Author Archives: vrapto

Junior/Mid Conceptual Graphic Designer (Cape Town)

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Remuneration: Market related 
Location: Cape Town, Woodstock
Education level: Diploma
Job level: Junior/Mid
Own transport required: Yes
Job policy: Employment Equity position
Type: Permanent
Reference: #CWDiDesigner
Company: CWDi

CWDi is expanding our through-the-line offering, and we are looking for a designer to become a key player in our growing team and evolving business. You’ll be highly conceptual and able to generate big creative ideas for both print and digital campaigns. An eye for detail, exceptional typographic skills and a talent for crafting beautiful designs are all a must.

Responsibilities:

  • Conceptualise big creative ideas for internal and external campaigns
  • Design and roll out a wide range of digital and printed collateral, from marketing material to internal comms and TTL campaigns
  • Generate proactive and innovative ideas for brands
  • Assist the senior creative team in delivering work of the highest standard
  • Maintain high levels of creativity whilst working within the confines of corporate brand guidelines
  • Assist with pitches and new business presentations
  • Ability to work alone or collaborate with other creatives
  • Work on several brands and/or campaigns at once, sometimes under pressure and often to tight deadlines

Requirements:

  • Two years+ agency experience
  • Relevant tertiary qualification
  • Creative and visual problem-solving skills
  • Knowledge in graphic and print reproduction process
  • Motivated, confident and talented
  • Versatile team player
  • Up to date with creative trends
  • Work examples demonstrating scope of work and creative ability
  • Exceptional conceptual and design ability
  • Skilled in Adobe Creative Suite, especially Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign.
  • Able to take projects from start to finish with minimal supervision
  • An eye for detail

Advantageous:

We are looking for versatile creatives, so any other skills you can bring would be an advantage.

If you are ready to join an incredible team who is passionate about what they do, and you like what you have read about this role, then please email your CV, link to work examples and cover letter to Pippa Hudson at pippa@cwdi.co.za

Company Description

CWDi is a brand agency, and our clients are local and global household names. Our team of idea generators, problem solvers and go-getters are guided by strategy and fuelled by creativity to push boundaries and deliver outstanding creative solutions to our clients. With creativity and client centricity at our core, we focus on bringing reach and connections together whilst delivering on ROI.

Posted on 04 Mar 16:02

Residential for Rent. R 35 000 : 4.0 BEDROOM HOUSE TO LET IN CONSTANTIA… South Africa Property Portal

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All the leading Estate Agents



 

Price: R 35 000 per month
Ref No: RL6117

in CONSTANTIA, CAPE TOWN, WESTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA

4.0 BEDROOM HOUSE TO LET IN CONSTANTIA

    

Listing Features

  

Listing Description
  • Bedrooms: 4.0
  • Bathrooms: 3.0
  • Building Size: 475
  • Erf Size 1866
  • Garages: 2.0
  • Carports/Parking Bays: 6.0
  • Pool: Yes
  • Exterior Wall:
  • Domestic Accommodation: 0.0
  • Flatlet: 0.0

 

  
Accommodation consists of 4 bedrooms of which 2 are en-suite and the remainder share a bathroom. The entertainment areas include a lounge, dining room, enclosed patio, very generous kitchen and a spacious games room. The second lounge can be used as a study/studio/5th bedroom. Features:
4 bedrooms
3 bathrooms
2 lounges
Dining room
Enclosed patio
Games room
2 cloak rooms
Staff ablutions
Double garage
Double carport
Tennis Court
Swimming pool
Wellpoint
Electric fencing, burglar bars, alarm system
 
     

House for Sale. R 7 500 000 : 4.0 BEDROOM HOUSE FOR SALE IN SERENGETI LIFESTYLE ESTATE… South Africa Property Portal

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All the leading Estate Agents



 

Price: R 7 500 000
Ref No: 4591214

in SERENGETI LIFESTYLE ESTATE, KEMPTON PARK, GAUTENG, SOUTH AFRICA

4.0 BEDROOM HOUSE FOR SALE IN SERENGETI LIFESTYLE ESTATE

    

