The values-driven leader who finds heart in finance and turns challenges into opportunities

As their father travelled again from Nairobi to Kisii where his wife worked, it was 12-year-old Nancy’s turn to manage the household’s expenses. That meant she had to take the lead in budgeting for meals for herself and seven siblings, among whom she was the sixth.

She recalls having to be strategic with every grocery purchase. A precocious and dependable pre-teen, Nancy had to spend every cent wisely so that during the period both her parents were away, she and her siblings enjoyed delicious and well-balanced meals that combined vegetables, starch, and protein.

It was her father’s way of teaching his children responsibility (who took turns with budgeting) and Nancy’s earliest exposure to financial management. But the young Nancy was unfazed by this grown-up task; in fact, she was thrilled.

“That experience taught me financial discipline from an early age, and even planning and accountability,” she says, adding that she is still considered the family accountant to this day.

Nancy visiting the Royal Danish Embassy in Nairobi

As she grew older, Nancy felt the call to work in finance more strongly, prompting her to pursue a Bachelor’s and then a Master’s in accounting and finance. She could have easily gone on to build a career at a prestigious accounting firm with her background, but Nancy had other plans.

For her, doing meaningful work, which meant giving back to communities and enacting change in her own “small way”, trumped whatever gains mere financial results brought. She found her drive building stronger organisations and contributing to the sustainable development goals, believing finance is most powerful when it enables positive change and helps mission-led groups achieve their broader purpose.

It was this mindset that steered her to Vestergaard, a company operating at the intersection of global health and agriculture, where she developed her career as an accountant.

And it was this same mindset that eventually led her to development work and brought her to NIRAS, where she is now the Regional Finance and Operations Director and interim Country Director for Kenya, combining strategic leadership and financial stewardship to strengthen organisations and support sustainable development across the region.

Nancy speaking at the validation workshop under the Sustainable Ocean Plan project

Wearing many hats for a meaningful mission

No two days look the same for Nancy. One day, she may be at the office dealing with the company’s taxes and finances. On another, she might be at the Royal Danish Embassy representing NIRAS. And the next, she is likely delivering the opening speech for one of NIRAS Kenya’s projects.

Nancy’s dual role has opened a lot of opportunities for her in terms of steering NIRAS’ projects across Kenya to growth. But equally plentiful has been the amount of responsibility as a result.

During the interim period, Nancy sees her mandate as ensuring that NIRAS Kenya's business continues to thrive. For her, success will be measured by how seamlessly the office operates through the leadership transition, with empowered teams and uninterrupted support for staff, clients, and projects.

A lot hangs on Nancy's shoulders, but the extra work does not intimidate her.

“I’m fortunate to work alongside talented people,” she shares. “I also have the support and trust of NIRAS’ leadership, which is very instrumental in enabling me to take on these additional duties.”

This is why Nancy is also continuously encouraging a team culture where everyone takes ownership of their work. To her, great leadership is “about empowering others rather than trying to do everything yourself”.

Aside from NIRAS' values, particularly that of driving genuine impact in people's lives, the collaborative global culture and the organisation's projects are major reasons why Nancy has stayed at NIRAS for nearly six years.

For Nancy, every assignment NIRAS undertakes is unique and offers a great avenue for learning something new. Plus, the people behind making these projects happen are from all around the globe, bringing new perspectives and capabilities to the table.

"It's been a very rewarding journey," she says. "You meet so many people just by being in the organisation, whether through (Microsoft) Teams or sometimes in person. We're all so interconnected."

It's important to be adaptable and focus on solutions rather than challenges. I always say, when you encounter challenges, just figure it out; come up with a solution and don't dwell so much on it. These lessons over time have helped me provide stability, maintain momentum, and support the team through this transition that we're having in Africa.

Nancy Ondieki

As a hobby, running is something Nancy enjoys. She is also a part of a running group.

Giving back to the community

Through the years, Nancy has learned how important it is to be accountable, push past doubt even with a murky path ahead, and — perhaps most important — form strong relationships in order to enact impact, whether internally or in projects.

But these ideals are not confined to her work with NIRAS. Nancy applies them in a different area of her life, too.

