Lebogang Gwangwa

Ms Lebogang Gwangwa have worked at managerial and executive levels in both the public, private, academic and development sectors of the economy, and having worked as a professional nurse, tutor and administrator, as well as a senior consultant in management practice training, Sports and Development,

Starting off a student nurse in 1976, she spent the first nineteen years of her working –career life as a professional nurse, during which period she worked in the public and private sectors across the three spheres of government, first as professional nurse in a hospital environment, and then as a senior professional nurse in a TB Specialised Hospital, where she was also responsible for nurse education and development, and then as a charge nurse in a private hospital.  Her last stint in the health sector was at a local government level as a Primary Health Nurse at the Kagiso City Council, now Mogale City before going back to the University of Witwatersrand to further her  studies in both Nursing Administration and Education.

She then joined Hospitality Development and Education as a Human Resources Development Director, during which period she acquired a license as a skills assessor for the Hospitality Industry.

In 1996 she joined the National Department of Labour as a development practitioner and special programmes manager (Deputy Director), serving as a gender, disability and youth focal point, responsible for capacity development, poverty alleviation, and mainstreaming of (designated groups) Women, people with disabilities and Youth into the labour market (where she learned and applied a lot of the United Nation Conventions and had to understand treaties).

Some of her achievements and benchmarks included the following:

  • Led and facilitated the development of a Youth Development Programme and model for South Africa. The same model was adopted by the Department of Finance, and converted into Umsobomvu Fund.   Was also responsible for forging a partnership with the Netherlands Government, which funded the programme.
  • Active participation in the development of the Skills Development and Levies Acts, wherein she successfully led the process for setting of equity targets in the National Skills Strategy.
  • Successful Initiation and management of the survey on the domestic work sector, and subsequent production of report on the status of domestic workers in South Africa, as part of a process for the development of a national skills development programme, and integration into the mainstream of education and training for domestic workers in South Africa.
  • Participated in the development of the Employment Equity Act, serving in the technical committee.
  • Initiated and successfully managed a feasibility study on restructuring of sheltered employment factories for people with disabilities in South Africa.
  • Successful development and implementation of a model for integration of youth into the labour market.
  • Served on the technical committee of the Youth Commission, as a Department of Labour Focal Point.
  • Served on the technical committee in the Office of the President, charged with overseeing the training of Gender practitioners at Provincial Gender Desks.
  • Stakeholder support and capacity development

In 2002 she established her own consulting company-Barungwa consulting, and later formed a partnership with Da Vinci Institute, a private Institution of Higher learning providing up to Doctoral Degrees, where she developed a technical programme for entry of Youth into the world of technology, at some point in partnership with the Yokogawa in Japan.

In 2006 she was invited by the United Nations Development Programme in South Africa, to come and facilitate capacity development for pro poor growth and accountability at the level of Assistant Resident Representative during which period:

  • Led and chaired the change management team of the UNDP Country Office, and contributed effectively to the repositioning and reprofiling of the Country Office, through actual planning, advisory and leadership services resulting in a new structure
  • Facilitated all governance issues internally, as well as externally as a normative organization in issues of governance.
  • Managed and led the design and establishment of a capacity development model for Municipalities in South Africa, and secured an agreement between the UNDP and the Eastern Cape Department of Local government and Traditional Affairs.
  • Was responsible for resource mobilisation and partnership development, successfully forging partnerships and raising resources in the government of South Africa.
  • Served as a Corporate learning Manager
  • Facilitated and led processes for development of Country Programme Action Plan and Annual provincial and national plans.
  • Led and served as focal point for the Governance and Administration Cluster in the UN System.
  • Led and coordinated the work of UNDP Provincial Offices.

In 2007 she joined Sediba Accords as a Director and Senior Consultant.

In November 2008 she joined Manto Management a consulting firm engaged in management practice with a specific focus on Organisational development, Monitoring and evaluation, training, performance management and business process mapping on deployment by Sediba Accords, where her key functions included:

  • Business development
  • Project Management
  • Monitoring and Evaluation
  • Establishment of a training unit
  • facilitated the review of policies of the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and rural development
  • Developed a procedure manual for policy development and review.
  • Served as technical Advisor (for the National Treasury) on the development of results based Sports plans for provincial departments in the Department of Sport and Recreation.

Her competencies, skills and professional strengths:

  • Policy review and development.
  • Monitoring and evaluation systems and management
  • Facilitation and development of results based strategies and programmes.
  • Out of the box thinking and innovation with specific application of Systems theories and change management.
  • Development of community participation models
  • Training, Programme design, Facilitation, and presentation skills
  • She is also a motivational Speaker
  • Management, supervision, coaching and development of people.
  • Management and facilitator of Change
  • Facilitation of gender mainstreaming processes and training
  • Partnership negotiation and management skills
  • Results based programming and project management using the LogFrame
  • Programming for Management of disabilities in the workplace.
  • Proficiency in the usage of computers as well as office packages
  • Language proficiencies include ability to read and speak nine of the official languages in South Africa, and excellence in reading, speaking and writing in English.
  • Currently she is working as a consultant for Sum-consult, a German based consulting firm – contracted by the Department of Sports and Recreation, to develop and roll out a programme on youth development against violence through sport.