Listing Features

  

Listing Description
  • Bedrooms: 4.0
  • Bathrooms: 4.0
  • Building Size: 430
  • Erf Size 1001
  • Garages: 3.0
  • Carports/Parking Bays: 1.0
  • Pool: Yes
  • Exterior Wall:
  • Domestic Accommodation: 1.0
  • Flatlet: 0.0

 

  
With panoramic views of the fairway and positioned right by the driving range this is perfect for a golf enthusiast!! As you enter the house, you are greeted by the best views of the clubhouse of the Estate. Boasting of open plan living areas accompanied by an exquisite ultra modern kitchen overlooking the open plan living areas. The home is divided into 2 wings, the one side the kids have their own bedrooms accompanied by full bathrooms and both bedrooms lead out to the garden then on the other wing you have a guest bedroom and the master bedroom Key Features: – American shutters all bedrooms.
– German engineered flooring throughout the house – Aluminium Windows supplied by Fenster. – Water Tank for back up water supply
– Warm water system with a 500l boiler, – 6 solar panels, – a backup element and heat exchanger. – PV system consisting of 2 x 5kw Goodwe invertors with 10 kw per hour backup batteries. Book your exclusive viewing today!!!

 
     

Permanent Part Time Sales Assistant – Tread + Miller – Northridge Mall (Bloemfontein)

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Cape Union Mart

Cape Union Mart International (Pty) Ltd has been equipping South African adventurers since 1933, and is South Africa’s favourite outdoor adventure store. Stocking everything one needs for outdoor pursuits – including hiking, camping, trail running, mountain biking, snow sports, travel and more – Cape Union Mart is an essential first step in every adventure. Cape Union Mart has stores across South Africa, and in Namibia and Botswana.

PR Account Director (Stellenbosch)

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Remuneration: negotiable To be discussed 
Location: Stellenbosch
Education level: Degree
Job level: Mid/Senior
Own transport required: Yes
Travel requirement: Occasional
Type: Permanent
Company: The Loudhailer

Job description

PR account director

Who are we?

The Loudhailer is a strategic communications and innovation engagement agency with the goal to raise visibility of African entrepreneurs, provide market-access support for innovation projects and products, and with the greater vision to drive investment into Africa.

The Loudhailer is passionate about innovation, disruption, the tech startup scene, the corporate innovation space, the link between growing our economy and bright new ideas from African entrepreneurs, and we are looking for someone who shares that passion. We have seen phenomenal growth and as we grow our client base, we are looking to expand our team with a highly motivated, dynamic and experienced PR account director. 

Why is the Loudhailer different? We always strive to achieve excellence in all areas of the business. We engage with journalists and build solid relationships with the media, to deliver a credible and powerful presence for our clients.

Job description

The PR account director is a pivotal member of the Loudhailer team. You will be the senior contact for clients and manage and oversee the internal team to ensure campaigns are delivered and service level agreements are met. Commercially minded and creative in nature, you are naturally adept at building relationships with all stakeholders internally and externally, including clients, team, media and other stakeholders. As a senior member of the business, you will deliver new business and grow existing accounts.

You will inspire confidence in the team, be a role model and mentor to staff, have a positive attitude and ensure the team are supported. 

Requirements

Opportunity creation

  • Conceptualisation of PR strategies and proposals
  • Creating tacticals and editorial calendars 
  • Building relationships with existing and new clients
  • Liaising with clients regarding press campaigns, creative projects, social media campaigns and more
  • Providing innovative and creative ideas to clients
  • Managing the needs and expectations of the client according to the service level agreement
  • Maintaining a high level of client interaction

Relationship management and engagement 

  • Supporting team members with PR campaigns and project plans
  • Supporting the team in social media management, community management and social scheduling
  • Liaising with clients on the management of campaigns and projects
  • Building client and media relationships
  • Working with the team to develop new business, project proposals and tenders 
  • Managing and mentoring team members
  • Briefing and reporting to clients
  • Analysing PR coverage and providing reports
  • Communicating effectively with a range of stakeholders

