Nicola van Turha

Nicola van Turha has over 20 years of experience in various roles within the field of human resources and organizational development. Currently, they serve as the Regional People Lead in Southern Africa for WaterAid, where they are responsible for defining strategic people plans and supporting regional Country Directors and People Leads in implementing these plans.

Prior to their current role, Nicola was the International Director of People and Culture at Greenpeace International, overseeing the development and delivery of the organization's People Strategy on a global scale. Nicola also played a key role in driving the organization's culture, core purpose, and values.

Before joining Greenpeace, Nicola was the Director of GloBurn, where they led all strategic aspects of the business and provided support to companies in the areas of organizational development, performance management, change management, and employee engagement.

Nicola also held the position of Senior HR Manager at the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, where they designed and implemented an HR strategy aimed at building a performance-driven, engaged, and productive employee culture.

Prior to that, they worked at World Vision as the People and Culture Director, responsible for designing and implementing human resources and organizational strategies, systems, policies, and procedures to support the organization's program goals.

Nicola's experience in the field of human resources began at Oxfam, where they held various roles including Regional Change Manager and Regional HR Advisor. In these roles, they provided HR advisory and coordination services, dealt with HR operational management, facilitated training and organizational development, and managed payroll and benefit administration.

Before their work at Oxfam, Nicola founded Uvemvane HR, a consultancy that focused on community development, poverty alleviation, and human resource consulting. Nicola also served as an HR Manager at Snackworks and as an Acting Senior HR Manager at eThekwini Municipality.

Throughout their career, Nicola has demonstrated expertise in change management, leadership development, talent management, performance management, and employee engagement. Nicola has also shown a commitment to promoting sustainable development and empowering vulnerable communities.

Nicola van Turha completed their education in a chronological order. In 1982, they attended Bechet Secondary School in Durban and received their Matriculation degree. Following this, from 1988 to 1991, Nicola studied at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, earning a Bachelor of Social Science degree with a focus on Psychology and Social Work. Later, from 1997 to 2001, they pursued further education at the University of South Africa, completing a Master of Business Leadership degree. During their Master's program, Nicola focused on various subjects including Corporate and Business Strategy, Business Research, Business Process Re-Engineering, and Organisational studies.