ELTON EDWARD

My role involves providing technical support to the Ministry of Local Government in the planning and implementation of interventions focused on strengthening coordination between the central and local levels; revising national policies, regulations, and programs to enable effective local service delivery; and facilitating learning on decentralization across central-level Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) and local councils

• I provide policy advice to the Government as well as to the partners of the programme, in the following areas: Providing policy advice on political, administrative and fiscal aspects of the decentralization reform and on the optimal design and sequencing the reforms
• Preparing discussion notes on issues arising, for consideration by government representatives
• Developing a communication and dissemination strategy around decentralization/local development, and supporting the Government in its implementation
• Providing technical advice and monitoring support in the following areas: Technical support to the designing of national policies and regulatory/frameworks for decentralization and local development
• Developing tools and guidelines in decentralization, local development, municipal management, financial mechanisms, gender approach
• Technical support for Public Expenditure management by sub-national authorities, including strategic planning, investment programming, budgeting, implementation and procurement, assets management, accounting and financial reporting, monitoring and evaluation
• Local Public Service Delivery by sub-national authorities, including appropriate institutional arrangements for provision and production of basic services, with emphasis on health, education, agriculture and water & sanitation sectors, including public-private partnership arrangements
• Local Economic Development with emphasis on the role that local authorities may play in the direct and indirect support of income-generating and employment creating economic activities
• Supporting the establishment of monitoring frameworks and providing ongoing feedback and technical backstopping and regularly monitoring progress towards the identified indicators
• Supervising and coordinating the GfS team to ensure conformity of results with the USAID Agreement
• Responsible for a harmonious and coordinated GfS execution including budget preparation and management, planning and general monitoring of the project
• Preparing quarterly programme progress reports, as well as any other reports requested by the Government and USAID
• Overseeing and guiding the recruitment and work of consultants and subcontractors
• Monitoring the project expenditures, commitments and balance of funds under the programme budget lines, and draft budget revisions in accordance and cooperation with DAI system including the reporting on programme funds and related record keeping
• Representing the programme at the Steering Committee meetings, technical meetings and other appropriate fora in coordination with USAID

• Provided technical support to County Economic Planning Units in multi-sectorial stakeholder engagement and coordination to enhance program synergies
• Collaborated with Central Government Ministries to strengthen sub-national systems to promote service delivery focusing on devolved and shared functions in line with the County Governments Act and other GoK policies to support Counties holistically respond to the needs of vulnerable populations, in a sustainable and inclusive manner
• Guided the integration of systems strengthening efforts across sectors, liaising with the key Central and County governments’ technical leads and line sector ministries/departments (health, nutrition, education, and other relevant departments) and engaging both formal and informal systems in ensuring the integration
• Put in place MoUs and other inter-agency collaborative methodologies
• Supported County governments to effectively engage and advocate for resources from GOK and Development Partners in support of county development priorities
• Integrated public-private partnerships (PPP) as a central approach to system strengthening to result in a sustainable intervention, local resource mobilization being a critical pillar of PPP
• Ensured linkages and concurrence between UNICEF Kenya activities and GOK’s strategic plans at county levels (Kenya Ending Drought Emergencies Framework, County Integrated Development Plans (CIDPs)
• Incorporated strategies to address governance and systems-related drivers of slowed development in County Integrated Development Plan design and programming
• Along with the relevant county sector leads, built the capacity of the county government to use available development indicators and other relevant sector information for decision making, program planning, and performance and results monitoring
• Supported Counties to develop /produce program donor deliverables (quarterly, annual reports, etc.) in line with Contracting Agreements (FCDO and USAID)
• Documented and shared best practices towards improving systems and structures and support in the scale up of best practices across the 47 Counties of Kenya
• Supported production of tools and materials designed to effectively measure capacity improvements and engage all relevant stakeholders when designing materials to ensure ownership
• Along with the County M&E specialist and M&E Lead, identify and monitor key metrics to measure institutional strengthening, including demonstrated management capacity around policies, strategies, guidelines, standards, and protocols
• Effectively managed talent and supervised the county-level systems strengthening teams responsible for day-to-day guidance and oversight of program activities to achieve program targets at the county level
• Coordinated the continued identification of capacity strengthening needs and strengthen the capacity of County elected officials to enhance their oversight role on local development programs
• Engaged and strengthened partnerships relevant to the Decentralization, Local Governance and Local Development at the County and National levels including ensuring that UNICEF is well represented in relevant forums and technical working groups within the county
• Successfully provided technical leadership to UNICEF Kenya Country Office in the development and operationalization of the County planning and monitoring concept to enhance local planning and budgeting processes
• Supported the government of Kenya in developing and institutionalizing County M&E systems to enhance efficiency in resource utilization and improve results for children at the local level
• Provided technical support to County Governments in Kenya to develop policies and procedures to support HR Management, Public Finance Management, Procurement and accountability platforms
• In collaboration with the national level MDAs, developed and implemented smart capacity building plans to enhance County planning, finance, audit and HR management systems
• Supported the Council of Governors to develop and implement County Performance Framework to improve efficiency at County level
• Influenced positive change through strategic advocacy efforts aimed at shaping public opinion and driving support for key policy positions.
• Supported informed decision-making by synthesizing complex data sets into digestible reports for senior leadership.