Strategy and detail 

  • Quality assurance: proofreading and ensuring decks and written content is without error
  • Drafting briefing documents for the team 
  • Staying ahead of industry trends and tools
  • Support with crisis communications and events
  • Leading and contributing to daily meetings and updating clients on PR activities

Company Description

The Loudhailer is a strategic communications and innovation engagement agency with the goal to raise visibility of African entrepreneurs, provide market-access support for innovation projects and products, and with the greater vision to drive investment into Africa.

The Loudhailer is passionate about innovation, disruption, the tech startup scene, the corporate innovation space, the link between growing our economy and bright new ideas from African entrepreneurs, and we are looking for someone who shares that passion. We have seen phenomenal growth and as we grow our client base, we are looking to expand our team with a highly motivated, dynamic and experienced PR Account Director.

Why is the Loudhailer different? We always strive to achieve excellence in all areas of the business. We engage with journalists and build solid relationships with the media, to deliver a credible and powerful presence for our clients.

Requirements

  • Minimum eight years’ of agency experience (experience in the tech and innovation space preferable) 
  • Excellent written, presentation and verbal communication skills
  • A background in and an understanding of B2B and B2C clients
  • Impressive emotional intelligence and interpersonal expertise
  • A passion for PR, including social media and a flair for creativity, strategic thinking and innovation
  • Excellent computer and project management skills
  • Impeccable organisation skills with an ability to manage multiple projects and portfolios
  • Strong teamwork and negotiation skills
  • Flexibility, determination, enthusiasm, confidence and the ability to cope well under pressure
  • The ability to think strategically and have good analytical skills
  • A strong knowledge and interest in current affairs
  • Ability to use own initiative and work autonomously 
  • Ability to work collaboratively with clients

Posted on 03 Mar 16:32

News24.com | Cape Town school redesigns ‘colonial’ crest, principal tells radio station

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Pinelands High School has redesigned its crest and motto to remove colonial symbols.

Pinelands High School has redesigned its crest and motto to remove colonial symbols.

PHOTO: Pinelands High School/YouTube

  • A Cape Town school has redesigned its crest to
    remove offensive symbols.
  • The former crest of Pinelands High School featured
    three gold circles based on Jan van Riebeeck’s family coat of arms.
  • The new crest, created with the input of staff and
    pupils, features non-political symbols.

A Cape Town school has redesigned its crest and
motto to remove colonial symbols.

Pinelands High School introduced the new school
crest and motto after three years of consultations about a reimagined design,
principal Dave Campbell told radio station CapeTalk on
Tuesday.

The original crest had been created almost 70 years
ago when the school was first established.

Created around the 300-year anniversary of Jan van
Riebeeck’s landing in Cape Town, the previous coat of arms incorporated three
gold circles based on Van Riebeeck’s family coat of arms. This link to
colonialism was considered offensive, Campbell said.

Along with the three gold circles, the former coat
of arms also included a red chevron. As this symbol often denotes military
rank, it was considered inappropriate for a school setting, the principal said.

Engagement on a new crest started in 2017, after
staff and pupils approached the school management. The school undertook a
comprehensive consultation process through a review committee and governing
body participation, before requesting submissions for new designs.

‘Not trying to erase history’

The top three were selected and the school
community was given an opportunity to give feedback before the design was
finalised with the help of a design agency.

While the design process was under way, pupils were
permitted to cover up the areas of the crest they felt were offensive.

The new crest is made up of politically neutral
symbols which capture the values and spirit of the school, Campbell reportedly
said. It now features a book, a protea, Table Mountain and a sunburst.

Campbell added:

We all have a responsibility to do what we can to recognise history. We’re not trying to erase history. We need to recognise that there is a certain man in the past and we need to be sensitive to that.

