Julia Ojiambo
Nairobi
Summary
I am a Development Practitioner, with a particular interest in Human Rights, Governance, Diplomacy and Public Policy. I hold a Masters Degree in International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford, St Antony's College. I also hold a Bachelor's degree (Hons) in Political Science with a minor in Human Rights and African Studies from the City University of New York's - Hunter College. As a Development practitioner , I have a particular interest in advocating for the human rights of women and girls in Africa as relates to the aforementioned topics. My long term career objective is to meaningfully contribute to charting and shaping policies at national, regional and international levels that will seek to be equitable and inclusive of all marginalized persons particularly women and girls in Africa.
Overview
11
11
years of professional experience
Work History
Youth Associate
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)- Somalia Country Office
11.2022 - 10.2023
- Support the Youth Leadership Fellowship Programme (YOLE) and undertake follow up actions and coordinate its implementation processes.
- Provide technical inputs to background documents, briefs and presentations related to the programme.
- Provide support to the YOLE programme advocacy campaigns events, workshops, training and capacity development initiatives.
- Provide inputs to the results of the YOLE programme reporting related to Youth programme.
- Provide other related administrative duties as required.
- Support the YOLE Fellowship selection process and ensure eligibility requirements are met.
- Participate in advocacy and resource mobilization efforts of the country office by ensuring preparation of relevant documentation, including project summaries, speeches, donor engagements and participating in related donor meetings and public information events.
Programme Support Implementation Consultant
Network of African National Human Rights Institutions
10.2021 - 07.2022
- Lead the networks engagements on interventions on the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). The deliverables include: Conducting a baseline study and stakeholder analysis relating to the AfCFTA, Developing a Guiding framework and tools on mainstreaming Human Rights in the AfCFTA negotiations and processes, Holding regional sensitization fora targeting National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) on the trade, social and environmental impacts of the AfCFTA etc.
- Lead the networks engagements with the Africa Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC). The deliverables include: Working with the ACERWC to develop Guidelines on the safe return of children to school during the COVID 19 pandemic, undertake targeted national assessments in collaboration with 5 NHRIs, Conduct regional sensitization workshops for NHRIs on reporting to the ACERWC and their participation in its ordinary sessions.
Governance Analyst
United Nations Development Programme
11.2019 - 03.2021
- I was selected as the first Kenyan fellow to serve as a Governance Analyst on the first cohort of the joint UNDP AUC African Young Women's Leaders Fellowship Programme. The Programme is a partnership between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the African Union Commission (AUC) that seeks to build a new generation of young African Women leaders and experts that will serve Africa and the world in designing and implementing development programmes in the context of the SDGs and Agenda 2063.
- As Governance Analyst, I supported the development of the UNDP Liberia Country Office Governance Portfolio 2020-2024 including supporting projects and programmes through direct inputs, and review of draft documents (Governance portfolio, the peace building project)
- Supported policy analysis, development and rollout to inform programme design and development interventions in support of the Country office and the Government development agenda
- Supported resource mobilization efforts through the drafting/review of concept notes and project proposals. I also lead efforts in conducting resource mobilization in light of donor funding priority areas
- Participated and developed policy documents, lead thematic discussions and dialogues involving other fellows of the African Young Women Leaders Fellows Programme
- Led the implementation of the Governance Portfolio’s first webinar on Decentralization. This webinar which was the first of a series of webinars was titled “Power to the People through Decentralized Services”
- Led a youth initiative with the Young Political Leadership School Africa, that every quarter sought recruit young African women leaders in Liberia and the West Africa region, engaging them on practical and theoretical knowledge necessary to run for political office as young women in Liberia and the greater West Africa region. This involved training the young women in planning, organizing and implementing political campaign events, strengthening their leadership, management, communication and networking skills etc.
- OUTCOME OF TASKS: My work as Governance Analyst was instrumental to the running and programmatic interventions of the UNDP Liberia Country Office, this is in light of the country office's priorities and in light of the developmental priorities of the Republic of Liberia.
