Lucy Muchiri

My overall role is to provide technical leadership in Gender, Equity, Safeguarding, and Social Inclusion (GESSI) for the USAID-funded Young African Leaders Initiative Legacy and Localization (YALI LL) project and Regional leadership Centers( RLCs)

Within safeguarding my role involves:

• Coordinating with the project team and YALI RLCs to foster effective integration of gender equity social inclusion and safeguarding approaches within their recruitment training and alumni programming
• Working with the safeguarding focal points of YALI RLCs to conduct safeguarding audits, Risk assessments and put in place action plans to mitigate safeguarding risks
• Providing leadership in development of a harmonized YALI Africa safeguarding strategy alongside the Diversity and inclusion strategy
• Supporting safe recruitment practices in the RLC for YALI scholars and ensuring equitable representation of women, men, LGBTQI+ individuals, people with disabilities, and minorities and serving as the YALI Safeguarding Focal Point
• Leading the development of harmonized policies for YALI Africa and supporting RLCs to develop regional specific policies addressing safeguarding, diversity and inclusion
• Working with the HR teams of YALI Africa and YALI RLCs to train staff on the developed policies and implement the policy recommendations
• Supporting the assessments and audits of the accessibility status of the RLC policies and programs and providing recommendations for improvement
• Establishing formal and informal partnerships with organizations led by and representing marginalized groups to promote inclusivity

• In this role I was charged with the responsibility of enhancing inclusion practices across East, Central and Southern Africa. As part of the role, I supported training of more than 200 staff, establishment and implementation of organizational safeguarding structures within programs.

My achievements included:

• Implemented Safeguarding Resource Support Hub (RSH) project and supported inclusion in development of all safeguarding trainings, tools and research
• Provided capacity building to RSH teams and supported partners in design of tools for inclusive safeguarding
• Alongside this, I supported RSH to enhance participation of persons with disability and lead development of disability specific safeguarding research, training, tools and products
• Supported social inclusion project teams to conduct safeguarding risk analysis for their projects and create project safeguarding measures to mitigate risks
• Provided technical expertise to country office staff and partners on safeguarding, social inclusion and gender-mainstreaming, in new and existing economic empowerment and inclusive health projects in close collaboration with technical leads
• Provided technical leadership in development of social inclusion projects and technical input on safeguarding and inclusion for other projects
• Led development refinement and operationalization of technical and thematic toolkits and guidance materials on gender, safeguarding and disability
• Supported project teams to conduct gender analysis, gender assessments and disability audits for projects and country offices
• Identified capacity strengthening requirements of country staff and partners and facilitated trainings
• In coordination with other team members, developed new projects, research, innovation, policy, advocacy and communications agendas
• Represented Sightsavers as expert in social inclusion at international professional and sector-specific events and as part of international networks and consortia

• Supported partners in the implementation, monitoring and reporting of all parenting and life-skills activities outlined
• Promoted engagement in positive parent/child relationships especially for Children and young people with and without disabilities
• Conducted capacity building of local implementing partners/institutions and government departments on disability, positive parenting and life skills
• Developed guidelines and tools for positive parenting and life skills implementation by partners and supported the adoption of existing standardized tools, approaches and training curricula
• Built and maintained productive relationship with relevant government departments
• Worked closely with the Department of Children Services, Ministry of Education and other like-minded partners to engage parents of children with and without disabilities and provide referrals when necessary
• Reported of all assigned project activities as per donor and organization’s standards and established schedules

• Managed project implementation through all stages of the project cycle, including drafting annual programming, monitoring indicators, and reporting on project progress
• Identified gaps in safeguarding, gender-based violence, and disability inclusion, facilitating targeted trainings for government stakeholders, partners, and Handicap International staff involved in the project
• Developed and monitored the annual project budget, tracking expenses to ensure alignment with programming and regional monitoring and evaluation policies
• Provided training, oversight, and support to strengthen safeguarding mechanisms for partner organizations
• Established and maintained partnerships with government bodies, operational partners, community leaders, and other stakeholders
• Represented the organization in donor visits, coordination meetings on child protection, GBV, mental health, and disability; participated in conferences and national seminars to share project experiences and best practices
• Supported the project teams across the region to adopt safeguarding policy guidelines and include the same in their programs
• Supported teams and partners by providing technical support on safeguarding, conducting risk assessments and implementation of safeguarding mitigation measures in projects and operations
• Conducted training for staff and partners within the region on safeguarding and reporting
• Supported the localization of safeguarding reporting mechanisms within the different countries including the identification of country and project focal points
• Supported the development of IEC for safeguarding

• Ensured that child protection, psychosocial support, disability and sexual and gender-based violence mitigation and response activities are implemented in respect of the validated proposals/action plans and policies
• Supported the children’s department to establish a multi-sectorial case management committee and create a clear information management system
• Led partners in the Trans-Nzoia county of Kenya to form a gender working group and a disability working group to address issues of gender and disability
• Supported 13 schools and 2 local NGOs and 2 CBOs to develop safeguarding policy and response mechanisms and come up with safe activities for children
• Identified training needs for government departments, partners, self-help groups, communities, community volunteers and Handicap International staff involved in the project and conducted trainings as needed
• Conducted community awareness sessions on child protection, disability inclusion and gender based violence
• Identified gaps in child protection, sexual violence and disability policies, lobbied for implementation of policies and created awareness on gaps related protection in meetings with government and community stakeholders
• Identified community support structures and service points and supported community structures to conduct proper referrals for children with disabilities and survivors of violence to the services and structures
• Organized meetings and represented the organization in coordination meetings and relevant working groups
• Ensured regular Monitoring and Evaluation of the project and partners and prepared monthly, quarterly, activity and donor reports
• Supervised project partners, community volunteers, probonal lawyers, child counsellors and sign language interpreters contracted within the project

• Facilitated the identification of special psychosocial and protection needs of beneficiaries with disabilities through trainings workshops and giving support to the incentive workers and the rest of the team
• Conducted Mapping of the services on the ground, Referral and mediation between beneficiaries and other structures
• Conducted community awareness sessions on protection, disability inclusion and gender
• Conducted training of the team, stakeholders and communities with concrete guidance on how to make activities and services all inclusive for persons with disability
• Created self-help groups for parents of children with disabilities
• Acted as the focal person for PSEA in the emergency programme
• Supported in the development of PSEA reporting lines for the organization
• Represented the organization in protection, GBV, child protection, mental health and general coordination meetings to ensure that the needs of the vulnerable persons are addressed during
• Conducted psychosocial support and mediation between beneficiaries and families or between family and other structures
• Liaised and negotiated with the refugee leaders to ensure a good relationship between Handicap International and the community