In 2019, the school formerly known as Hoërskool HF Verwoerd was
officially unveiled as the renamed Rietondale Secondary School.

Several weeks after unveiling the school name, it was
vandalised.

News24.com | Peter de Villiers ‘won’t lie’ to his EP players: ‘Kill or be killed’

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EP Elephants coach Peter de Villiers. (Photo by Gordon Arons/Gallo Images)

EP Elephants coach Peter de Villiers. (Photo by Gordon Arons/Gallo Images)

EP Elephants coach Peter de Villiers admits their 87-10 loss to the Bulls in Pretoria was a rude awakening for the team.

The EP players were clearly out of their depth in a 12-try romp and De Villiers knows there’s hard work lying in wait.

“It was the first time I saw most of the players in action in a match. Even though it was our first match in a long time, it was unfortunately also clear that some of the players don’t have the character to play at that level,” De Villiers told Netwerk24.

“Rugby is war, if you don’t kill people, then they’ll kill you.”

The coach said while he didn’t literally mean to “kill’, he used a metaphor to explain how tough it is at the top of the professional game.

“I won’t be pulling any punches. I’m not going to lie to them. I may have to tell a few of them to find a job and play rugby part-time.”

Meanwhile, with captain and flyhalf Inny Radebe out with a broken hand, De Villiers could call on the services of former provincial flyhalf Karlo Aspeling.

Aspeling, 33, is nowadays a primary school teacher and would only be able to train in the afternoons but his experience could come in handy.

He previously represented teams like the EP Kings, the Valke, Border Bulldogs, SWD Eagles, Torino (Italy) and CSM Bucuresti (Romania).

The Elephants are also looking for a new captain and the armband could fall to flank CJ Velleman or utility back Courtney Winnaar. Velleman, 26, captained the Southern Kings before when they participated in the PRO14.

EP’s next match in the preparation series is against the Lions in Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) on Wednesday, 10 March.

News24.com | German prosecutors set to announce charges against former top Steinhoff executives

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  • The first criminal charges against former Steinhoff officials are expected to be announced later this week in Germany.
  • German authorities have been probing balance sheet manipulation at the Stellenbosch-headquartered conglomerate since 2015. 
  • The German probe is separate from an ongoing investigation into Steinhoff which is being undertaken by the Hawks. 

German prosecutors are set to make an announcement about their multiyear probe into accounting fraud at Steinhoff this week, which will include charges against three former top officials at the global furniture and household goods company.

The criminal probe into Steinhoff has been running since 2015, when the furniture and household goods conglomerate moved its primary listing from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

It is separate from a probe taking place in South Africa that is being lead by the Hawks. Both probes are understood to be focusing on balance sheet manipulation, although investigators in Europe and South Africa have been playing their cards close to their chests.

This comes after Manager Magazine, a leading financial news publication, reported on Tuesday that the public prosecutor’s office in Oldenburg, a city in the state of Lower Saxony, had brought charges against three people closely connected to the Steinhoff Group, as well as one additional person. Oldenburg is near the town of Westerstede, where Steinhoff was founded.

The charges, according to the publication, relate to balance sheet manipulation, which can lead to a maximum sentence of up to three years imprisonment.

While the magazine did not name the three people who had been charged, it noted that the group’s former CEO Markus Jooste, and its former finance chief for Europe, Dirk Schreiber, had been “in the sights of investigators” for some time, without citing sources.

Martin Rüppell, chief public prosecutor and press officer at the Oldenburg public prosecutor’s office, said in an email that an announcement relating to the Steinhoff probe would be made on Thursday, without providing further details.

Jooste’s legal representative in Germany, Bernd Groß, is quoted in the manager magazine article as saying said he was confident he would be able to resist the charges. Groß did not immediately reply to a request for comment from Fin24. 

While Jooste has been keeping a low profile since resigning from his position, he in 2018 denied any wrongdoing related to Steinhoff when he appeared before Parliament.  His lawyer, Callie Albertyn, previously told Fin24 that his client does not intend to comment. 