Women and Governance Expert- Women and Governance Department
The Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya (FIDA Kenya)
12.2018 - 07.2019
- I was FIDA-Kenya's focal person in the drafting, submission and reporting on the state of women's rights in Kenya as relates to the State of Kenya's reporting to the United Nations Human Rights Council in light of the upcoming human rights review of UN member states in a process that is referred to as the Universal Periodic Review
- I was one of FIDA-Kenya's representatives on the Children's Taskforce, that convenes quarterly to assess and provide updates on the state of Adolescent Reproductive Health and Rights in Kenya
- As part of the women and governance team, I assisted in co-faciliating and organizing public sensitization forums in: Taita Taveta County on Women, Land Rights and the Law of Succession, Elgeyo Marakwet County on the Reproductive rights of women and adolescent girls, Nyeri County on Alternative Dispute Resolution, Traditional Dispute Resolution Mechanisms and Human Rights
- As a women and gender expert, I represented my organization at the following forums: The Electoral Observation Group- Civil Society Seminar on the proposal to reform the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, The Kenya Public Policy Convening on the Sustainable Development Goals and Africa, The Public Consultative Forum on the Draft 3rd Basis for Revenue Allocation. Within the women and governance program, I was the co-lead for the "Women embrace" initiative, an advocacy initiative that sought to provide awareness and mobilize support for the passage of the 2/3rd gender rule, a piece of legislation striving to have equal representation of Kenyan women in all arms of government.
- I was in charge of facilitating the participation of my organization (logistically and programatically) at the 63rd session of the Commission of the Status of Women held in New York, USA and the 64th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and People's Rights held in Cairo, Egypt
- Lead Consultant- In 2019 I worked for the organization as the consultant that produced a national shadow report on women and land rights in Kenya. This assignment sought to give an assessment of the state of WLRs in Kenya. The production of the report was supported by FIDA Kenya, the Oxfam Pan Africa Program and the European Union.
- OUTCOME OF TASKS: As a Gender Expert within the women and governance team, one of my key achievements was being able to act as a focal person at my organization and within the women's rights working group at the Civil Society Level, to ensure that the human rights concerns of Kenya's women were documented and captured for review at Kenya's review in the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2020. I was instrumental in ensuring the implementation of our programmes on sexual and reproductive rights, women and the law of succession etc. My participation and representation of my organization in the above and other forums were instrumental in ensuring I could convey the importance of having women equally participate in all sectors of societies as is reflected in the work and objectives of the organization.
Democracy, Human Rights and Governance Analyst (Youth Volunteer)
African Union -Department of Political Affairs
09.2017 - 02.2018
- Provided technical and logistical support towards: the implementation of the African Governance Architecture (AGA's) Joint Workplan and the development of concept and briefing notes on democratic trends on the continent.
- Provided logistical backstopping to the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance State Reporting Process.
- Supported the implementation of other programmes and initiatives of the AGA platform and Secretariat ( Co-coordinator in the planning of AGA's Regional Youth Consultations, Gender Pre-Forum, and High Level Dialogue on Governance, Democracy and Human Rights trends in Africa) .
- Monitored and disseminated AGA project outcomes through social media, publication and knowledge generation products
- OUTCOME OF TASKS: As Democracy, Human Rights and Governance Analyst, my role was instrumental in assessing entry points through which AGA and the DPA as a whole could effectively engage Africa's women and youth as key actors in governance and democracy processes given their historic marginalization in these processes. My involvement in these activities saw the successful convening of the 2017 AGA Regional Youth Consultations, Gender Pre-Forum, and High Level Dialogue on Governance, Democracy and Human Rights trends in Africa as key activities of the African Governance Architecture.
Intern
The Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation- No Ceilings:The Full Participation Project
09.2015 - 12.2015
- Compiled and analyzed data about the gains and gaps that still remain in advancing the status of girls and women worldwide since the 1995 Beijing conference on women.
