FCDC- across the 3 Counties of Laikipia, Isiolo and Samburu- and across the 10 FCDC Counties for the Sector Forum for Land & Physical Planning independently for all activities in Nairobi and in the field;

Prepare monthly and quarterly work plans, budgets and monitoring plans for the LISTEN Project, the Sector Forum for Land & Physical Planning, FCDC annual conferences such as the Pastoralist Leadership Forum & Summit, Investment Conferences, County Development Partners Tour and others as they may arise;

Coordinate Policy support to the member counties while working closely with partners such as USAID Kuza, Livestock Marketing Systems (LMS), USAID NAWIRI and REINVENT Program, to streamline county engagement;

Organize of various Technical Working Groups, meetings, workshops and trainings for LISTEN as well as other FCDC Projects such as the Pastoralist Leadership Summit (PLS), Pastoralist Leadership Forum and Quarterly FCDC Governor’s Meetings amongst others;

Organize and carry out an Organizational Capacity Assessment on FCDC as well as an IT Rapid Assessment on the Secretariat, the Counties, the State Department of ASALs and the Office of the Deputy President;

Offer technical advice as a member of the North East Advisory Group TWG – a multi-stakeholder forum dealing with issues in the North East Kenya with the aim of championing comprehensive, joined approach for addressing the regions interlinked socio-economic and security challenges with a development first outlook that prioritizes stability in the region. This Advisory Group brings together County Governments, GoK, FCDC, the World Bank, EU, and the UK to harness collective expertise and resources and to coordinate efforts to enhance North East Kenya’s development, prosperity and long-term stability;

Monitoring and reporting on all activities of the LISTEN Project, NEDI Projects, Sector Forums and Communications on a quarterly and annual basis; Coordinate the preparation of quarterly and annual statistical reports. Prepare special reports, briefs and presentations in the area of projects, policy, governance & communication;

Coordination 30%

Coordination of various donor groups – The European Union, the North East Advisory Group, North & North East Development Initiative (NEDI) – World Bank, various Embassies including the Swiss, Dutch, American, EU and British High Commission;

Coordination liaison with various National Government Ministries, such as the Ministry of Transport, Education, Health, Water, Agriculture and ASALs; Liaison and contact person for FCDC to Council of Governors (CoG),

Focal person for internal coordination of projects and sector forums as a member of the FCDC Management Board to ensure streamlined strategy, communications and efficient implementation of all projects and sector forums and supporting the C.E.O with information and progress updates for follow up and decision making;

Co-Coordinates Water, Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change Sector Forum by supporting the organizing of quarterly meetings, development of work plan, proposal writing and fundraising for activities and projects under the Sector Forum, and coordinate with the lead donor, RAPID + and the Swiss Embassy;

Update and coordinate FCDC & member county information with the Kenya Humanitarian Partnership Team (KHPT) and the Partnership for Resilience and Economic Growth (PREG) monthly briefings;

Provide Coordination and Technical Support to development of the FCDC Regional Investment Plan that highlights investment opportunities in the region; Coordinated the first ever Regional Investment Conference for North and North Eastern Kenya;

Focal person for CGIAR in the development of a Climate Security Observatory and Climate Security Invest Plan for FCDC Counties;

Administration 10%

Support the development, support and facilitation of knowledge and information management related to recruitment activities. Produce/ maintain knowledge products (repository, SOPs, templates, etc.) to facilitate replication of good practices and learning within the Team. Train/coach new staff and facilitate continuous capacity-building for existing staff in the Team.

Support the C.E.O as his Personal Assistant by organizing his calendar and meetings, preparing briefs, follow ups and support fundraising and donor relations making sure FCDC has the requisite documents, clearances and reporting systems in place when needed;

Assist with the recruitment and mentoring of interns, distribution of duties, evaluation and trainings;

Provide support in preparing information for internal and external audits, external verifications, validations, etc.