Lydiah Munyi Baynham
Nairobi
Summary
A dynamic and accomplished international stakeholder engagement consultant and trainer with 15 years experience in business development, strategic planning, public speaking, and project management.
As the executive director at Adventures with Nahla Family Foundations, I have a strong track record in influencing diverse stakeholders across Africa, the UK, and South-East Asia to deliver high-impact outcomes.
I am passionate about driving positive change and enhancing community resilience.
Overview
14
14
years of professional experience
Work History
Executive Director, Stakeholder Engagement Facilitator Trainer and Breakthrough Coach
Adventures with Nahla Family Foundations (FF4L)
Nairobi
06.2019 - Current
- I lead and facilitate training workshops in Nairobi, Nigeria, Ghana, and Southeast Asia on my book about how to overcome fear, anxiety, and bullying in the school environment.
- In Accra, I conducted ten professional trainings for the West African Rescue Association (WARA) and trained other facilitators.
- My facilitation skills at the training enabled great team building and higher rapport between different grade staff members, as I encouraged all the participants to have a voice, even those who may have previously been silent or unheard in the workplace.
- In Abuja, I recently completed facilitating a 6-week Parenting Workshop attended by fourteen participants from Nigeria and the expatriate community.
- In Abuja, I led outreach and stakeholder engagement for the Health Aid for All Initiative (HAFAI) by running workshops for girls in junior secondary schools in Abuja, fundraising for the maternity clinics, and advocating against female genital mutilation (FGM).
Visa Outreach and Stakeholder Manager, West Africa
UK Visas and Immigration, British Home Office
Abuja
09.2023 - 07.2025
- Outreach and stakeholder engagement lead on all UK visa and immigration policy changes.
- I built and sustained a robust network of senior and working-level stakeholders across 19 FCDO missions in West Africa, including key government officials from Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Presidential Villa and the business community.. Despite being remotely managed from Pretoria and Bangkok, and coordinating visa decisions with colleagues in Croydon, I consistently delivered high-quality outcomes—demonstrating my ability to lead across geographies and cultures.
- I have extensive experience in strategic communications, having partnered with the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office communications team to deliver immigration policy updates across social media and support high-profile campaigns on study and business visas. I also worked with DHMs and political leads to deliver sensitive policy messages to senior government officials, including changes to diplomatic passport travel, with tact and respect—preserving diplomatic relationships and reputational integrity.
Committee Secretary
Kenyans in Nigeria
Abuja
06.2022 - 06.2023
- Communicating and influencing the interests of Kenyans in Nigeria at the Kenyan High Commission.
- As Vice chairperson, I co-chaired committee meetings and acted as Master of Ceremony for national celebration events attended by dignatories and over 150 Kenyans.
- Previously as secretary I helped set the agenda and in supporting this National Networking Society
Charity Officer & Chair of Charity Sub-Committee
British in Ghana Society
Accra
05.2018 - 03.2020
- As lead charity officer, I designed the project nomination and voting process that was fair, transparent, and inclusive of different members' views and led a team of 14 volunteers in the implementation of 5 grants awarded to local organisations working in Education, Street Children Rehabilitation, Cerebral Palsy and Fistula and orthopaedic restorations.
- I trained the volunteers on how to draw up grant agreements, undertake monitoring field trips and how to work collaboratively.
- The successful implementation of the new grant project cycle led to policy change and my methodology was adopted into BIGS constitution.
Business Development and Stakeholder Engagement Consultant
Chemonics International
Washington DC
06.2015 - 06.2017
- Business Development lead for USAID Proposals where I led meetings and engaged stakeholders within government, private sector, financial institutions and civil society organizations in Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines and identified potential partners for Chemonics to collaborate with in implementing the USAID funded programs.
- I negotiated potential organizational partnerships in emerging markets and ensured that we supported local organizations’ capacity in delivering key results.
- I led engagement with the Secretary General of ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly to explore opportunities for promoting new anti-trafficking laws within the region and designed a concept note which the USAID Environment and governace department approved and provided USD 250,000 and herefater, our bid was awarded the USD 24 Million Indonesia BIJAK program in June 2016.
Project Implementation Consultant
United Nations (International Fund for Agricultural Development - IFAD)
Ghana
09.2016 - 02.2017
- Implementation Support for the Northern Rural Growth Program (NRGP) in Tamale, Ghana.
- I undertook two implementation support missions to Northern Ghana, drafted an action plan for the project management unit and monitored progress to ensure completion of project activities; the PMU procured all equipment and completed civil works which benefitted over 1000 women and youth.