A Steinhoff spokesperson referred Fin24 to a statement by the group’s board in its recent annual report, which said the group was co-operating with prosecution authorities and was “eager that those responsible for past failings are brought to book”.

Accounting scandal 

Steinhoff’s share price plunged in December of 2017 following Jooste’s abrupt resignation.

A subsequent PwC probe found that, between 2009 and 2017 a clique of top Steinhoff executives used “fictitious” transactions” to inflate the group’s profits and assets by about €6.5 billion.

While Steinhoff views the report as subject to legal privilege and confidential – it did publish an 11-page overview of key findings in March 2019.

The overview did not provide the names of the clique. But at a subsequent Parliamentary briefing, Steinhoff’s leadership confirmed that the names included Jooste and Schreiber, together with six other people. 

Steinhoff International Holdings, the group’s holding company based in Amsterdam, is now saddled with debt of almost €10 billion and has offered €943 million to litigants to settle lawsuits stemming from the share price debacle.

Manager Magazine is credited with being one of the first publications to report on accounting fraud at Steinhoff back in August 2017, four months before Jooste stepped down.

At the time it reported that German prosecutors were investigating Jooste and some other senior managers at the furniture retailer in connection with suspected accounting fraud.

Steinhoff at the time attempted to downplay the article, stating that the facts were “wrong and misleading”.

“The company rejects the allegations of dishonesty contained in the statements. In particular substantial facts and allegation are wrong or misleading,” it said at the time. 

But just four months later Jooste abruptly resigned.

For Stefan Wenzel, a German politician who has been asking questions of the probes into Steinhoff, the case has clear similarities to that of Wirecard, the German payments processor which has been declared insolvent. 

“In both cases, investors who trusted the companies were seriously harmed,” he told Fin24.

“In both cases, off-balance sheet vehicles were apparently used in tax havens to smuggle money out of the company. In both cases, in my opinion, it is still unclear whether it will be possible to get back the misappropriated funds.”

Customer experience within the medical aid industry

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The Ask Afrika Orange Index® is at the forefront of service benchmarking since 2001 and is the broadest, independent and most widely referenced service excellence benchmark in South Africa. The benchmark has been tracking customer experience, and the changing trends and expectations since 2001. The 2020 measurement offers insight into consumer behaviour during the Covid-19 pandemic within the local South African context. A national representative sample of 16,786 interviews with South African consumers enable a comparison of service performance across 26 industries, ranking 159 companies.


The impact of Covid-19 has been felt and experienced on many levels. Lockdown meant a strain on food security, household finances, chronic health issues and the depletion of emotional wellness among South Africans. By 2021, many South Africans have been touched personally by Covid-19 with either having lost someone to the disease or known people that contracted the virus. South Africans are constantly navigating through the different stages of grief specified in the Kübler-Ross model, with a quarter of citizens accepting Covid-19 as part and parcel of the new normal.  
As an industry, pharmacies took the lead with four pharmacy brands in the top 10 overall ranking. The medical aid industry was thriving and performing above the Ask Afrika Orange Index® benchmark, displaying a positive response to the market. Both these industries as a collective showed a 14% increase in customer satisfaction, 9% for pharmacies and 4% in the medical aid industry.  

BestMed performed exceptionally well, winning the medical aid industry and ranking 13th overall in 2020.  BestMed has also outperformed competitors, with an 11% difference between BestMed and the poorest performer in the industry.   

With a longitudinal view, BestMed has been improving their service from 2018, celebrating an 6,24% increase in satisfaction scores from 2019 – 2020.   

Key to a winner’s status is good performance on different service constructs. The Ask Afrika Orange Index® measured customer satisfaction around the following service constructs:

  • FCR – First call resolution
  • Trust
  • Customer effort
  • Fairness
  • Reputation and;
  • Emotional satisfaction

Within the medical aid industry first call resolution (FCR) remained a strength when it comes to customer service compared to emotional satisfaction, which is still a challenge for most industries and brands. BestMed shared the first place with regards to emotional satisfaction with Medihelp and in 2020 BestMed was the leader of the pack with regards to being a trusted medical advisor. 

