Our Senior Management Team

Acting Executive Director and Head, Professional Development & Training

Pauline Ngimwa

Pauline Ngimwa is a Kenyan national with extensive work experience in the African Higher Education sector. An experienced practitioner and scholar in higher education and educational technology, she has led multi-national education and capacity strengthening projects in African Higher Education sector. Currently, she is the Acting Executive Director and Programme Manager for the Professional Development and Training Programme, responsible for strategic management of the organisation, conceptualizing and guiding the development and delivery of experiential professional training programmes to early and mid-career researchers, academics and policy actors in Africa. Before joining PASGR, Pauline led the implementation of the digital library and Open, Distance and e-Learning (ODeL) programmes at the African Virtual University. Her research interests include design and use of digital educational resources including Open Educational Resources (OERs) in African Higher Education. She has published in this area and peered reviewed for international journals. She is also a member of the Network of OERs and Multimodal Self-Directed Learning in Southern Africa (NOMSA) advisory board. She holds a PhD and Masters of Research in Educational Technology from the Open University of UK; and a BSc. and a Masters in Information Science from Moi University, Kenya, and is a fellow with the African Science Leadership Program. 

Head, Finance & Administration

Constance Mwahunga

Constance is the Head, Finance and Administration. She provides strategic oversight and operational leadership to PASGR’s financial and administration functions. 

Constance is an accomplished Finance and Accounting professional with over 15 years’ experience in finance, accounting and grant management in the not-for-profit sector having held various key and strategic positions in her expansive career. She is currently a PhD Finance thesis student at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. She holds an MBA in Finance and Bcom in Accounting both from Kenyatta University. She is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and CPAK and a member of ICPAK, AWAK and ACFE (Kenya Chapter).   

Programme Manager, Research & Policy Uptake

James Babu

James Ochieng Babu is a Kenyan national with an extensive background in research and public policy. He is currently the Programme Manager, Research and Policy Uptake, leading research activities and providing programmatic and technical direction to the Research and Policy Unit at PASGR. James previously served as a researcher and Principal Policy Analyst at the Macroeconomics Department of the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA). At KIPPRA, he was actively engaged in macroeconomic modelling and forecasting initiatives, leading the technical team responsible for preparing the annual Kenya Economic Report and conducting public policy research. He is experienced in program management and impact evaluation. James represented KIPPRA in several National Government task forces focusing on revenue mobilization, environmental incentives, and climate finance strategy.

James has previously held academic positions at Egerton University, the University of Nairobi, and Laikipia University. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Nairobi, Kenya, under the Africa Economic Research Consortium (AERC) Collaborative PhD Programme (CPP). He earned his Master’s degree in Economics and his Bachelor in Mathematics and Economics (First Class Honours) from Egerton University, Kenya. James has made significant contributions to the field of economics, with publications focusing on macroeconomics, international trade, and public finance. His research interests include but not limited to macroeconomics, inclusive growth, international trade, climate change and infrastructure development.