Shannon Hiemstra
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Summary
Hard-working and motivated individual with strong organisational skills and work at my best when part of a team and working towards a common goal. I have developed exceptional planning, prioritisation skills and team coordination through my work and studies. Moving to the UAE from South Africa has shown me how much I enjoy meeting new people and developing relationships. I am able to analyse the economic, social and political challenges to ensure that a strategy is robust and holistic. I enjoy working on a project from conception to fruition and looking at key lessons learned to ensure improvement in the future. My overall aim in all the work that I do is to produce something of value that I can be proud of.
Overview
11
11
years of professional experience
7
7
years of post-secondary education
Work history
Chief executive officer
Lodestone Edsupport
Durban, South Africa
01.2022 - Current
- Supervised budgets and timelines, ensuring progress met project scope targets.
- Spearheaded development of business model, website development, and company strategy.
- Developed and implemented social media strategy.
- Executed board decisions to achieve successful strategy implementation.
- Reviewed operational performance and highlighted improvement opportunities.
- Advised on annual budgets and financial strategy to achieve company targets.
- Monitored industry landscapes to make technical and operational recommendations.
- Developed and managed relationships with clients and service providers.
Economic development consultant
Stone Soup Development
Cape Town , South Africa
01.2013 - 12.2019
- Performed in-depth research and analysis of economic-related issues and recommended appropriate actions within local and district municipalities.
- Offered comprehensive recommendations, policies and plans for data-driven corporate and government strategies and investment.
- Influenced high-level decision-making by proposing tailored solutions to companies, governments and social development institutions.
- Identified trends and changes in economic, political and social environments to inform budgeting, planning and investment decisions.
- Advised on economic policy by evaluating outcome of political decisions on public economy and finances.
- Developed facilitation tools to conduct tailored workshops and understand local social and economic challenges.
- Development of a web-based instrument to assess and develop a plan for Organisational Culture transformation at Southern African Development Community (SADC).
- Facilitate processes to forge and strengthen inter-governmental coordination and drive active alignment of provincial, national and local government initiatives and create an understanding of political polarities and opportunities to work together for community growth and development.
- Evaluate regional municipalities to assess their economic development capability and readiness and make recommendations as to where to prioritise future activities.
- Conduct locally driven processes to identify the competitive advantages of identified sectors or locations and package quick win projects to develop economic opportunities.
- Identification and packaging of catalytic projects and a monitoring and evaluation system to measure progress of the area towards long term goals.
- Extensive stakeholder mobilisation and project planning, coordination and implementation to the highest standard.
Education
Master's degree - Political Studies - International Relations
University of Cape Town (UCT)
Cape Town, South Africa 01.2010 - 12.2011
Honours Degree - Political Studies - International Relations
University of Cape Town (UCT)
Cape Town, South Africa 01.2006 - 12.2007
Bachelor of Arts - Social Sciences undergraduate degree majoring in Politics, History and Sociology
University of Cape Town (UCT)
Cape Town, South Africa 01.2003 - 12.2005
Skills
- Business development and administration
- Strategic decision-making
- Business planning
- Programme management
- Stakeholder and client engagement
- Project planning, implementation and administration
- Team development and coordination
- Economic Development Strategy, Planning and Scenario Development, Organisational Transformation and Competitiveness, Monitoring & Evaluation and Outcome Mapping
- Political Risk Assessment and Conflict Resolution tools
- Operational management
- Change management
- Strategic thinking
Languages
English
Native
Afrikaans
Upper intermediate
Timeline
Chief executive officer
Lodestone Edsupport
01.2022 - Current
Economic development consultant
Stone Soup Development
01.2013 - 12.2019
Master's degree - Political Studies - International Relations
University of Cape Town (UCT)
01.2010 - 12.2011
Honours Degree - Political Studies - International Relations
University of Cape Town (UCT)
01.2006 - 12.2007
Bachelor of Arts - Social Sciences undergraduate degree majoring in Politics, History and Sociology
University of Cape Town (UCT)
01.2003 - 12.2005
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