We are excited this week to welcome Candida to the Wasafiri team. She will be based in East Africa and working as our new Operations & Commercial Manager, helping us to grow the organisation and look after the delivery of much of our work in the region. Candida is a chemical engineer by training and has applied her skills to big corporates in the USA and start-up social enterprises in Kenya and India; and somewhere in between all that has found the time to compete in Ironman triathlons. She brings to Wasafiri a spirit of adventure, well honed professional skills and a love of excel spreadsheets.
We are delighted to welcome Nada Abshir as a new Consultant in our Conflict and Stability Practice. Nada is a specialist project manager with over a decade of experience working amidst complex political and development challenges in Africa and Asia. She is an expert in the areas of tackling conflict, strengthening stability and building effective institutions, with core skills in stakeholder engagement, advocacy, operational planning, communications and programme management.
Nada holds a BA in Politics and an MA in International affairs; and is a multi-lingual, culturally-sensitive, adaptable relationship builder, who has worked with organisations such as the UN, EC, USAID and US State Department.
Nada explains: “I have had the opportunity to engage this work from different vantage points; and have covered a range of issues including advocacy, human rights, child protection and public health research. The common thread in my work has been to support organisations to identify opportunities and challenges; and exploring with them how to create positive change from these processes.”
Hamish Wilson, Wasafiri Director and Principal Consultant, comments: “Nada brings a wealth of experience to our East Africa based team. Her understanding of how to deliver real change for people affected by conflict is deepened by her being Somali and she has worked extensively across the region. Not only that, she is a real professional and a delight to work with!”
Read more about Nada Abshir and download her CV on her page in Our People.
If you are interested in working with or for Wasafiri Consulting please contact our Head of Development, Dr Kate Simpson, on [email protected]
We welcome Marcel van Driel to Wasafiri as a new Consultant in Organisational Development for the Public Sector. Of Dutch origin and based in Lusaka, Zambia, Marcel is a specialist in the practice areas of agriculture, effective institutions and governance, with core skills in project design and management, strategic planning, monitoring, evaluation and workshop facilitation.
Marcel has worked as an advisor for Gesellschaft für international Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), seconded to the Local Government Association of Zambia (LGAZ); and the Government Service for Land and Water Management of the Netherlands Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Development and Food Quality (DLG).
He explains: “After obtaining a degree in Landscape Engineering, I worked for 7 years as project manager for land use and development. I worked on a feasibility and compliance study in Mali and was a planning advisor in Malawi. My work in Africa has made me knowledgeable about decentralisation and local governance – as well as allowing me to fulfill my passions for African nature and nature photography.”
Ian Randall, Wasafiri Executive Director and Principle Consultant, comments: “Marcel will be marvellous at helping African Governments with effective planning and the capacity to deliver real and sustainable results for their citizens.”
Read more about Marcel van Driel and download his CV on his page in Our People.
If you are interested in working with or for Wasafiri Consulting please contact our Head of Development, Dr Kate Simpson, on [email protected]
Photo copyright Marcel van Driel.
Wasafiri has been commissioned to advise NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) on how to strengthen its planning for, and response to, complex crises in fragile, conflict-affected regions.
The ARRC, based in the UK, is a high readiness multinational force headquarters designed to deploy quickly to support crisis management operations worldwide at 5-30 days notice. They understand first-hand how today’s conflicts are becoming more complex and mutating more rapidly. In response, NATO is itself evolving, becoming more agile, adaptive and integrated with their civilian and political counterparts.
With first hand experience at the sharp end of joint civilian-military operations in South Sudan, Afghanistan and most recently, in Somalia, Wasafiri is well placed to share lessons on what does and does not work in such complex, fragmented environments.
Over the next 6 months, we will work within the ARRC’s operations and planning teams, advising on coordination with civilian actors, understanding cultural, social, economic and political factors, developing approaches for community engagement and protection within the framework of international law.
Wasafiri has recruited Dr Kate Simpson to be our Head of Development. She will lead an expansion of our work delivering change in Africa, and establish our office in Nairobi. Kate comes from Impact International, where she headed up their Relief and Development Group and was a consultant on leadership development, organisational change and sustainability for Impact’s corporate clients. Kate holds a PhD in Geography looking at the ethics of international development, and has worked across South America and Africa. If you are interested in working with or for Wasafiri, please get in touch with Kate at [email protected].