Nancy annually arranges a charity drive and involves her friends, family, and the running group she is a part of. Just last year, she entreated her network — mostly her fellow runners — to pool resources from their own pockets and support young girls who had come from abusive homes.

"This particular shelter is very dear to me. I don't like seeing children suffer," Nancy explains, adding that last year's efforts were bigger than the usual since her network has expanded significantly over time.

An accounting maven through and through, Nancy still brings her aptitude for numbers in these charity drives. She accounts for the donations, documents any deliveries made, and sends sponsors evidence of where their money went to ensure transparency.

It's not a far cry from her younger years when Nancy was budgeting for her family's necessities. Except this time, her work with NIRAS and this personal endeavour serve a purpose bigger than herself — something a pre-teen Nancy would certainly be proud of.

Nancy is a dedicated and results-oriented leader, is very approachable, and maintains a strong focus on delivering results. I've seen how committed she is to delivering on team objectives and strengthening relationships with both internal and external stakeholders.

Sheila Mgadi, Country Finance Lead for Kenya

Nancy Ondieki

Regional Finance and Operations Director

Nairobi, Kenya

+254 790997054

E-mail

NIRAS in Nairobi, Kenya

The NIRAS story in Kenya is a long one: having implemented projects in the country since the early 1970s, we are a consistent and long-term partner with government, local institutions and international donors. We have expanded and grown over time, from project, representative and branch offices to incorporating LTS Africa. By continually expanding and investing in our presence in Kenya, NIRAS Africa now has nine permanent staff and five consultants, which gives us the ability to make rapid on-the-ground decisions, coordinate the implementation of our many local projects, and meet stakeholders on their home turf. Because we have such a long history in Kenya, we understand the unique requirements which drive development cooperation in the country. NIRAS Africa is well aligned to Kenya’s development agenda, both through our staff with technical expertise in agriculture, environment and climate change, resilience, gender and urban and private sector development, and through our recent and ongoing projects that include broad-based agribusiness programmes such as the Agricultural Sector Development Support Programme to encourage continuous development and commercialisation; technical assistance to the National Drought Management Authority to set-up and operationalise drought contingency funds; and different M&E assignments in the areas of natural resource management, agriculture and climate change. We offer services in policy, programme and project formulation, technical assistance for sector reforms and programme implementation, and monitoring, evaluation and Learning (MEL).

Members Of Magangani In Kilifi County Check On The Health Of Crabs During An Extension Visit By KEMFSED Strategic Partner Crab Alive

Crafting Kenya’s sustainable ocean future

Kenya’s ocean territory spans an impressive ~230,000 km² of exclusive economic zone (EEZ) — an area in which the State has special rights to explore, exploit and manage its natural resources — plus a roughly 650 km coastline where coastal and marine ecosystems support fisheries, tourism, shipping, energy and conservation. The Government of Kenya is developing a comprehensive Sustainable Ocean Plan (SOP) to guide the management of the nation's entire maritime space. Once implemented, the SOP will be a key planning instrument to ensure that Kenya’s rich marine resources are used sustainably and equitably for the benefit of all Kenyans. It will be the cornerstone of the Kenyan integrated ocean governance system, balancing conservation needs with economic development opportunities, and ensuring long-term ecosystem health and community prosperity.

Rural Kenya Financial Inclusion Facility announcement

RK-FINFA aims to increase rural financial inclusion and green investments by agriculture value chain stakeholders. Our role involves developing a plan for and engaging in the capacity building of at least eight rural Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) regulated under the SACCO Societies Regulatory Authority, expected to participate in the implementation of RK-FINFA. The main objective of this assignment is to strengthen the capacities of these pre-selected rural SACCOs for innovation, rural outreach, and the provision of green finance services in Kenya from the supply side. Additionally, we aim to enhance their ability to qualify for credit from the Agricultural Finance Corporation under the Green Financing Facility.

About NIRAS

NIRAS has a fixed presence in 34 countries across our network of 62 offices in Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. Building on international experience and management of projects from more than 100 countries, we provide technical expertise and results-oriented project management in our core competence areas. NIRAS delivers tailored, innovative, value-creating, and results-driven solutions to enable our clients and partners – international development organisations, donors, governments, institutional investors, and the private sector – achieve their goals.