BY MWANAHABARI REPORTER
Royal Media Services has appointed Waihiga Mwaura as the Head of Digital Services at the SK Macharia-owned media house.
Waihiga – a graduate of computer science from the African Nazarene University will also remain the Managing Editor, Special Projects Editor, News anchor – and leading political talk shows.
The soft-spoken and dedicated journalist was the joint winner of the 2021 Media Council of Kenya Investigative Award, and the first male winner of the 2018 BBC Komla Dumor award.
He also clinched the inaugural Mo Amin award for an investigative piece on doping in Kenya and was awarded the CNN Multichoice award in 2012 for a creative piece on Maasai morans who took up cricket in the fight against Female Genital Mutilation & the spread of HIV/Aids.
Royal Media Services Limited advertised the Head of Digital Services position a few months ago – but the management settled on promoting one of their own.
Sources at the station told Mwanahabari that the management has shifted it’s hiring strategy – choosing to focus on identifying and promoting internal talent – before looking outside.
In his added role, Waihiga will be leading the digital process transformation journey for the Group’s functions and products to enhance overall performance and meet set targets.
Also, coordinate with Digital Content Managers, Digital Products Team, the Digital Sales Manager and other business areas to develop and execute the vision for the Digital Division as a business and technology leader in the region using industry and technology trends.
He will be expected to optimize user experience and provide leadership to increase traffic, conversion and ultimately revenue generation online and on mobile platforms.
The role also involves developing partnerships with relevant stakeholders, both internally and externally, developing a strategy and roadmap for the Design, development and maintenance of our digital products and presence.
Waihiga will be working closely with Citizen Digital Editor Philip Mwaniki and Digital Content Manager Mercy Oburu.