Latest Vacancies at Namati

Consultancy Overview

As part of our initiative to support the widespread implementation of Kenya’s Community Land Act, 2016, we are seeking out the service of an expert strategic communications consultant. The consultant’s primary tasks will focus on conducting a desk review of successful and unsuccessful public awareness campaigns in Kenya, and developing a set of recommendations/best practices for carrying out public awareness campaigns in the country. The consultant will also work closely with Namati to develop, test, and assess key messages designed to increase community demand for support to meet the requirements of the Community Land Act. In addition, the consultant will test and assess various modes (i.e. radio, chiefs barazas, print media, ect) of communicating the messages and advise on which medium and set of messages spur communities to begin the process of registering their community land. Finally, as a result of this action research, the consultant will develop a Community Land Act Public Awareness Toolkit that can be adapted and implemented by various stakeholders, including NGOs, county governments, and the national government.

About Namati’s Community Land Protection Program

Namati works to proactively strengthen communities’ ability to document their claims and protect their customary and indigenous land rights. Our integrated approach combines the legal and technical work of mapping and documentation with the governance work of resolving land conflicts, ensuring intra-community equity, and strengthening mechanisms for accountable and participatory management of land and natural resources. A central aim of our work is the promotion of community-wide changes in governance that strengthen women’s land rights. As part of our governance focused work, we work with partners who support paralegals to document traditional community rules that might violate women’s rights, use rights-based legal education and activities to support women to demonstrate their key role in land management, and then support community members to think critically about rules that violate rights – and change them so they are legally compliant and do not infringe on women’s rights.

Our community land protection approach supports paralegals – who are selected by community members and trained and supervised by local partner organizations – to help communities to undertake a series of activities designed to produce strong community by-laws that ensure democratic governance, leaders that are accountable to community members, and good governance of lands and natural resources. Community Land Protection and Strategic Communications in Kenya As part of our efforts to support the widespread implementation of the Community Land Act, Namati is planning to carry out at least one major county-focused public awareness campaign on the Community Land Act that will lead communities to begin the process of documenting their community land.. Our initial research has shown that knowledge about the new law, both at the county-government and community-levels is very low. Although a small percentage of people know that the law exists, very few people at the community-level know details about the law, how to use it to legally register their lands, or how to request assistance to meet the requirements of the law.

Our research has also shown that county-government officials and technicians have little knowledge of the law and their legally mandated roles supporting its implementation. This among other things could be the cause of delayed process of community land registration. Namati’s programmatic focus over the past several years has been primarily focused on supporting communities to meet the requirements of the law through engaging with specific communities, we are now focused on determining how to bring the implementation of the law to scale. We believe that public awareness and generating community demand for support to meet the requirements of the law will determine whether the law is implementable at scale.

Specific Tasks and Deliverables for Consultant

• A detailed report that contains case studies about successful and unsuccessful public awareness campaigns in Kenya that aimed to inspire action and/or behavior change. The report should examine at least three successful campaigns, as well as three unsuccessful campaigns. In addition, the report should include a detailed description of each campaign and an analysis of why each campaign was a success or failure. Possible campaigns to assess include: a) Popularization of 2010 Constitution prior to the referendum; b) Recent voter registration campaigns; c) Census awareness; d) Plastic bag ban; e) Michuki seatbelt campaign; f) Makonde movement; g) Anti-FGM campaign; h) Nyumba Kumi rollout; i) Huduma Centers rollout.
• Detailed analysis of the Community Land Act and recommendation for key messages that are likely to inspire people at the community level to take action to meet the requirements of the law. Each message should ideally contain at least three elements: a) Threat: Why should communities use the law to protect their land rights? What might happen if they do not take initiative? b) Opportunity: How can communities use the law to protect their community land rights? c) Action: How can communities request assistance in meeting the requirements of the law? What requirements can communities complete on their own, without external assistance?
• Field testing (in focus groups) of messages in at least two counties (counties will be agreed upon between consultant and Namati). Messages should be tested with the following population groups: a) Women; b) Men; c) Youth; d) Local opinion leaders; e) Elites; f) Various ethnic groups; g) Communities that face immediate threats vs people that do not face immediate threats.
• A memo outlining the most impactful communications channels to reach each population group. The memo should focus on addressing the following questions: a) What is the most effective means of communication to lead rural communities to take action? b) What is the most effective means of communication to lead county governments to take action?
• Development of a Community Land Act Public Awareness Toolkit. The toolkit should include the following components: a) Background and methodology; b) Most impactful messages; c) Recommendation for communicating key messages to each population group; d) Plan and budget for rolling out public awareness campaign in one county.

Consultancy Timeline We anticipate that we will begin working with the consultant in May 2019. All deliverables should be completed by October 2019.

Consultant Requirements

• Deep knowledge of Kenyan cultural, social media, and communications contexts.
• Advanced degree in a communications-related field.
• At least seven years working directly strategic communications for civil society, governments, and/or political parties.
• Experience developing public awareness campaigns for low-literacy audiences.
• Experience working directly with communities in Kenya.
• Exceptional writing.

