PALOMA-BIANCA ELLITSON
Summary
Strategic Manager with experience leading and overseeing regulatory and commercial business activities. I am a highly self-motivated and innovative person. I enjoy leading and managing large teams on complex subject matter. Having worked in conformity assessment and the regulatory arena during the last 15 years, I do enjoy building strategic stakeholder relations. Implementation of new projects has been an ongoing theme in my working career and I highly enjoy the challenges that new implementations and changes bring about. I have excellent problem solving abilities and am open minded towards new ideas. I have strong organizational skills with a strong history of devising business operations plans, managing costs, reviewing performance and driving change. Forward-thinking leader with expertise in setting goals, quality standards and growth initiatives while leading quick and efficient attainment of objectives.
Highly effective at promoting positive relationships and building capable teams. Track record of improving overall operations, reducing overhead and increasing corporate value.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
10
10
years of post-secondary education
2
2
Languages
Work History
General Manager
Namibian Standards Institution
Walvis Bay
09.2018 - Current
- At current I am working as the General Manager: Testing and Inspection, an executive position within the NSI, at Patterson E2 scale
- I am accountable to the Chief Executive Officer of the NSI
- My Main job function includes:
- I am accountable for the strategic management as department head of two divisions and have a staff complement of 54 persons in total, which includes 2 Divisional Managers and 2 Quality Assurance Officers directly.
- My major duties are:
- Strategic management of the Department which houses two business units, namely the NSI Testing Centre and the NSI Inspection Centre.
- To develop, manage and optimize the internal capacities of the department to effectively deal with all testing and inspection services as well as all related operational transactions
- Strategic leadership and management targeted to set the specific policy framework that will govern all direct and impacted work processes and set targets to be achieved in those areas
- To ensure that the NSI remains operationally sound in carrying its mandate
- Lastly, to build a systematic and integrated approach to the provision of services, advice and support in these functional areas..
Manager
Namibian Standards Institution
08.2013 - 09.2019
- Scale: Patterson D4
- My main job function included:
- I was accountable to the General Manager: Testing and Inspection and accountable for the operational management as divisional head of the Testing Centre, a laboratory focused on food and water testing service provision.
- Under my responsibility was a staff complement of 26 persons in total, which included 2 Section Heads, 17 technical (laboratory) staff, 5 administrative and 1 financial officer (duel reporting line)
- My major duties are: Divisional Manager for the NSI Testing Centre Food, Water and Environmental laboratories to ensure quality service delivery to both commercial and regulatory customers
- Staff and resource management budget and sales forecasting and management.
- Ensuring the continued international recognition of the competence of the laboratory through maintenance of the International Accreditation to ISO 17025
- Customer management of current customer base as well as development of new business
- Controlled costs and optimized spending via restructuring of budgets for labor, capital assets, inventory purchasing and technology.
- Coached, plan and co-ordinate staff development to ensure continued competent to fulfill the various functions required for ongoing operations and accreditation.
- Plan and co-ordinate new expansion of the technical work with in the framework of the NSI Strategic and business plans.
Section Head
Namibian Standards Institution
07.2008 - 07.2013
- I performed the function of Section Head of the Testing Centre Microbiology laboratory based in Walvis Bay.
- Scale: Patterson D2
- I was accountable to the Laboratory Manager and I had 6 Microbiologists and 2 Laboratory Assistants reporting to me
- My major duties included:
- Organising and supervising all Microbiology laboratory staff and operational activities
- Establishing a quality management system for the NSI Testing Centre based on ISO/IEC 17025 for water and food analyses and ensuring the laboratory attains and maintains accreditation.
- Development and validation of new scopes of testing methods.
Senior Fisheries Biologist
Ministry of Fisheries, Marine Resources
06.2007 - 07.2008
- In the Aquaculture directorate, section Research, disease and quality control at the National Marine and Information Centre, in Swakopmund
- I was accountable to the Chief Fisheries biologist and have one biologist, three technicians and three technical assistants reporting to me
- Members of the section were stationed in both Swakopmund and Luderitz.