Customers expect a consistent service experience across channels or service platforms albeit digital and/or human. In 2020, BestMed managed to achieve 80%+ satisfaction levels for services across their service touchpoints. 

Looking towards the future building a loyal customer base among medical aid members, key loyalty drivers are trust, relationship building, the reputation of the company and CSR initiatives to give back to the community it serves. Within the midst of the traumatic Covid-19 pandemic, emotional satisfaction remains crucial, especially in the medical aid industry where members rely on their medical aid to be the trusted and supportive advisor during difficult times.

For more information on customised Orange Index report and sponsorship opportunities please contact:

Sarina de Beer, Managing Director, Ask Afrika (Pty) Ltd, Email: az.oc.akirfaksa@reebed.aniras

Web portal: www.askafrika.co.za

About Ask Afrika

Ask Afrika is a decisioneering company. We support our clients’ decisions through facts. Typically, our clients’ require information around social research and philanthropy, experience measures and consulting, and brand dynamics. 

Social research decisions are required around HIV/Aids and more recently, Covid-19. Educational and early childhood development, fair-trade shopping, media and financial research are some of the areas we love to work in. NGOs, public- and private sector clients choose to work with us to get the pulse of the nation. 

Besides being decisioneers in brand and customer experience research, Ask Afrika is well known for creating some of the most useful, go-to industry benchmarks, including the Ask Afrika Orange Index®, the Ask Afrika Icon Brands®, the Ask Afrika Kasi Star Brands and the Target Group Index (TGI). Ask Afrika’s knowledge of brands is extensive. The Target Group Index (TGI) survey, which measures psychographics, service, products, media and brands, has been used by the majority of the top 50 advertisers and media owners in South Africa for nearly two decades.

Our clients operate across various industries, including retail, telecoms, finance, and the public sector. We offer tailor-made and ready-to-use offerings for all our clients regardless of the size of project.

In addition to being brave, agile, vibrant and experimental, we apply deep thinking to every research project. Our aim is to be great at everything we do and to make a meaningful impact.

Partner with Ask Afrika in order to confidently make game-changing business decisions that grow your business.

Email: az.oc.akirfaksa@tcennoc  

Mid-Level Hybrid Designer (Pretoria)

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Remuneration: R16000 – R25000 per month Cost to company 
Location: Pretoria
Job level: Mid
Type: Permanent
Company: Ad Talent Africa

Job description

A design agency specialising in branding and packaging, is looking for a dynamic mid-level Graphic/Digital Designer with multimedia skills to join their team.

Role

The successful candidate will be required to design a wide variety of brand-specific marketing material to be used across both traditional and digital platforms

Duties

    • Conceptualise and design: print-ready marketing material including, product packaging, brochures, posters, leaflets and support materials, etc.

    • Conceptualise and design: digital marketing material including, websites, web banners, e-newsletters, social media posts, in-store screens, etc.

    • Produce content for social media platforms and maintaining pages

Requirements

    • Software skills: Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator.

    • Preference will be given to candidates with experience with After Effects and Premiere Pro (to work graphic concepts into video editing and motion graphics)

    • Online programs: WordPress / HTML /Omnisend, Mylivechat etc.

    • Sage time tracking and monday.com would be advantageous

    • Content Management Systems (CMS)

    • Working knowledge of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter including, analytics and reporting

    • Ability to work to tight deadlines

    • Excellent attention to detail

    • Reliable, punctual, independent, honest and hardworking

    • Ability to self manage and work comfortably alone or in a team

    • Eager to learn and grow

    • Familiar with using CMS systems

    • Own transport

Requirements

    • Adobe Illustrator 

    • Adobe Premier

    • After Effects

    • Content Management Systems (CMS)

Posted on 03 Mar 09:33