Seeking an Expert Waste Management Consultant

Terms of Reference for a Waste Management Expert Consultant 

Deadline to apply – 19th July  

  • Location: Remote 
  • Length of Contract: – Up to 3 months  
  • Start date:  – ASAP 

Lamu Environment Foundation (LEF), a Kenyan registered Company limited by guarantee was established in 2021, to support grassroots environmental and conservation projects across Lamu County, Kenya. We fund projects in the following areas: 

  • Solid Waste Management  
  • Land Regeneration and Restoration 
  • Marine Conservation 
  • Mangrove Conservation   

All projects have an aspect of awareness raising and education and/or creating additional livelihoods linked to the sustainable management of ecosystems.  

Due to the large challenges with waste management in Lamu County, LEF is spearheading the creation of a Waste Management Consortium and is seeking a waste management expert to consult on the initial creation of the consortium. 

Problem Statement: 

Solid waste is a major environmental challenge in Lamu County as there is no centralised waste management system. On top of waste generated by the population, ocean currents deposit waste on beaches and in mangroves daily from all over the Indian Ocean.  

Current waste management solutions are disjointed and mostly managed by independent community organisations. These groups have limited capacity and tend to only focus projects and solutions within their immediate area. Therefore, partnerships, knowledge sharing, and cohesion are limited, this leads to missed opportunities to scale up efforts and little consultation is sought from industry experts to influence activities. 

Thus, the idea of the Lamu Waste Management Consortium (LWMC) was created to fill these large gaps in understanding and to improve the efficiency and scale of waste management efforts in Lamu County.   

LWMC aims to  be the co-ordination point  and collective representative of waste management organisations in Lamu County. This will require consultation and consent from current operators. Throughout the creation of this consortium, we will be working closely with The Flipflopi Project who will be providing guidance, expertise and data that they have amassed since working in Lamu. 

LWMC Aims: 

  • Create a network of waste management actors across Lamu County to identify which groups are active in the county and what are their operations;  
  • Streamline advocacy efforts to lobby the government to address the issue of plastic pollution by creating legislation;  
  • Support the county government in the creation of WM legislation and policies; 
  • Create a network of waste management actors to identify which groups are active in the county and what are their operations; 
  • Identify gaps in current waste management operations; 
  • Create partnerships and opportunities for knowledge sharing among LWMC members; 
  • Identify potential revenue streams for different waste streams; 
  • Increase public awareness about the importance of proper waste management; 
  • Streamlining of environmental education in schools. 

Consultant Tasks : 

Due to the complexity of setting up an effective consortium we require a consultant to undertake the following; 

  • Provide recommendations and lessons learned from research into up to 5 similar initiatives and organisations regionally and internationally to learn best practices in policy advocation and waste management partnerships; 
  • Map out the current SWM regulations in Lamu County and nationally in Kenya and identify any other relevant policies – identify key policies that the LWMC would want to influence or change, key policies which should be implemented and key policies which are or appear to be in conflict with waste management outcomes; 
  • Provide recommendations and lessons learned from Nakuru County to understand how their policy was created and taking key learnings from that; 
  • Review baseline data already collected of waste management organisations and initiatives in Lamu County to gain an understanding of activities on the ground at the moment and where the key gaps are.  

To create and provide the following: 

  • A detailed workplan to ensure the creation of an effective consortium for an on the ground consultant in Lamu County to take over. This would include the following: 
    • Specific targets 
    • Deliverables 
    • Outcomes  
    • Log Frame 
  • Create guidelines for the creation of a Waste Management Consortium in Lamu County including the following: 
    • Agreement 
    • SOPs 
    • Articles 
    • Decision-making guidelines 
    • Legal Framework recommendations 
  • Provide recommendations and advice on the best approach to ensure the proposed Waste Management Consortium is formally recognised by the County to ensure integration of stakeholder’s recommendations in the drafting and execution of the Lamu County SWM plan. 

The workplan and guidelines created will be used to implement the consortium on the ground by a local consultant. Therefore, they must be practical and easy to follow. 

Skills required:  

  • Experience of waste management, including coastal waste management is an advantage 
  • Good written and spoken English  
  • Excellent organisational skills with rigorous attention to detail. 
  • Self-motivated and able to work well remotely. 
  • Sharp time management skills and commitment to deadlines 
  • Legally able to work in Kenya 
  • Passionate about dealing with waste and marine pollution issues 

The consultant will be managed by Lamu Environment Foundation and report directly to the Executive Director. 

To apply, please send your MAX 2 PAGE CV and a cover letter of NO MORE THAN ONE PAGE to hannah@lamuenvironment.org.  Applications of more than one page for a cover letter and two-page CV will be disqualified. We will only be contacting successful candidates for interview, and at this stage, will require examples of previous experience in this field including 2 referees who candidate(s) have worked for in the past.