• Job Title: Local Liaison – Kenya

• Start Date: Q2 2023

• Salary: Salaries are indexed to NGOs in the country of hire.

• Location: Remote/ Work from home – Kenya (preferable but not restricted to Mombasa)

We are looking for a skilled Local Liaison based in Kenya, to join the Global Designing Cities Initiative (GDCI) mission to transform streets around the world. This is a full-time position that will act as a liaison between GDCI and local government officials, on-the-ground personnel, and service providers to build capacity, design safer streets, and advance the work of GDCI.

Who we are

The Global Designing Cities Initiative (GDCI) is a team of designers, planners, and urban strategists committed to transforming streets around the world. Our mission is to inspire a shift toward safe, sustainable, and healthy cities by transforming our streets. Our work is informed by the strategies and international best practices captured in the Global Street Design Guide.

What you will do

As the Local Liaison for Kenya, you will work under GDCI’s Road Safety Program, funded by the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS). This role seeks to strengthen our on-the-ground technical assistance and local relationships with authorities, partners, and other stakeholders to help advance the BIGRS program in Mombasa, Kenya.

You will represent GDCI in city government meetings, presentations, and capacity-building sessions, during on-the-ground project implementations, and with local communities. You will be based preferably in Mombasa or another Kenyan city with reasonable access to Mombasa.

You will do this work under the direction of GDCI’s Program Manager for Mombasa and with the support of BIGRS’s embedded staff. You must be fluent in Swahili and English and be versed in the cultural context and local policies and practices concerning city transportation, street design, and road safety.

Responsibilities:

• Develop strong local relationships and outreach to city officials, on-the-ground personnel, service providers, and other relevant personnel, and keep GDCI connected to ongoing events and happenings.
• Foster ongoing relationships and build new relationships with city officials, on-ground personnel, service providers, and other relevant personnel, and keep GDCI connected to ongoing events and happenings.
• Identify opportunities to scale up impact through citywide programs and processes.
• Collaborate with BIGRS and GDCI staff for a coordinated approach toward the program.
• Provide technical assistance, technical review of designs or drawings, policy and guidance documents, publications, or other technical and specialized tasks, with supervisor and Design Team guidance & review.
• Summarize and convey written, verbal and visual, complex information for various needs, such as local policy documents and design manuals; as well as blogs, articles, hand-outs, and other outreach material for ongoing projects, campaigns, and events.
• May produce conceptual and technical designs using hand drawings, AutoCAD, SketchUp, or other 2D or 3D software or applications.
• Review local, regional, or national regulations, codes, and design guidance documents, identifying existing impediments and opportunities for improvement.
• Support cross-cutting production work in collaboration with other global GDCI teams.
• Work with the GDCI communications team to produce blogs, articles, hand-outs, and other outreach material for ongoing projects, campaigns, and events.
• Co-facilitate, prepare, and deliver local capacity-building and outreach initiatives, in partnership with program managers, through workshops, training sessions, webinars, presentations, panels, or other platforms.
• Organize community engagement events, including preparing support materials, printing, purchasing supplies, coordination, vendor management, etc.

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Qualifications

To succeed in this role, you should have the following qualifications:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in urban planning, architecture, civil engineering, or related fields.
• At least 5 years of experience working in urban design, planning, or transportation fields, with experience in project and program management.
• Ability to work collaboratively and build relationships with city officials, community organizations, and service providers.
• Excellent communication skills, including fluency in Swahili and English.
• Strong technical skills in 3D modeling, AutoCAD, Adobe Creative Suite, data collection, and analysis.
• Knowledge of best practices in street design, urban planning, and road safety.
• Experience working with NGOs or international development organizations is a plus.

How to apply

If you are interested in joining the GDCI team as a Local Liaison in Kenya, please submit your resume, cover letter, and portfolio of relevant work demonstrating your qualifications for this position. In your cover letter, please describe your experience working in urban design, planning, or transportation fields, your experience working with city officials and community organizations, and your interest in GDCI’s mission to transform streets around the world.

GDCI is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace and encourages applications from all qualified candidates regardless of age, race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation. We offer competitive salaries and benefits packages indexed to local NGO salaries in the country of hire.

We thank all applicants for their interest, but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.