VUT welcomes Busisiwe Ramabodu at the executive director: human resources

Busisiwe Ramabodu

She has been in the higher education sector for a considerable number of years and has gained a keen understanding of the sector and its unique context. However, she also has prior experience in the corporate sector. She has implemented a number of HR and OD interventions and processes at individual, team and organisational level. Her experience includes people strategy development | change management | HR policy development and review | performance management | integrated talent management | leadership development and assessment | transformation and employment equity | bbbee | competency and capability framework development | employee engagement | team development | alternate dispute resolution | training and facilitation | leadership and executive coaching | employee wellness | emotional intelligence training | psychometry and competency assessment | HR systems (performance management, talent management, learning management system, employment equity) | employee on-boarding | diversity and inclusion | culture transformation.

She is a former chairwoman of Imbokodo Women in Leadership Programme at UKZN where she implemented a number of programmes that aim to create shared learning spaces for women in leadership and academia. She often contributes to conversations around diversity and inclusion, and gender issues at various forums. She has also presented at various conferences and workshops on a number of topics such as performance management in the public sector, organisational development, human resource business partnering, impact of Covid-19 on workers in the HE sectors and team engagement and leadership.

She believes in authenticity, courage and fairness as her leadership values. She is also passionate about giving back through mentorship and outreach. She founded the 'Psychreach' community which is a group of like-minded psychologists which aims to give back to underprivileged communities both in terms of practical needs like school shoes and interventions. She is married with two beautiful children who keep her on her toes and make it all worth it.

She is excited to join VUT at such a critical time, where there is an opportunity to build, i.e., to build the people strategy, HR practices and processes that will enable the University to drive excellence, achieve strategic goals, and sustainability into the future. She believes that one cannot call themselves a good leader if they have not led in difficult times, and therefore she is up for the challenge to lead HR at VUT. She has a vision of how HR should contribute to the VUT strategy and future sustainability, and therefore some of her priorities on the horizon include the creation of a culture of high performance, strong HR governance, leadership capability development, and a workforce that is aligned to the aspirations of the University in all respects.