March 2017 – This is the Call to Stand Together

We’re the recruitment firm for global Africans

It’s been a very sad week in South Africa, but we refuse to give up hope. We urge South Africans across the world to come together and stand united in the face of uncertainty. We need to make our voices heard. Read more below.

Talent is the 5th biggest challenge businesses face in Africa, according to a recent survey conducted by The Economist. We examine why diaspora and local talent are so critical to organisations across the continent.

The above figure makes it clear why the continent needs your skills now more than ever. Make sure you have a look at our selection of job opportunities across the continent. If you’re an employer looking for top professional skills, please get in touch.

Be sure to check out how we strengthened our Pan-African network this month.

We hope you have a great month ahead.

Onwards & Upwards
The Homecoming Revolution Team

We are a very special nation. As Professor Jonathan Jansen put it so eloquently: “Show me another country where the Anglican Archbishop prays at a Muslim funeral; where a white man chairs the proceedings to remember a leader from a black liberation movement; where a sitting president of a developing country is told to step down in a letter from the deceased stalwart of his own party; where the widow of the black man being buried is a white woman who gave her life to the struggle for freedom; and where Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and other faiths come together in a broad swathe of South African humanity to remember a man who fought for all of us. Where on and off the stage no one racial or ethnic or religious group dominated the event. For a moment, just a moment, it felt good to hope again.”

As we write this, we are witnessing South Africans from all sides reeling from Zuma’s decision to fire Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan. But, at the same time, we are also seeing South Africans from all walks of life uniting in their anger and frustration. These are the sounds for us all to come together and stand united for a country that we all love so wholeheartedly.

We refuse to let one man hold our country to ransom. Our country stands at a precipice and we call on South Africans from all over the world to be active citizens and make your voices heard in whatever way possible.  Let’s come together and ensure our country is not taken to the dark side by corrupt politicians who are solely out to serve their own corrupt agendas.

Companies continue to grapple with issues related to finding people with appropriate skills and getting the balance right between local and expatriate staff. There is no doubt that using local talent is the ideal and this is why Homecoming Revolution’s work is so important: we help companies repatriate local talent with global exposure.

Comments Richard Napier, CEO of Saint Gobain: “Finding the right talent with the right skills is the biggest challenge we find in the manufacturing industry on the continent. Our key focus is to source local talent. We are not keen to parachute in expatriate talent as they are expensive, they don’t understand the local environment and are not very robust in the way they operate in those environments because after a while, they throw their hands up and leave.”

Grant Philips, CEO Africa Region at TransUnion says “We don’t have any expatriates. We don’t think it works. I find that local teams on the ground, which are able to connect with local networks are very effective.”

Adeniyi Adeleye, Head of Real Estate West Africa at Stanbic says, “The team that works in West Africa is all local.”

Comments Angel Jones, CEO of Homecoming Revolution, “Globally experienced talent bring a unique combination of local community understanding, widely spread relationships and global expertise. What’s more, people return home with a renewed sense of passion for their homeland and it is important that employers provide roles that have a sense of impact. Employers should also provide ‘Settling In’ benefits and a clear career path to ensure that candidates don’t just use them as a soft landing spot in the short-term.”

• Country Head West Africa – Financial Services – Lagos
• Senior Director Internal Audit – International Bank – Johannesburg
• Head of HR – Retail Bank – Johannesburg
• Global Head of Sales & Marketing – Mobile Payments– Nairobi
• Chief of Staff – Banking – Johannesburg
• Marketing Specialist – Leading FMCG company – Johannesburg
• .Net Developer – Financial Services Group – Johannesburg
• Head of Product & Strategy – Credit Reporting Firm – Nairobi
• Pharmaceutical Executives – Global Pharmaceutical Firm – Accra, Johannesburg, Nairobi & Abidjan
• .Net Team Lead – Financial Services Group – Johannesburg
• COO – Banking – Johannesburg

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