Consultancy Overview

As part of our initiative to more effectively integrate climate change resilience strategies into efforts to support communities to strengthen their land tenure security by registering their lands using the Community Land Act, we are seeking out the service of an expert climate change resilience consultant. The consultant’s primary tasks will focus on building the capacity of Namati’s staff and partners on effective community-based climate change resilience strategies, developing simple resources for Namati, its partners, and communities focused on climate change resilience, and developing a straightforward climate change resilience training curriculum for newly elected Community Land Management Committees.

About Namati’s Community Land Protection Program

Namati works to proactively strengthen communities’ ability to document and protect their customary and indigenous land rights. Our integrated approach combines the legal and technical work of mapping and documentation with the governance work of resolving land conflicts, ensuring intra-community equity, and strengthening mechanisms for accountable and participatory management of land and natural resources. A central aim of our work is the promotion of community-wide changes in governance that strengthen women’s land rights. As part of our governance focused work, we support paralegals to document traditional community rules that might violate women’s rights, use rights-based legal education and activities to support women to demonstrate their key role in land management, and then support community members to think critically about rules that violate rights – and change them so they are legally compliant and do not infringe on women’s rights.

Our community land protection approach supports paralegals – who are selected by community members and trained and supervised by local partner organizations – to help communities to undertake a series of activities designed to produce strong community by-laws that ensure democratic governance, leaders that are accountable to community members, and good governance of lands and natural resources.

Community Land Protection and Climate Resilience in Kenya

Community land tenure insecurity and the impacts of climate change are especially intense in Kenya, one of Namati’s focus countries. Community land which has been historically managed and “owned” by local communities, is under siege – by multinational companies, local elites, and the Kenyan government. According to the Government of Kenya, community land comprises approximately 67% of the total land mass of the country. Loss of communal and family lands deprives Kenya’s most vulnerable citizens – especially women, ethnic minorities, and indigenous people - of the source of their livelihoods, culture, and identity. Recent mega infrastructure projects, such as the Lamu Port South Sudan Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor and oil discoveries, have accelerated the pace of community lands being illegally allocated to investors or claimed by the national government – and exploited for climate-disruptive purposes – without communities’ free, prior, informed consent.

Nearly 90% of Kenya’s community land are classified as arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL) and occupied by indigenous pastoralists. Drought, floods, unpredictable rainfall patterns, privatization and subdivision of community land, and changing ecosystems have presented indigenous pastoral communities with an existential threat – not just to their land rights, but to their survival as a pastoralist people. In the face of this threat, the pastoralist livelihood system can often adapt to a changing climate easier than other livelihoods systems – as long as interventions also focus on other issues such as land tenure insecurity and strengthening local land and natural resource governance.

The primary aim of our program is to deploy paralegals to support communities to secure their land rights and strengthen local land and natural resource governance using Kenya’s Community Land Act (2016), as a means to ensure food security and sustainable livelihoods in the context of a changing climate. As we deploy paralegals to support communities to meet the requirements of the Community Land Act, we will also systematically document common challenges that communities face during the process of registering their land. Tracking institutional barriers and identifying inefficient administrative processes will provide information on where reforms are needed to address gaps in implementation.

Our secondary aim is to support county governments (who have a role to play in the implementation of the Community Land Act) to integrate and fund a legal empowerment approach to supporting communities to claim their land rights and implement climate change resilience strategies. To accomplish this goal, we will assist our partners to engage directly with county officials and provide training on how to approach county-level civil servants. We will also share our on-going learning with government official so they understand the impact of our approach, as well as challenges encountered. As we learn more about how to most effectively integrate climate change resilience strategies, we will include these strategies in our outreach to county governments.

Finally, we aim to foster a community of practice that includes each of our partner organizations, as well as several other organizations and experts (including national-level advocacy organizations, lawyers, conservation agencies, and supportive government officials) to support the implementation of the Community Land Act.

Specific Tasks and Deliverables for Consultant

• A detailed report that includes an inventory of traditional climate change resilience practices that have been implemented by communities from arid and semi-arid pastoralist areas in Kenya, documentation of key threats, gaps of traditional resilience practices, recommendations to change traditional practices so they address current and future climate change threats, and impact of formalization of land rights on positive traditional practices.
• An audit of Kenya’s Community Land Act focused on opportunities to address climate change resilience during community-level implementation of the law.
• Development of simple resources that can help communities strengthen and document climate change resilience strategies.
• Facilitation of a workshop for Namati and its partner organizations focused on community-driven climate change resilience strategies.
• Three two-day workshops focused on community-driven climate change resilience strategies for newly elected Community Land Management Committees in Kajiado, Laikipia, and Isiolo counties.

Consultancy Timeline

We anticipate that we will begin working with the consultant in April 2019. All deliverables should be completed by October 2019.

Consultant Requirements

• Advanced degree in a relevant field.
• At least seven years working directly on climate change resilience issues.
• Experience developing training material and resources for low-literacy audiences.
• Experience working directly with climate change-affected communities in Kenya.
• Excellent writing and communications skills.
• Familiarity with Kenya’s Community Land Act and related laws and regulations.
• Ability to regularly meet and coordinate with Namati Kenya staff in our Nairobi office.