Esther Kariuki

An ambitious and highly qualified Programme Management and Nutrition Technical Specialist with over 18 years’ experience in both the public and NGO sectors, designing and overseeing integrated community-based projects in areas of health, nutrition, early childhood development and food security.

Ms Wamai-Kariuki has been instrumental in successful organizational fundraising efforts and in the roll out of various initiatives, from strategy development to project creation and implementation, specifically for community-based projects in areas of Nutrition (HINIs), Agriculture, Health, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), ECD and FP/RMNCAH. She has over the years curved a niche in development of social behaviour change and communication (SBCC) strategies, messages, training manuals and behaviour change materials linked to various health and nutrition areas while working in partnership with creative teams. 

Her programme management experience has enabled her to work with organizations like CBCC, WFP, Nutrition International, AED, CCF and supporting initiatives by the Kenya Government agencies and Ministries of Health, Agriculture and Education.

• Strategy Development: Contributing to the creation of country and organizational strategies and coordinating integrated initiatives linked to nutrition, agriculture, health, WASH, child protection and other sectors.
• Project Management and Delivery:  Project identification, conceptualization, implementation and overseeing the end-to-end delivery process, financing, budgeting, reporting and resource mobilization. 
• Systems strengthening: Technical support in community health system strengthening (CHSS) capacity assessment and analysis and working towards strengthening all the components of community health system framework from ensuring a strong policy/enabling environment, improving capacities of stakeholders, enhancing networks/partnerships/coordination mechanisms to enhancing adaptive M&E systems. 
• Business Development: Stakeholder based concept development and proposal writing using case studies and best practices.
• Advocacy and Support: Providing support and advocating for policy change on sanitation, health, food security and nutrition at regional, national and county levels.
• Partnership Building: Developing and growing strategic partnerships through strengthening relations with the civil society organizations, private sector, government institutions and donor agencies.
• Leading Teams:  Empowering team members through mentorship and coaching; creating opportunities for engagement to increase team cohesion and achievement of strategic goals.
• Strategic Communications: Creating communication strategies and materials of key initiatives for distribution internally, to the media, government agencies, relevant civil society organizations, donors and private sector. 
• Capacity Building: Designing training manuals and building capacity of multi-cadre and multi-sectoral stakeholders (from national to community levels).
• Research and Data Analysis: Conducting quantitative and qualitative research and data analysis for informed decision making on project need and conceptualization. (Types of research - Nutrition SMART surveys, operational, formative, knowledge attitude and practice studies, baseline/end-line)

Currently undertaking MSc Public Health (thesis phase) at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology

Bachelor Degree in Food, Nutrition and Dietetics at Kenyatta University