- My major duties included:
- Organising and supervising the Shellfish Sanitation Monitoring Program.
- Maintenance of Aquaculture laboratory.
- Issue reports on water quality at Mariculture farms to the farmers, MFMR Head Office and Ministry of Trade and Industry.
- In-house training of section staff on relevant sampling and laboratory techniques.
- Responsible for the compilation and control of the annual budget and operational reports for the section.
Fisheries Biologist
Ministry of Fisheries
Swakopmund
08.2004 - 01.2007
- I was responsible for Research, disease surveillance and quality control at the Mariculture subdivision based at the National Marine and Information Centre (NATMIRC), in Swakopmund
- I was accountable to the Chief Fisheries biologist and had four technicians and three technical assistants reporting directly to me. Members of the section were stationed in both Swakopmund and Luderitz
- My main duties included:
- Organised and supervised the Shellfish Sanitation Monitoring Program sampling and reporting activities
- Supervised technical staff component of 4 technicians
- Performed scientific duties
Fisheries Biologists
Ministry of Fisheries & Marine Resources
Swakopmund
02.2004 - 07.2004
- In the section Horse Mackerel, Directorate of Resource Management
- Duties, I was accountable to the Senior Fisheries Biologist
- My major duties were:
- Assisted in conducting research on horse mackerel stock and biology
- Participated in annual horse mackerel survey and processing of data for the horse mackerel TAC recommendation.
Education
MBA - Business Adminstration
University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB)
Cape Town, South Africa 01.2019 - 03.2021
Post Graduate Diploma - Project Management
University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB)
Cape Town 01.2014 - 12.2016
Hons. BSc - Microbiology
University of Stellenbosch
Stellenbosch, South Africa 01.2004 - 12.2004
Bachelor’s Degree (B.Sc) - Cellular And Molecular Biology
University of Stellenbosch
Stellenbosch, South Africa 01.2001 - 12.2003
Certificate - Management Development Program
University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB)
Cape Town South Africa 01.2016 - 10.2016
Skills
Client account management
Accomplishments
- Project design and coordination for the construction of the Testing and Inspection Buildings of the NSI.
- Ongoing maintenance of accreditation of the NSI Testing Centre and Inspection Centres for 4 years as General Manager and 7 years for the Testing Centre as part of laboratory Management.
- Drafting of regulations for shellfish Sanitation monitoring program, technical regulations for fishery products.
- Design and implementation of new costing structure for the NSI Testing Centre
- Design and set up of the NSI Microbiology laboratory from startup phase and the MFMR Water quality laboratory from start up design.
- Successful co-design, implementation and co-ordination of Namibian Shellfish Sanitation Program when working as Senior Fisheries Biologist
Affiliations
SADCAS Advisory Committee member for Testing Laboratories since 2015.
SADC Regional Laboratory Association (SRLA) representative for Namibia since 2016.
Timeline
MBA - Business Adminstration
University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB)
01.2019 - 03.2021
General Manager
Namibian Standards Institution
09.2018 - Current
Certificate - Management Development Program
University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB)
01.2016 - 10.2016
Post Graduate Diploma - Project Management
University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB)
01.2014 - 12.2016
Manager
Namibian Standards Institution
08.2013 - 09.2019
Section Head
Namibian Standards Institution
07.2008 - 07.2013
Senior Fisheries Biologist
Ministry of Fisheries, Marine Resources
06.2007 - 07.2008
Fisheries Biologist
Ministry of Fisheries
08.2004 - 01.2007
Fisheries Biologists
Ministry of Fisheries & Marine Resources
02.2004 - 07.2004
Hons. BSc - Microbiology
University of Stellenbosch
01.2004 - 12.2004
Bachelor’s Degree (B.Sc) - Cellular And Molecular Biology
University of Stellenbosch
01.2001 - 12.2003
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