Christopher Apollo Awandu

CHRISTOPHER APOLLO AWANDU P.O Box-, Nairobi, Kenya Telephone no: - Email:-LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-apollo-a19a6b138/ Personal Profile Organized Project Manager with over 10 years hands-on experience in Project Management and Implementation. My background spans project coordination, stakeholder management and strategic partnerships across various sectors including economic resilience, financial inclusion, technology & Innovation, humanitarian assistance, frontline health, and international development. Throughout the years, I’ve refined my skills in leadership, strategic planning, communication and problem-solving, which have enabled me to drive successful outcomes in challenging environments. My passion lies in managing impactful projects that foster growth, collaboration, and long-term sustainability. Education 2010 - 2014 2006 - 2009 Bachelor of Disaster Management and International Diplomacy (Social Science) Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education Onjiko Boys High School Skills ▪ Communication Skills: Excellent oral and written communication with good presentation skills and people handling techniques. ▪ Development and Operational Effectiveness: Leads strategic planning, results-based management, and reporting. Ability to go beyond established procedures and models, propose new approaches, which expand the range of programs. ▪ Planning and Organizing: Refined planning and organizational skills that balance work, team support, and ad-hoc responsibilities in a timely and professional manner. ▪ Time Management: Ability to prioritize work and manage time effectively. ▪ Analytical Skills: Can recognize areas of weaknesses requiring improvements and makes recommendations to the management for consideration, approval, and implementation. ▪ Decision Making and Problem-Solving Skills: Can make timely, well-considered, and logical decisions on problem situations that may arise to make sound judgment and find appropriate and workable solutions with the capacity to see the big picture. ▪ Flexibility: Fits into most environments, maintain calm under pressure, and can adapt well to changes in the workplace. ▪ Leadership: Strong leadership skills to inspire and motivate team members, facilitate collaboration, resolve conflicts, and keep everyone focused on the project's objectives. ▪ Team player: Works as a competent member of the team, willingly providing back-up support for coworkers when appropriate and actively supporting group goals. Work Experience March 2025 to Date UNICEF/Giga Position: Project Coordinator, Connectivity Credits Key Achievements: Spearheaded the implementation of pilot programs in different countries connecting underserved communities using sustainable business models and aligning product development with user feedback from stakeholders. Responsibilities: Project Planning and Implementation ▪ Establish a coherent project plan for pilots in coordination with in-country stakeholders, setting clear milestones, and ensuring timely execution across different teams and stakeholders. ▪ Proactive and resourceful problem-solving to overcome challenges in pilots when they come up. ▪ Coordinate closely with the product team and other team members, aligning on rollout and adoption of the digital product. Stakeholder Engagement and Communication ▪ Foster productive relationships with Universal Service Funds, governmental bodies, and other relevant stakeholders that are piloting Connectivity Credits. ▪ Ensure close dialogue and foster a collaborative environment of co-creation, whereby local stakeholders continuously are shaping what the Connectivity Credits team are building. ▪ Stakeholder communication and management by establishing and maintaining effective communication channels with project stakeholders, including clients, team members, and senior management. User Engagement and Feedback Collection ▪ Engage with users of the Connectivity Credits (on the one hand, government administrators, and on the other hand, small local ISPs) to understand their needs and pain points. ▪ Approach the experience of Connectivity Credits users with genuine curiosity and interest, and champion the observations inside the Connectivity Credits team to ensure we are building a system that fits users’ needs. Results-Oriented Execution ▪ Drive a results-oriented culture, working backwards from the story we want to tell with Connectivity Credits and designing pilots to demonstrate metrics that support that story. ▪ Monitor and evaluate project progress towards objectives, ensuring that the Connectivity Credits team is constantly adjusting achieve pilot results. Continuous Improvement and Innovation ▪ Bring innovative thinking to come up with and test new ideas in lean ways that can be replicated later with technology systems. ▪ Constantly scan the local ecosystems for new innovations or ways of connecting the unconnected that Connectivity Credits could learn from and enable better. Risk management and problem solving ▪ Employ proactive and resourceful problem-solving strategies to effectively address challenges encountered during pilot projects. ▪ Develop and maintain a robust network of relationships with industry and government partners to facilitate local knowledge and resources. August 2022 to February 2025 DataKind Global Position: Project Manager Key Achievements: Successfully developed and deployed DataKind’s innovative solutions and products with strategic partner-clients by managing and coordinating multiple project portfolios. Responsibilities: ▪ Work with Portfolio manager to develop annual and quarterly plans, define project scope and objectives to deliver on select, funded projects within DataKind’s portfolio including tracking systems to ensure timely and high-quality completion of grant-committed deliverables. ▪ Support the Product team with managing multiple stakeholders to complete activities in the lead up to deployment of a DataKind developed analytics product with strategic Partner-clients. ▪ Work closely with the Head of Data Science to prepare resources to execute the technical strategy to open source the DataKind developed product. ▪ Provide direct oversight to professional volunteer team(s) through