Practical and strong-willed

Elizabeth Joseph Nangombe Negumbo has always known she wanted to venture into the communications industry. She did not waste any time securing her seat at the table, and began her journey.“I am a young professional who is purposefully immersed in transformation and breaking bearers - both personal and professional,” Negumbo said, who is a communications and public relations specialist at Namcor.As a young girl, Negumbo would cut a hole in a box and pretend to be reading the news or interviewing her cousins. She says this interest in communications guided her current career trajectory, which led her to obtaining a bachelor’s degree in media and industrial psychology at the University of Namibia (Unam) and an honours degree in journalism and communications from the Namibian University of Science and Technology (Nust). “My work experience ranges across a spectrum of industries and professional perspectives. These include the UN and now one of the most challenging - oil and gas.“My professional goals are focused on providing sustainable solutions for challenges in the media and communications industry and aligning these solutions with market insights and activities that are pushing the boundaries locally and globally,” Negumbo saysHer job requires plenty of consistency, as well as commitment. Public relations and communications is ranked one of the most stressful jobs in the world. Negumbo says being in one of the most politicised industries, which is oil and gas, makes her job even more interesting, but also more difficult. “The work that our team does internally and externally is strategic, impactful and is honestly pretty awesome.”Among her many accomplishments is collaborating with the managing director’s office. Her team was responsible for the coordination of the relaunch of the Namcor brand on the 25 August 2017. “We spearheaded the appointment of an advertising agency and as a team we were responsible for the facilitation between Namcor and the agency to ensure that a sound brand and communication manual is in place.”A typical day in the office“I get to work at 07:30 every day, have my breakfast and browse through my papers before starting my day. “A typical day in the office for me is making sure that all communication and public relations initiatives have been implemented, and if there were some that were hanging from the previous day, I make sure those are executed as well,” Negumbo said.She loves to travel, and says every time she does, she brings back something. She is inspired by people who dream and those who actually work hard to live their dreams. “I like order in the workplace and I follow rules. I work to ensure that my tasks and the tasks of those around me are executed, by ensuring they meet the highest standards,” she says. Apart from being inspired, Negumbo also wishes to inspire other young professionals. “One of the challenges affecting young professionals is that we only specialise through work experience. What happens to the many graduates who are not fortunate enough to get formal employment?“I would advise young aspiring professionals out there to take that leap of faith and diversify their skills, something that I learned very late in my personal and professional career. “Try out as many ventures as possible before throwing in the towel. You and you alone are responsible for your future,” she addedThe futureNegumbo said the idea is to become an expert in her field and be the go-to person when it comes to corporate and strategic communications. She is an avid reader of crisis management publications and says she is always captivated by how communication practitioners are able to define narratives for the best possible outcomes. Negumbo says she will continue to add value in her current position, and catapult herself to heights that are yet to be defined in Namibia.

Practical and strong-willed

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Namibian Sun 2025-11-19

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Practical and strong-willed

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Namibian Sun 2025-11-19

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