- Summarized reports, documents and digital content relevant to "No Ceilings" work.
- Prepared country summaries on women's issues.
- Attended conferences on behalf of " No Ceilings"/ Clinton Foundation.
- Conducted basic office administrative functions.
- OUTCOME OF TASKS: My research and gathered data was used to provide an evidentiary basis to members of the Clinton Global Initiative, of the areas through which they could fundraise and participate more to ensure that girls and women were engaged fully in various sectors, in the regions in which the Foundation acted as a support to ensure the equal and full participation of women and girls.
Intern
The Human Rights Watch- Africa Division
02.2015 - 08.2015
- Monitored relevant press material and compiled reports on human rights news from African countries.
- Conducted research on human rights themes and issues on countries in Africa.
- Drafted country human rights summaries that was useful to the work of HRW researchers.
- OUTCOME OF TASKS: My research and daily analysis was used in providing daily blurbs on the Human Rights Watch website (Africa section) on the situation of human rights in regions across Africa. This information was also used in the preparation of HRW's annual report 2015, as pertains to the human rights violations and subsequent human rights gains and protections as was witnessed in Africa in 2015.
Volunteer
United Nations- Friendship Ambassadors/ Youth Assembly
08.2013 - 08.2015
- Led a foreign youth delegation to a session at New Zealand's mission to the United Nations, UN Youth Assembly '15.
- Assisted in preparations for workshop sessions.
- Led a foreign youth delegation to a session at the United Kingdom's mission to the United Nations, UN Youth Assembly '13.
- OUTCOME OF TASKS: My coordinatory role was helpful in organizing for a successful audience with the Ambassadors and mission representatives for the United Kingdom and New Zealand, that happened on the margins of the Annual Youth Assemblies of 2013 and 2015.
Intern and Program mentor
Brighter Green
07.2012 - 08.2015
- Program mentor for the East African Girls' Initiative.
- Traveled to Kenya to see some of the projects on the ground- Brighter Green's East African Girls' Initiative.
- Visited and interviewed girls from rural areas affiliated with the program.
- Visited higher level learning institutions- The University of Nairobi, The Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya Medical Research Institute.
- Conducted research on the use of solar energy in Kenya.
- Blogged about the use of solar energy.
- OUTCOME OF TASKS: My interviews with the girls was helpful in assessing some of the hurdles the girls faced in completing tertiary education.This information was used to hold a fundraiser in New York that was helpful in fundraising for the tertiary education of 5 girls on the programme. The information on solar energy was subsequently used to find innovative way to sustainably engage the community in using and preserving energy given their location in an arid region of Kenya.
Education
Project Management - Foundations in Project Management
University of Cape Town
South Africa03.2021
Human Rights - Right To Development in Africa
University of Pretoria, Centre For Human Rights
South Africa07.2020
Master of Arts - International Human Rights Law
University of Oxford
Oxford 2018
Governance and diplomacy- Diploma
2016
Children's rights- Diploma
University of Geneva , Center for Children's Rights Studies
2015
Bachelor of Arts - Political Science
Hunter College- City University of New York
New York, NY2015
Skills
- Knowledge of Microsoft Office Programs- Word, Excel, Power-point, Access, Publisher, Outlook
- Bilingual- Speak fluent English and Swahili, basic knowledge of French
- Planning and organizing- Quality organization and planning skills that ensure my responsibilities are met in a timely manner
- Team player- Enjoy learning, sharing knowledge and working as part of a collective to achieve team goals
Accomplishments
- 2015 Amelia Ottinger Award for Excellence in the Art of Debate (National Model UN Spring 2015- Outstanding position paper, Best delegation representing UN Women as a delegate from The Federative Republic of Brazil).
- 2017 African Human Rights Journal- Selected as an author to publish an article in the first publication of the Journal.