My work involved supporting the local governance and decentralization agenda, including timely and robust budget analysis to inform UNICEF’s engagement with policy and budget makers at both national and local levels

• I was also responsible for capacity building of Government staff, Parliamentarians, Councilors, CSOs, and Media on Local Governance and Decentralization issues, with the overall aim of influencing the efficiency, and effectiveness of public social sector spending
• The position involved regular work around four main areas: (a) national budget influencing and social sector financing; (b) decentralization and sub-national public finance; (c) budget transparency and public participation and (d) parliamentary engagement
• This work involved regular engagement and collaboration with Government departments, especially the Ministry of Local Government, Treasury, Budget Division teams in Social Sector Ministries, the National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC), MALGA, Parliamentary Committees and staff, child-rights civil society organizations (CSOs) working on PF4C and UNICEF program staff
• Developed country-level guidelines on local governance and decentralization programming
• Provided technical support to UNICEF sectors and central government to plan and organize capacity development programs targeting local governments
• Provided technical support to the local governments on the development of child-sensitive district development plans (DDPs) and budgets
• Supported the Ministry of Local Government and National Local Government Finance Committee in the development of a Program Based Budget implementation tool to enhance effective and efficient budget utilization
• Providing regular support and assistance to the collection, analysis, and user-friendly presentation of data (budgetary and non-budgetary) on social sector areas of health, education, social protection, water, and sanitation, at both national and local levels, including UNICEF’s engagement with relevant Social Sector Parliamentary Clusters/Committees
• Supporting capacity-building workshops on public finance and child rights issues, for the 2019 cohort of Parliamentarians, Government staff, and child rights CSOs with an interest in public finance as well as offering on-the-job training for the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) staff
• Technical support to the NLGFC to strengthen the capacity of district staff on program-based budgeting (PBB) as well as support to local-level PFM issues such as the review of inter-governmental fiscal transfer formula (IGFTF) for health
• Supported national and sub-national citizen engagement and participation in the budgeting process and monitoring, budget transparency, including engaging the Treasury on the open budget survey (OBS), production of the 2020/21 citizens budgets, and capacitating the media to better understand and report on public finance and child rights issues
• Advocating with Social Sector MDAs, Treasury and District Councils to strategically use evidence from the Child Poverty Report in planning, budgeting, and spending decisions on social sector areas
• Led the conceptualization and implementation of the Child-Friendly Communities Initiative in Chikwawa and Nsanje districts

• Provided technical support to local governments in the development of District Development Plans (DDPs) that are aligned with the SDGs and other national planning frameworks
• Supported local authorities in the development of Revenue Enhancement Strategic Plans (RESP)
• Provided technical support to district councils in the formulation of by-laws in accordance with all guiding principal legislation
• Provided technical support to the government of Malawi rolling out of the payroll devolution process that enabled the timely processing of salaries for civil servants
• Worked with the Ministries of Local Government, Economic Planning and NLGFC in building the capacity of local government finance personnel on public finance management in accordance with all relevant laws
• Led the development of real-time frontline data systems and their integration and use by national information management systems to ensure that local and national level decision-making are informed by timely data
• Advised government institutions on the development of decentralization implementation policies, work plans, and systems
• Developed systems and platforms for inter-sectorial coordination at the district level in order to improve capacity for delivery of essential interventions
• Worked across the devolved sectors, ensure that districts have the available data for programme budgeting, management and implementation
• Facilitated the strengthening of local governance structures, to encourage joint and inclusive approaches for results for women, children, and other marginalized populations at the local level
• Identified capacity needs of district partners and supported the design and implementation of capacity development initiatives
• Led capacity building of community governance structures on the use of social accountability tools to enhance accountability at the community level
• Established strong relationships with key stakeholders, ensuring support for program initiatives.
• Developed strategic plans, setting clear objectives and achievable milestones for the team.
• Managed cross-functional teams for successful project completion within deadlines and budgets.
• Conducted comprehensive program evaluations, identifying areas for improvement and recommending actionable solutions.
• Coached team members on professional development opportunities, contributing to improved overall performance.
• Delivered high-quality results by setting performance metrics and monitoring progress against targets.
• Streamlined communication channels to facilitate efficient collaboration among team members and stakeholders.