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Dr. Beth Waweru

Education Management, Leadership & People Development

Phone:

+1 203 909 8410 or +254 722 553 160

Email:

A Bit About Me

Education and leadership innovator with proven track record of developing, managing and implementing high impact programs while drawing on acquired technical competencies in the fields of Food Security, Climate Change, Education and People Management. Successful project designer who has consistently fostered talent management programs and leadership pipelines with exceptional results at both a local and international level. Veteran program manager with proficient understanding of complex goals and breaking them into manageable tasks, with a focus on sustainability and solutions. Experienced leader who excels in positions that require building synergistic teams while working effectively with individuals across different hierarchies and within dynamic organizations with multi-stakeholder management.

Professional Skills and Competencies

Education and Leadership

Program Design

Coaching and Mentorship

Innovation Development

Research

Data analysis

Multi-disciplinary approach

Strategic Design

Partnerships and Collaboration

Fundraising

Donor and Partner Relations

Technical and Functional Support

Management

Building and Leading Program Teams

Project Execution

Budget supervision and implementation

Career Accomplishments

  • Served as first Group Director of Strategic Human Capital at Equity Group Holdings Plc, with reach in six (6) East African countries 

  • Successfully developed and implemented award winning scholarship and educational leadership programs for Equity Group Foundation which have seen 60,000 students achieve educational excellence

  • Established an initial framework for Equity Group Foundation to carry out ESG projects reducing the organization’s carbon footprint.

  • Conducted and facilitated a comprehensive white paper focused on the Kenya Government and development partners and its climate change approach with IFAD.

  • Created systemic operating program and served as coordinator for the managing and implementation of deworming activities for Innovations in Poverty Action Deworm the World Initiative in Kenya’s schools.

  • Elected and served as the Africa representative for World Association of Young Scientists.

Work Experience

Jan 2022 – Jan 2024:
 

Group Director,
Strategic Human Capital

Equity Group Holdings Plc.

 

Nairobi, Kenya

Oct 2021 – Dec 2021:
 

Public Private Partnerships Advisor for China-Africa Relations & South-South Cooperation,
United Nations

 

Beijing, China (Remotely from Nairobi)

Jan 2023 – Jan 2024:
 
Ag. Director, Education and Leadership Development,
Equity Group Foundation

May 2019 – Dec 2021:

Associate Director, Education and Leadership Development,
Equity Group Foundation

Feb 2017 – Apr 2019:
 

General Manager, Education and Leadership Development,

Equity Group Foundation

Nairobi, Kenya

Oct 2016 – Jan 2017:

General Manager, Climate Change, Strategic Partnerships and Collaborations, 

Equity Group Foundation

Nairobi, Kenya

Responsibilities and Achievements

 

Human Resources

  • Served as the Secretary to the Group’s Governance, Nominations & Compensation Committee responsible for preparing and presenting quarterly HR board reports.

  • Supporting the capacity building of our talent pool to ensure sustainability and cultural integration.

  • Facilitating the review for fit-for-purpose human capital aligned to the Group’s strategic intent.

  • Promoting an innovation culture within the organization.

  • Identifying opportunities to embed the organization’s purpose, beliefs, and ethos in everyday practices.

  • Induction program review for new joiners and newly appointed board members

 

Academic Taskforce

  • Appointed team-lead for an internal academic taskforce (12 members) responsible for learning among senior management.

  • Co-creating training curriculum and delivery for Board Members and Senior Management facilitated through plenary and group discussions with leading Professors from Harvard and Lagos Business School. Courses included: Governance, Strategy and Leadership (Jan 2021); Immersion & Leadership Program (June 2021); Becoming Future Ready: Leading Organizational Change, Innovation and Digitalization (June 2022).  

 

Women Empowerment

  • Led a committee mandated with creating and building a women’s empowerment program dubbed EQUIP.

  • Facilitated the running of a book club with three successful reading cycles covering and discussing the books The Leader Without a Title, Lean In, and The Psychology of Money and ~1,200 female staff participants.

Role deliverables:

  • Facilitate the development and implementation of a UN China south-south and triangular cooperation strategy, including private sector engagement and collaboration plans to enhance China-Africa relationships.

  • Conduct research and develops an engagement plan to enhance China-Africa private sector collaboration towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

  • Lead engagement with existing frameworks such as FOCAC (Forum on China-Africa Cooperation) and identifies key opportunities for policy dialogues, business engagement, and event convening.

  • Identify potential areas for new SDG partnerships between China and Africa, particularly focusing on technology and knowledge transfers and capacity building for SMEs.

  • Support the mobilization of funding and financing for the design, proof-of-concept, and scaling of new multi-stakeholder partnerships aligned with the ten principles of the Global Compact.

  • Conduct research and provides evidence-based expert advice on improving China-Africa relations and facilitating UN triangular cooperation for China-Africa South-South Cooperation.

