Call for Application – Police Expert Consultant

DCAF – Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance is dedicated to improving the security of states and their people within a framework of democratic governance, the rule of law, respect for human rights, and gender equality. Since its founding in 2000, DCAF has contributed to making peace and development more sustainable by assisting partner states, and international actors supporting these states, to improve the governance of their security sectors through inclusive and participatory reforms. It creates innovative knowledge products, promotes norms and good practices, provides legal and policy advice, and supports capacity‐building of both state and non‐state security sector stakeholders.

DCAF’s Foundation Council brings together representatives of over 40 countries. Active all over the world, DCAF is internationally recognized as one of the world's leading centres of excellence for security sector governance (SSG) and security sector reform (SSR). For more information, visit www.dcaf.ch and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter) @DCAF_Geneva.

Call for Application – Police Expert Consultant

Location: Based in Nairobi, Kenya (with travels to Mombasa)

Starting date: September-October 2025 (as soon as possible)

Consultancy days: 15 days between September 2025 and March 2026

Background

Rapid urbanization is transforming the landscape of Kenyan cities, creating new demands on police institutions and the broader ecosystem of urban governance. In contexts marked by informality, inequality, climate vulnerability, and weak public trust, traditional policing models—often centralized and militarized—struggle to meet community needs. Overlapping security providers, fragmented governance, and limited coordination between police, municipal authorities, and oversight bodies have hampered efforts toward responsive, accountable, and inclusive urban security.

In order to capture lessons learnt from these challenges and regarding potential entry points, DCAF will conduct a study exploring how urban policing in Kenya can be reimagined in ways that respond to the social, environmental, and institutional challenges of urbanization—while centering community trust, multi-level governance, and collaborative security.

Key roles and responsibilities:

The Police Expert Consultant will join a small team consisting of DCAF’s staff and members from Kenya’s Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA). The Police Expert Consultant will bring his/her expertise in operational policing and police reform and/or oversight in Kenya, especially regarding urban policing.

More specifically, he/she will:

• Provide background research, such as mapping the current landscape of formal and informal urban security providers and local government, and their interactions, including mandates, current practices, and gaps in coordination or enforcement
• Advise the research team on identifying and prioritizing key informants from police leadership and operational officers, oversight and accountability actors,municipal security officials, and informal security providers, and support mission schedule logistics such as setting up stakeholder interviews or focus group discussions
• Contribute to the development of data collection research tools, such as interview guides, survey questionnaires and focus group discussion guides.
• In partnership with IPOA, lead on the technical conceptualization and facilitation of self-assessment workshops with police institutions and oversight actors from an operational policing perspective.
• Contribute to the thematic analysis of findings—particularly around institutional accountability and responsiveness, police–community trust and conflict resolution, and interagency collaboration, provide written inputs and commentary on relevant sections of the report and help frame findings and recommendations in language accessible and actionable for police audiences.
• Present or co-present findings at validation workshops and dissemination events with police, oversight actors, and other stakeholders.

Your experience

• Extensive operational experience and/or command roles in the police and/or civilian oversight of police institutions in urban settings.
• Degree in security studies, political science, law, international relations or a related field; a combination of relevant academic qualifications and extensive experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• Strong understanding of security sector governance and, ideally, relevant experience in working on related challenges in promoting effective oversight and accountability of the police in similar contexts.
• Proven knowledge of Kenya’s police architecture, oversight mechanisms (e.g., IPOA), and county-level governance.
• Experience with community-based or collaborative policing models in fragile or transitional settings is an asset.
• Excellent communications skills, and a perfect command of written and spoken English.
• Strong analytical and writing skills. Experience contributing to research and policy publications is an asset