- 2017 Gilbert Murray United Nations Study Award- International Studies Committee of the Gilbert Murray Trust, Department of International Relations, London School of Economics. I was one of six recipients awarded the grant which seeks to promote the study of the purpose and the work of the United Nations.
- 2018 Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), East Africa Regional Centre- Established by the Former President of the USA (Barack Obama) to invest in the next generation of African leaders, I was selected to participate on a track on Public Management as relates to the issue of policy and governance in Eastern Africa.
- 2019 Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS)-Selected as an upcoming young researcher to present at the 2019 ACUNS workshop on the Sustainable Development Goals and Security, hosted by ACUNS and the Security Institute for Governance and Leadership in Africa (SIGLA), Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
- 2019-2021 UNDP AUC African Young Women Leaders Fellowship Programme - I was selected as a fellow on the first cohort of the joint UNDP AUC African Young Women Leaders Fellowship Programme. The Programme is a partnership between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the African Union Commission (AUC), that seeks to build a new generation of young African Women leaders and experts that will serve Africa and the world in designing and implementing development programmes in the context of the SDGs and Agenda 2063.
Consultancy Experience
Gender Assessment of the Kenyan 2022 General Elections
- I worked as a consultant, undertaking a Gender perspective (from the Female lens) of the 2022 Kenyan General Elections. This involved research, conducting focus group discussions and producing a report on the findings. This work was commissioned by Democracy International, to support the interventions of the Electoral Law and Governance Institute Africa (ELGIA) and the Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya (FIDA Kenya).
Assessment on the Status of Women and Land Rights in Kenya
- In 2019, I worked as a consultant, undertaking an assessment of the Status of women and land rights in Kenya. This involved research, conducting focus group discussions and producing a report on the findings. This work was commissioned by the Oxfam Pan Africa project, to support the work of the Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya (FIDA Kenya).
Articles
- Youth Impact in Global Development: Reframing Equality and Inclusion
- Pan African Women's Day: Celebrating Contributions and Aspirations
Timeline
Youth Associate
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)- Somalia Country Office
11.2022 - 10.2023
Programme Support Implementation Consultant
Network of African National Human Rights Institutions
10.2021 - 07.2022
Governance Analyst
United Nations Development Programme
11.2019 - 03.2021
Women and Governance Expert- Women and Governance Department
The Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya (FIDA Kenya)
12.2018 - 07.2019
Democracy, Human Rights and Governance Analyst (Youth Volunteer)
African Union -Department of Political Affairs
09.2017 - 02.2018
Intern
The Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation- No Ceilings:The Full Participation Project
09.2015 - 12.2015
Intern
The Human Rights Watch- Africa Division
02.2015 - 08.2015
Volunteer
United Nations- Friendship Ambassadors/ Youth Assembly
08.2013 - 08.2015
Intern and Program mentor
Brighter Green
07.2012 - 08.2015
Project Management - Foundations in Project Management
University of Cape Town
Human Rights - Right To Development in Africa
University of Pretoria, Centre For Human Rights
Master of Arts - International Human Rights Law
University of Oxford
Governance and diplomacy- Diploma
Children's rights- Diploma
University of Geneva , Center for Children's Rights Studies
Bachelor of Arts - Political Science
Hunter College- City University of New York
Similar Profiles
Zelia VitalZelia Vital
Program Associate at The United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA)Program Associate at The United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA)
Aruzhan AukenovaAruzhan Aukenova
Youth Trainer & Peer Educator | Y-PEER at UNFPA, United Nations Population FundYouth Trainer & Peer Educator | Y-PEER at UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund
Rayana GhoshRayana Ghosh
Junior Program Analyst at UNFPA, United Nations Population FundJunior Program Analyst at UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund
Steeven Belvinos AffognonSteeven Belvinos Affognon
Research officer at International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe)Research officer at International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe)
CHARITY MUKUNYACHARITY MUKUNYA
Customer Experience & Operations Lead at Branch Microfinance BankCustomer Experience & Operations Lead at Branch Microfinance Bank