  • Compile best practices from Chinese businesses in Africa and vice versa, building a database of SDG best practices and facilitating continuous dialogue among South-South Cooperation actors in key sectors.

  • Organize China-Africa Private Sector dialogues on SDGs in partnership with Global Compact Networks in Africa, produces meeting reports, and tracks progress and impact consistentl

  • (*Role was to be based in Beijing, China but due to COVID-19 travel restrictions was done remotely in Nairobi and 2-year contract period truncated prematurely due to travel restrictions)

Responsibilities and Achievements

  • Providing leadership in the management of all education support programs at Equity Group Foundation with a current scholar population of 60,000 in secondary school under the Wings to Fly and Elimu Scholarship Programs, 3,400 in Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET), and ~9,000 in the paid-internship pre-university program, with ~900 having accessed global university scholarships in US Ivy Leagues and other institutions across 36 countries.

  • Oversight in program delivery with an annual budget of US$80m in running expenditures.

  • Managed a team of ~40 members while providing oversight to five main departments: Scholarship Management, Mentorship, Scholar Welfare, Equity Leadership Program, and TVET.

  • Led the design and implementation of World Bank funded Elimu Scholarship Program that targeted 38,000 secondary school scholarships.

  • Coordination with education stakeholders including funding partners, government agencies, and secondary school management.

  • Fundraising through different platforms to secure funding in support of education programs at EGF.

Responsibilities and Achievements

  • Managing the Foundation’s partner relationships on behalf of the Executive Chairman.

  • Supporting the Energy and Environment pillar in strengthening EGF’s role in building the green economy.

Educational Background

2011 – 2016:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Geography

Carleton University – Ottawa ON, Canada

  • Thesis title: “Understanding smallholder farmers’ food security and institutional arrangements in view of climate dynamics: Lessons from Mt. Kenya region”.

2010:

International Diploma in Project Management (IDPM) – Completed coursework 

Center for Finance and Project Management – Nairobi, Kenya

  • Developed skills and understanding of making sound decisions while demonstrating and effectively managing all elements of a project in achieving the project’s goals. 

  • Key modules covered: project design and cycle management, risk management, work breakdown structures, budgeting and resource allocations, monitoring, evaluation, and handover

2006 – 2008:

Master of Environmental Management (M.E.M.)

Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies – New Haven CT, USA

  • Concentration: Climate Change Policy and Sustainable Development.

  • Among others, some of the main courses included: Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation, International Environmental Law, Policy and Governance, Global Resources and the Environment, Economics of Sustainable Development, Environmental Hydrology.

2001 – 2005:

Bachelor of Science (BSc.) Chemistry

University of Nairobi – Nairobi, Kenya

  • Selected from a competitive class of more than 300 2nd year students to major in Chemistry during the second half of my undergraduate studies.

  • Conducted a survey of 308 homes in the city of Nairobi across different socio-economic clusters to determine local vegetable consumption patterns, sources, and subsequently approximate the amount of lead (Pb) content ingested by their consumption.

  • Presented a comprehensive report of the findings, that was crucial in informing the government’s initiative to phase-out the sale and use of leaded gasoline.

2000 – 2001:

Diploma in Information Systems (IMIS-UK)

Kenya School of Professional Studies - Nairobi, Kenya

  • Awarded Licentiate Membership at the Institute for the Management of Information Systems, UK.

  • Successfully designed an Employee Database Management system using Visual Basic 6.0 and C+ programming languages that can be used as a comprehensive management tool of all human resource elements.

Select Short Courses and Conferences Attended​

  • Dec 2023: Female Future Leadership Program on Board Competency - Nairobi, Kenya

  • July 2014: PROCASUR/IFAD Learning Route on NRM and Climate Change – Kenya

  • July 2013: APSIM Crop modeling workshop using climate and farm practice data – Embu, Kenya

  • June 2010: 6th Annual Short Course: Strengthening Contemporary School Health, Nutrition and HIV Prevention Programmes Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research – Accra, Ghana

  • Nov 2005: 16th General Meeting of the Academy of Sciences for The Developing World (TWAS), Bibliotheca Alexandria – Alexandria, Egypt

  • Nov 2004: ICS-UNIDO International Workshop: Plastics waste management and development of environmentally degradable plastics, Hotel Africana – Kampala, Uganda

  • Dec 2003: World Academy of Young Scientists (WAYS) 1st General Assembly – Marrakech, Morocco

Select Awards and Scholarships

Carleton University (2011 – 2016) 

  • Graduate Scholarship

  • Dr. Thomas Betz Memorial Award

  • Ina Hutchison Award in Geography

  • Richard J. Van Loon Scholarship

  • Torrance Graduate Research Award

  • Canadian Standards Association Pat Keindel Graduate Scholarship in Climate Change

  • Philip E. Uren Memorial Fellowships

Yale University (2006-2008)

  • Recipient of the William Waxter Scholarship for two consecutive years

  • Awarded International Peace Scholarship by the USA Philanthropic Education Organization

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