Wadzanayi Taputaira

Raising Africa's future leaders at STAR Leadership Academy. Onboarding Success Partner = Program Coordinator. Responsibilities: ▪︎Student Support ▪︎Scholarship Management ▪︎Structured Process Improvement ▪︎Alumni Engagement ▪︎International Student Welfare ▪︎Onboarding and Offboarding ▪︎Student Recruitment ▪︎Talent Development

STAR Leadership Academy (SLA) is a pioneering educational institution dedicated to cultivating the next generation of African leaders. Our intensive educational and experiential learning program equips students with critical leadership skills, enhances their cultural awareness, and fosters a commitment to servant leadership and nation-building. Our goal is to engage, develop, train, and inspire students to take meaningful action in addressing pressing issues across Africa. SLA aims to develop strong leaders with a remarkable work ethic, capable of solving complex problems, finding innovative solutions, and creating sustainable livelihoods for themselves and their communities. Our curriculum and activities are based on our 6 pillars: ☆Intellectual Development ☆Servant Leadership ☆Christian Faith ☆Physical Development ☆Know your land ☆Community and Social Entrepreneurship

Dynamic, educative and constantly expanding role as a corporate recruiter. Learning different aspects of HR and graduate recruitment. Role characterized by taking initiative, flexibility and developing existing systems as well as building from the ground up. Tools/Platforms used: -Microsoft Excel -LinkedIn Recruiter -Zoho Creator -Offerzen -AI chatbot -Google Calendar, Chat, Teams, Notes -Canva What I did as HR duties/functions: -Initiate contact with candidates -Develop and design job description and email templates -Liaise with senior colleagues and hiring managers regarding candidate selection -Resume screening -Passing or failing candidates after resume reviewing on Zoho Creator -Meet strict deadlines and targets -Source candidates via Offerzen -Use LinkedIn Premium to create a Talent pool and pipeline -Conflict resolution -Content marketing -Conducted interviews with 2 candidates -Led onboarding of new intern What I did in the graduate recruitment duties/functions: -Sourcing graduates -Enhance Yellow's visibility at target universities in order to recruit and hire top emerging talent -Contact, provide information about our hiring needs and build relationships with university career centers and societies - Sales and marketing services like: *attending university society fairs *telling students about Yellow *designing and printing flyers for distribution to students at fairs -Planning and organizing webinars and events with university societies What I did in admin duties/functions: -Respond to emails -Scheduling meetings -Designing posters and flyers on Canva -Weekly reporting on activities -Continously improve processes -Research on recruitment processes

Role characterized by creativity, counseling, building rapport and events planning. Teamwork and diversity skills demonstrated by managing and leading the mentorship program with two colleagues. Collectively responsible for: -Onboarding, training and giving emotional support to mentors -Planning and facilitating both online and physical events for students in the mentorship program -Creating informative resources and educational content for training and workshops like the Exam preparation workshop -Designing posters for events, drafting budgets and writing a monthly report about the mentorship program -Following up on mentor reports and the mentor-mentee relationship of my assigned mentors -Building a UCT StudyTrust community Leadership and organization skills demonstrated by following up on students and report writing. Individually responsible for: -Communicating with students who are not doing well academically or mentally and drafting up personalized intervention strategies. -Following up on the recommended interventions and providing psychosocial support. -Monitoring and updating the written reports for all the students that I am assigned to and alerting my supervisor of potential problems with the students. -Building relationships. Checking up on first year students and helping them navigate their first year at university through monthly calls. Listening, empathizing and giving advice.

Received comprehensive training on how to structure and review a Curriculum Vitae. Reviewed 50+ CVs for second and final year students at 3 different universities and provided detailed feedback to the students on how to improve their CVs. Helped to create motivational letters.

Interviewed various professionals in the legal field as part of the "Voices in the Law" project. Communicated with interviewees via email, oriented interviewee with the interview process, researched on the interviewee and then conducted an interview with them. Interviews were recorded in person or on Zoom.

Worked at the Office of Inclusivity and Change. Responsibilities included providing information to students who had been sexually assaulted and making them aware of the options available to them as well as being the primary point of contact for students and parents when they entered the office. Provided basic counseling to students who were sexually assaulted. Gender marshaling at UCT residences. Conducting office related work like filing documents, responding to emails, communicating with upper management, taking phone messages from clients and drafting the payroll for my fellow colleagues.

Worked at the International Academic Programs Office (IAPO). Responsible for welcoming first year students to the university during orientation week. Participated in the planning and preparation of the program and events for the new students. Picked up foreign students from the airport, welcomed them into the country and made sure that they settled in well. Oriented new students around the campus and answered their questions.

One of four Data Capturers for the UCT Department of Student Affairs. Captured over 3 000 forms alone. Responsible for logging in students' information concerning the clubs and societies that they had signed up for in the university system.

Contact person at the physical helpdesk for the Faculty of Law. Responsibilities included setting up and dismantling the helpdesk daily, answering questions, giving directions and assisting first year law students with any queries.

Worked at Fuller Hall Residence as a receptionist. Responsibilities included administrative support tasks, answering phones, receiving and welcoming visitors, sorting mail, opening the turnstile for visitors, overseeing the entering and exiting of students in the residence, keeping the reception area tidy and making announcements in the residence.

Worked at Fuller Hall Residence during the vacation period as a receptionist. Responsibilities included administrative support tasks, answering phones, receiving and welcoming visitors, sorting mail, opening the turnstile for visitors, overseeing the entering and exiting of students in the residence, keeping the reception area tidy and making announcements in the residence.

As a Law student, I learnt and practiced problem solving and abstract thinking. I learnt how to read and interpret legal jargon as well as conduct in-depth research. I was given a further understanding of protocols, regulations and statutes. I am able to read through them and outline the key points. I developed tenacity and independent learning. As an industrial sociology student, I was deeply inspired by the content. I learnt the importance of employee morale and cultivating the right environment in the workplace. I learnt about global trends in the workplace and how globalization affects the world of work. I learnt how workplaces can be toxic environments for employees and how employees can respond to unfair management through workplace resistance. I was inspired to prioritize the needs of the employee in a way that also benefits the business.

Gained a firm understanding on all things HR and Basic Counseling! The various assignments, courses, projects and overall experience resulted in me developing the following skills: •Developing a Project Business Case •Presentation skills •Interviewing and Consulting •Writing Progress and Status Reports •Energy Management •Using a Gantt Chart and RACI Matrix •Job posting •Research skills