Experience

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  Mahlako A Phahla Investments (Pty) Ltd

  • Associate| Economic Development

    • Mar 2024 - Present

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  NextUp

  • South Africa

  • Programme Manager| Skills Development

    • Nov 2021 - Feb 2024
    • South Africa

    Azola holds the position of Programme Manager at NextUp, which is a place-based employment program designed to provide life skills support, exposure to the world of work, and mentorship for youth.As a key member of the startup team, Azola focuses on the world of work, offering opportunities for youth to acquire skills needed for the future job market while charting their employment pathways based on the current demand in the economy.Azola's role includes strategy development, implementation and acting as the single point of contact (SPOC) for employment partners.

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  Property Point: A Growthpoint Initiative

  • South Africa

  • Programme Manager| Enterprise Supplier Development

    • Apr 2019 - Oct 2021
    • South Africa

    Azola served as the Programme Manager for Property Point, an enterprise development initiative created by Growthpoint Properties, South Africa's largest JSE-listed property company.In this role, Azola advised businesses in the property and related services sector with the primary objective of facilitating market access for disenfranchised small and medium-sized enterprises (SMMEs) to address unemployment.Additionally, Azola worked as a community participation consultant, focusing on the development of existing assets for top property developers. The mandate included acting as an accountability partner for local community spending in these assets.Azola also played a pivotal role in business development for the organization and completed a work instruction for Property Point to become a Youth Employment Services (YES) implementation partner. This included ongoing work with the National Business Initiative (NBI) to provide employment opportunities for youth in the property and related services sector.

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  The Aurum Institute

  • South Africa
  • Hospitals and Health Care
  • 700 & Above Employee

  • Project Manager| Health Outcomes Development

    • Sep 2018 - Mar 2019

    Azola worked as a Manager at Aurum Innova (Pty) Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Aurum Institute, a healthcare solutions provider. Aurum Innova serves as a special purpose vehicle for business strategy formulation and implementation.Azola's responsibilities encompassed various roles within the organization, including financial evaluation (building financial models, scenario development, and analysis-driven recommendations), research into specific topics, project management, and customer relations. Azola contributed to client proposals and acted as an interface among stakeholders.Azola advised on areas for improvement and developed solutions to enhance project management and execution in collaboration with the Executive Committee (EXCO) members and support staff.

  • Business Assistant to CEO

    • Apr 2015 - Aug 2018

    Azola worked as a Manager at Aurum Innova (Pty) Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Aurum Institute, a healthcare solutions provider. Aurum Innova serves as a special purpose vehicle for business strategy formulation and implementation.Azola's responsibilities encompassed various roles within the organization, including financial evaluation (building financial models, scenario development, and analysis-driven recommendations), research into specific topics, project management, and customer relations. Azola contributed to client proposals and acted as an interface among stakeholders.Azola advised on areas for improvement and developed solutions to enhance project management and execution in collaboration with the Executive Committee (EXCO) members and support staff.

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  Nielsen Company

  • Johannesburg Area, South Africa

  • Retailer Analyst

    • Feb 2014 - Jun 2014
    • Johannesburg Area, South Africa

    Azola held the position of Retailer Executive and Analyst at The Nielsen Company. This role involved extracting raw data from multiple databases and interpreting it to provide actionable consumer insights to retailers.The insights generated by Azola's analysis were instrumental in informing retailers' strategies and justifying the value of opportunities within the retail sector.

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  Letsema Consulting and Advisory

  • Woodlands

  • Graduate Intern

    • Jul 2013 - Aug 2013
    • Woodlands

    Azola's internship at Letsema Consulting and Advisory involved working on a project for a client, specifically a JSE-listed platinum mining company, in the domain of community development.Responsibilities included delivering presentations and conducting analysis to support community development initiatives.