James is the regional program officer for USAID’s Youth Excel program, which seeks to empower youth and youth-serving organizations to use implementation research to strengthen local, national, and global development solutions.

In this role, James serves as the point of contact for the program's partners in Africa. He provides them with day-to-day support for their activities, including for managing their subgrants.

Prior to joining IREX, James worked as a program officer in the adolescent and youth program at LVCT Health, where he oversaw advocacy and mentorship programs focused on adolescents and young people in various counties in Kenya. The program reached over 200,000 people with messages and health services. One of the projects that he managed, Project Imara, won the Oscar Romero Award for responding to the needs of adolescent girls and young women during the COVID-19 pandemic.

James has over 10 years of experience in working with young people in the development space. He holds a bachelor's degree in gender and development studies (with first-class honors) from Egerton University and a diploma in community development and social work from Mount Kenya University.