DataKind’s Discovery and Design processes, engage with Partner-clients, and develop project design briefs and solution sustainability plans in compliance with DataKind’s quality standards. ▪ Oversee the development of high-quality reports, presentations, and proposals that effectively communicate key messages and insights. ▪ Lead project teams in executing project plans and managing project activities such as monitoring project progress, tracking milestones and managing changes in project scope. ▪ Stakeholder communication and management by establishing and maintaining effective communication channels with project stakeholders, including clients, team members, and senior management. ▪ Recruit expert volunteers with appropriate skills from DataKind’s community of volunteers, or beyond, as needed to execute on projects; prepare projects for a seamless launch. ▪ Monitor quality of outputs and support volunteers to comply with code quality and best practices with the assistance of the Head of Data Science. ▪ Manage organizational record keeping using shared resources such as Google Drive and Salesforce; contribute to improving institutional knowledge management. ▪ Cross-team collaboration: provide concise and specific updates to other key departments as needed; support funder-facing teams with reports on project progress. ▪ Proactively engage with Partners (and support volunteers to do so) throughout the project life cycle to ensure a valued partnership experience. ▪ Ensure volunteers are engaged and their efforts are celebrated throughout the project. ▪ Create the Project deliverables such as summary and strategy documents, presentations, and other content. Jan 2022 to June 2022 GIZ/Brighter Monday Kenya Position: Program Manager (Partnerships) – Agri Jobs 4 Youth Project Key Achievements: Developed partnerships with over 200 Private Sector Partners in the region and registered 10,000 beneficiaries onto the online platform for job placements and matching. Responsibilities: ▪ Drive the Strategic Overview of the project activities and be the main contact point for the donor, private sector partners and the field staff. ▪ Assist the CEO and Management in coordinating fieldwork for assignments by contributing to the development of project plans, fieldwork task schedules, interviews, gathering documentation, and liaising with client staff. ▪ Lead the mobilization and sensitization of private sector partners through preparation of introductory letters and scheduling for appointments for partnership development. ▪ Planning and coordinating meetings and seminars with various stakeholders; including government implementing agencies, employer’s meetings, HR and Youth Fora and beneficiary youth orientation meetings. ▪ Perform engagement procedures designed to identify and define issues, review and analyze evidence, and document processes. ▪ Assist in coordinating and communicating the results of consulting and internal audit projects via written reports and oral presentations to management. ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ Lead and motivate the project team and monitor project activities and project expenditure and coordinate work with consultants and volunteers in the project Ensure close collaboration and coordination with cooperating partners to guarantee smooth implementation of activities and achievement of results as specified in grant agreements. Participate in the drafting of reports and presenting drafts to the CEO and Management for review and approval. Team management of project staff reporting directly to me and office assets as per the laid down policies. Create the Project deliverables such as summary and strategy documents, presentations, and other content Provide project support through research, advisory, and project management activities Ensure project activities comply with the policies and regulations of the donor organization. Assist with developing proposals for submission to prospective Partners. Other Positions Held ▪ Oct 2017 – Dec 2021: County Project Coordinator at NITA/World Bank Group Project ▪ June 2016 - Aug 2017: Project Officer at International Research and Development Action (IRDAC) ▪ May 2015 - April 2016: Senior Field Officer at Innovations for Poverty Actions (IPA) ▪ Apr 2014 - Feb 2015: Monitoring and Evaluation Assistant at Afrisol Consultants Limited ▪ Jan - Mar 2014: Research Assistant at Plan International ▪ Nov 2013: Supervisor at Child Fund International (Kisumu Development Program) ▪ Jun - Sept 2013: Intern at The Boma Project Additional Information Training and Workshop ▪ Oct 2025: Scrum Fundamentals Certified Course. Scrum Study ▪ Oct 2024: Manage Successful Field Research Course. The World Bank Group Institute for Economic Development. ▪ Jan 2015: Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) data analysis training and seminar, Realedge International Limited ▪ Feb 2015: Emergency response, First Aid demonstrations, and Anti-Jigger Campaign Training and Team building. Kenya Red Cross Society Jul 2013: Grant Based Micro-finance, Micro-Enterprise Development, VSLA, and Group Savings Protocol Training and management, Monitoring and Evaluation. The BOMA Project Jul 2012: Inaugural Africa University Scholars Leadership Training and Symposium, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) Mar 2011: First Aid Course Training, Brigade Member. St. John Ambulance MMUST-Chapter Kakamega ▪ ▪ ▪ Seminars and Conferences ▪ Jul 2012: International Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction and Conflict Resolution for Sustainable Development; Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology Blogs and Publications ▪ DataKind + Swahilipot Hub Foundation: Using data science to tackle youth unemployment in Mombasa Referees 1) Mr. Harry Wilson Product Lead, UNICEF Giga Connectivity Credits Chem. des Mines 9, 1202 Genève Switzerland Telephone No: - Email:--www.giga.global/ 2) Dr John Harnisher Senior Director, Product & Programs DataKind Global 271 Cadman PLZ E STE 2, Brooklyn, NY 11202, U.S.A. Telephone No: +1 - Email:-www.datakind.org 3) Mr. Michael Ngugi Kinyanjui Head of Special Projects – Youth and Learning Brighter Monday Kenya P. O Box- Nairobi Telephone No: - E-mail:-www.brightermonday.co.ke