ProRep USAID Program
08.2014 - 03.2016
- I developed and improved the Communication Strategies of the Civil Society Organizations by training them on how to engage media, write opinion articles, public sensitization and effective advocacy techniques for their desired audience such as law makers.
- I provided technical and facilitation guidance to the Environment Policy Cluster on the advocacy approach used by the Civil Society Organizations which ifluenced policy and contributed towards the successful revision of the Indonesian national conservation law.
- I monitored progress in attaining policy targets against the log frame and provided recommendations on how to improve delivery
Trainer and Monitoring and Evaluation Consultant
Sustainable Poverty Alleviation in Coastal Ecosystem Services (SPACES)
11.2011 - 09.2015
- I facilitated participatory workshop group discussions in an international research project which enabled both the primary resource users (fishermen and women vendors) to communicate their recommendations and influence the decisions made by policy makers (government officials and regulation authorities) also present at the workshop.
- I designed monitoring tools i.e., pre- and post-workshop questionnaires to monitor the participatory process and conducted informant interviews, analyzed data and contributed to peer reviewed journals:
- Prior to SPACES, I conducted an impact assessment of two participatory modelling workshops on the change in participants’ behaviour and approach in management /policy decision-making in the Kenyan Coast. This entailed: formulation of questionnaires, observing workshop processes, conducting interviews, data analysis and reporting;
Governance and Strategy Consultant
African Development Bank
Tunisia
05.2012 - 12.2013
- As the lead stakeholder engagement consultant developing the AfDB governance strategy (2014 -2018). I coordinated inter-departmental meetings and production of 20 bank-wide policy briefs on mainstreaming governance across the Bank.
- I organized the regional stakeholder workshop attended by government officials and media representatives from 25 African countries and formulated questionnaires used in the online consultation process for the public’s feedback.
- Through collaboration with all the department team leaders, I drafted the Governance Department Webpage content which was used to update the African Development Bank Governance Website.
- I co-drafted the AfDB Extractives Industries Approach Paper which included recommendations on strengthening civil society ability to hold governments and private sector accountable in the extractive resource value chain and consulted with Liberia’s EITI secretariat on potential funding and support.
- Reviewed Public Finance Management projects and published case studies in the Governance
Education
MA - Development Economics (Distinction)
University of East Anglia
09.2011
BSc - International Development
University of East Anglia
06.2010
Skills
- Stakeholder engagement
- Strategic communications
- Program implementation
- Workshop facilitation
- Networking
- Team leader
- Monitoring and evaluation
- Training and skill development
- Change management
- Policy writing
- Project design
Training
- Life Breakthrough Coach, Life Breakthrough Academy, Certified Life Breakthrough Coach, 05/01/21, 12/31/22
- Natural Resources for Sustainable Development: Foundations of Oil, Gas, and Mining Governance, United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), Distinction, 01/01/16, 05/31/16
- Proposal writing, project and financial management courses, Overseas Development Institute, UEA, UK, Passed with merit, 09/01/10, 12/31/10
Languages
- English, Kikuyu and Kiswahili - Excellent and Proficient respectively
- Bahasa Indonesian, French and Spanish - Basic
Publications
Learning about social-ecological trade-offs, Ecology and Society (2017) URL: http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol22/iss1/art2/
Evaluating Trade-offs in Fisheries Ecosystem Services and Human Well-being, PNAS, (2015). URL: http://www.pnas.org/content/112/22/6949.full.pdf
http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Project-and- Operations/Development%20Effectiveness%20Review%202012%20-%20Governance.pdf
https://ournigerianews.com/adventures-with-nahla-a-heartfelt-tale-of-courage-faith-and-growth/
Timeline
Visa Outreach and Stakeholder Manager, West Africa
UK Visas and Immigration, British Home Office
09.2023 - 07.2025
Committee Secretary
Kenyans in Nigeria
06.2022 - 06.2023
Executive Director, Stakeholder Engagement Facilitator Trainer and Breakthrough Coach
Adventures with Nahla Family Foundations (FF4L)
06.2019 - Current
Charity Officer & Chair of Charity Sub-Committee
British in Ghana Society
05.2018 - 03.2020
Project Implementation Consultant
United Nations (International Fund for Agricultural Development - IFAD)
09.2016 - 02.2017
Business Development and Stakeholder Engagement Consultant
Chemonics International
06.2015 - 06.2017
ProRep USAID Program
08.2014 - 03.2016
Governance and Strategy Consultant
African Development Bank
05.2012 - 12.2013
Trainer and Monitoring and Evaluation Consultant
Sustainable Poverty Alleviation in Coastal Ecosystem Services (SPACES)
11.2011 - 09.2015
MA - Development Economics (Distinction)
University of East Anglia
BSc - International Development
University of East Anglia