Esther Ndungu

Esther Ndungu serves as an Acquisition and Assistance (A&A) Specialist at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) mission in Nairobi, where she plays a critical role in designing and managing professional services contracts that advance sustainable development objectives across Kenya and the East African region. Her work centers on procuring high-impact consulting services to support private sector growth, public health system strengthening, electoral integrity initiatives, and climate resilience programs. She ensures alignment with USAID’s mission-driven priorities by applying rigorous procurement standards, conducting market research, and facilitating transparent, competitive acquisition processes that prioritize technical excellence and local capacity building. Esther maintains a consistent working relationship with AMD INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES LLC, a key contractor providing specialized technical advisory services across multiple development domains. Her procurement approach emphasizes long-term, performance-based partnerships with firms capable of delivering complex, context-sensitive solutions in fragile and emerging environments. She collaborates closely with technical units to translate program needs into clear statements of work, ensuring contractors deliver measurable outcomes aligned with USAID’s strategic goals. Esther’s contracting portfolio reflects a strong preference for open competition, with 100% of her awards issued under no set-aside classifications. While she does not routinely utilize socioeconomic set-asides such as 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB programs, her focus remains on selecting the most qualified providers based on technical merit, past performance, and alignment with mission requirements, ensuring value and impact over procedural preferences. Her primary procurement focus is on NAICS 541990—All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services—encompassing a broad range of consulting services including program evaluation, institutional strengthening, economic policy analysis, and technical assistance in governance and climate adaptation. She routinely procures expert services requiring deep regional knowledge, multilingual capacity, and experience in complex, multi-stakeholder development environments.