Ntombizone Feni

Current Position:

21st Century (Johannesburg)

Group CEO (2025 – present)

Ntombizone Feni is a distinguished executive leader in Business and Human Capital Consulting, with extensive experience in Human Capital Governance, Reward Governance, Organisational Design, and Change Management. Her career trajectory includes key roles such as leading Niche Reward Projects and Strategic Public Sector Relationships, where she has driven strategic transformations and a proven track record in crafting impactful strategies that shape governance and remuneration practices, and stakeholder engagement in Public Sector projects, including the remuneration policies for public office bearers in different sectors.

Key competencies/ expertise

• Human Capital Governance;
• Reward, Governance;
• Employee Value Proposition Design;
• Strategic Project Management;
• New Business Development;
• Strategic Partnership Relations;
• Stakeholder Management;
• Strategic Planning;
• Change Management;
• Transformation;
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion;
• Employee Engagement;
• Organisational Culture;
• Organisational Design.

Executive Director, Organisational Design and Change Management (2015 – 2025)

• Provide Integrated Strategic Vision and Commercial Direction in the Change Management & Organisational Design Consulting Practices:
  • Develop business unit strategy and planning;
  • Identify relevant opportunities and business offerings for revenue growth.
• Lead and facilitate new and organic business development (including proposals for tenders);
• Establish strategic partnerships;
• Leverage existing client relationships and foster new strategic partnerships;
• Ensure strategic and functional integration with other business streams;
• Functional strategic advisor;
• Lead and manage a team of Executive Consultants, specialising in:
  • Strategy Development and Review;
  • Business Model Design;
  • Value Chain Analysis and Design;
  • Operating Model Design;
  • Organisational Structure Design and Implementation;
  • Change Management (end-to-end);
  • Stakeholder Management;
  • Employee Value Proposition Design & Implementation;
  • Business Process Mapping;
  • Job Design;
  • Competency Modeling;
  • Work Study Analysis;
  • Employee Engagement;
  • Organisational Culture;
  • Transformation (B-BBEE);
  • Diversity and Inclusion.

Executive Director, Head of Change Management

• Provide Strategic Vision and Commercial Direction in the Change Management Consulting Practice:
  • Develop business unit strategy and planning;
  • Identify relevant opportunities and business offerings for revenue growth;
  • Lead and facilitate new and organic business development (including proposals for tenders);
  • Establish strategic partnerships;
  • Leverage existing client relationships and foster new strategic partnerships.
• Ensure strategic and functional integration with other business streams;
• Multi-disciplinary, high profile and strategic project management;
• Functional strategic advisor;
• Provide technical and strategic leadership and input in projects related to the areas of:
  • Change Management (end-to-end);
  • Stakeholder Management;
  • Employee Value Proposition Design & Implementation;
  • Employee Engagement;
  • Organisational Culture;
  • Transformation (B-BBEE);
  • Diversity and Inclusion.

Executive Director, Strategic Relationships & Project Management

• Build strategic relationships and partnerships with key public sector institutions and private sector entities that drive and influence policy development and implementation in the areas of Human Capital and Reward broadly.
• Lead strategic and high-profile projects for various organisations and industries both nationally and internationally, namely:
  • Review and Development of a State-linked Survey and Reward Framework for State Owned Companies (2020- 2023);
  • Review and development of a remuneration framework for Municipal Managers and Managers directly accountable to Municipal Managers (2019-2020);
  • Review of Remuneration and Conditions of Service for public office bearers in the Executive and Legislative sectors (2018- 2019);
  • Review of Remuneration and Conditions of Service for public office bearers for public office bearers in the Judiciary sector (2019);
  • Review and development of a remuneration framework for Local Government (Bargaining unit employees) (2016-2018)
  • Lead and manage a team of Executive Consultants working on Strategic Projects.

Manager, Niche Rewards Project

• Run and maintain 21st Century’s industry remuneration and human capital surveys on an annual basis;
• Grow industry participation in remuneration and human capital surveys on an annual basis;
• Initiate new remuneration and human capital products and surveys in emerging and untapped industries, including the public sector;
• Lead and manage a team of Executive Consultants working in various Reward projects;
• Lead and manage the client-facing team, in business development and sales campaigns related to different workstreams;
• Develop innovative systems and operational efficiencies in reward projects, to enhance participation and competitiveness in 21st Century’s Reward and Human Capital offering.

21st Century Foundation

CEO (2023 – present)

As the CEO of the 21st Century Foundation, which was founded under her leadership in 2023, Ntombizone spearheads social impact initiatives that promote private-public partnerships in the public secondary school sector.

Previous Positions:

IT Aware

Project Coordinator, Human Capital Development (2009 – 2014)

Coordinated and managed various human capital consulting projects for a variety of clients:

• Eskom – Project Consultant for enterprise-wide occupational profiling and Skills Audit.
• Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector Education and Training Authority (MerSETA) – Development of a job profiling and mapping toolkit for the industry.
• Energy and Water SETA Project Manager for Workplace Skills Plan-Annual Training Report (WSP – ATR) online submission process.
• Chemical SETA (CHIETA) Project Manager for Workplace Skills Plan-Annual Training Report (WSP-ATR) online submission process;
• Project Manager for Chemicals Sector Industries Occupational Profiling;
• Mining Qualifications Authority (MQA) Project Manager for WSP-ATR online submission process;
• Project Coordinator for Mini Mining Sector Occupational Profiling;
• Project Coordinator for Mining Sector Skills Audit;
• Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) – Facilitator for the first-ever government-wide Skills Audit (HR Connect);
• Department of Defence. Facilitator for the entire Defence Force’s Skills Audit (HR Connect);
• Compliance Institute. Project Administrator for compiling competency profiles for industry-specific occupations;
• Services SETA Project Administrator for compiling competency profiles for industry-specific occupations.