Humanities
What do you do?
Geraldine Kwenda
Job history 2019–Present Human Resources Manager SouthSouthNorth 2016–2018 HR and Training Manager Shout-It-Now 2014–2015 Recruitment Consultant Hire Resolve 2011–2013 Business Development Consultant Tourism Enterprise Partnership 2010–2011 Administrator Braxton Consulting
Academic history 2020–2021 MPhil specialising in Programme Evaluation University of Cape Town 2017 Certificate in Practical Labour Law (short course) GetSmarter via University of Cape Town 2009 BSocSc Honours specialising in Organisational Psychology University of Cape Town 2006–2008 BSocSc in Labour, Organisational Psychology and Human Resource Management University of Cape Town
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I am the Human Resources (HR) Manager at SouthSouthNorth (SSN), an organisation which focuses on addressing climate change issues worldwide. My dayto-day work includes developing and implementing organisational policies; overseeing employee performance management; managing and negotiating remuneration; and providing technical HR advice. I’m also responsible for recruitment, role changes and selection within SSN. My favourite part of my job is making people’s working lives better, even in the smallest way, and the variety of complex work that comes my way.
How have your degrees helped you to get where you are? My qualifications have given me the scientific foundation to understand how individuals and organisations work, and what drives them to perform effectively. They have also aided in my decision-making and solidified my ethics, allowing me to improve
workplace environments and productivity,
What has been a highlight of your career? In both my HR management roles I have managed to set up all HR processes and systems within the organisations. Prior to me joining, neither of them had a dedicated HR hub. Seeing the systems I have set up (recruitment and selection; performance reviews/management; salary grading; internship programmes; internal policies, etc.) working and making people's work lives easier has been rewarding and a great achievement.
What advice would you give to graduates starting out in HR? Don’t look down on entry level positions you get within HR. When you work in HR, people are your business, therefore getting exposure to a variety of roles and organisations and their cultures will help develop your skill set. It can be a tough market, but HR is a broad field, so you can explore opportunities and gain exposure
