Vodafone Career Site

I had a dream, Vodacom had a place

Vodacom is a truly global company that connects millions of people to their loved ones, thousands of businesses with their next opportunity, and millions of things that connect our world. We are also a company with a great raison d'être, improving the future of communities in some of the most challenging places on our planet. What does that greatness mean to someone who works for Vodacom? The global nature of our business and robust internal movements programmes means that I literally have an entire ‘world of opportunities’ for me to explore.

I started working with Vodacom in December of 2010. I was the first member of the marketing and communications team in a newly formed Shared Services Centre in India. It was like working for a start-up, great energy and pace, but with a balance that comes from great leadership that had worked for decades in the Vodacom market eco system.

Working closely with the leadership (at one point I was the youngest member to directly report into a CEO) and my counter-parts in the group, we started building the marketing and communications function brick by brick. Being a new organisation, there was always so much to do- formulating an employer brand, engaging our employees, reinforcing the trust of our global business partners in shared services- there was never a dull moment.

Through these early years my personal growth mirrored the growth curve of the shared services (every fifth person that works at Vodacom now works in shared services). Starting off as an assistant manager in an individual contributor role, I steadily graduated to manage a small but a super achiever team.

I first visited London in December 2011 for the Global Internal Communications Conference and also visited our picturesque campus in Newbury, the home of Vodacom. Over next few years I had few more opportunities to visit the UK and through the course of inspiring interactions with colleagues in the Group, my desire to work in a global role was borne. Since then I kept seeking out a right opportunity to realise my ambition of moving internationally.

When you work for a large organisation for a long time, change is the only constant. In the six years of my association with Vodacom in India, I was witness to many organisational changes. Needless to say some of those changes were personally challenging and there were moments when I felt like I was standing at career crossroads. It was a make a break situation- do I take the easy way out or stick on to leverage the reputation I had built so meticulously? I chose to stick on because I hadn’t yet achieved what I had set out to. It wasn’t an easy choice, but it was the most sensible one.

This was the time when the support of my colleagues and my line manager shone the brightest. I remember it was the Indian summer of 2016 and I was bed ridden fighting a recurring bout of illness. I hadn’t even gotten back to work when my manager called to inform that he was aware of a global project where they wanted someone to help on a part time basis. I would have to perform this role in addition to my day job. Are you ready for the challenge, asked my manager? Yes! It was an instinctive decision.

As a part of that additional role, I started supporting the Group Corporate Security team for creating assets that could help us make security more engaging for our colleagues. My existing relationships with colleagues in India and exceptional support from our agencies meant that we were creating some really imaginative work. At the time when I took up that project, little did I know that this part time project will become pathway to my future.

In August of 2016, Group Corporate Security team started the recruitment process for enhancing the security awareness and training function through a full time resource. I applied for the role through the Internal Job Placement programme (like many others had) and was successful in securing it after rounds of assessment.

By the end of 2016, exactly in six years since I started to work for Vodacom, I was getting ready to move to the UK and realise a dream I had protected for so long. In those six years with shared services in India I didn’t just learn about my job, I had learnt so much about life and how to make things possible even when you are staring in the eye of a storm. Would it have happened if I weren’t working for Vodacom? Probably not.

I have been working with Vodacom in our global HQ for over a year now. My current role allows me an opportunity to create a secure digital future for our customers, working with fantastic colleagues all across the world. My first year in a new role, new country, and new culture has been a super smooth journey all thanks to my current line manager and also the fabulous team I work with. Working with Group Corporate Security in London, I get to experience the array of advantages that come as a part of being a truly diverse team where we respect and also build on each other’s strengths and differences in opinions.

At Vodacom we are now working on a new vision to create a digital telco. We are preparing ourselves to work in new ways, redefining the part we will play in this new normal. Every day when I swipe in through the doors, I know I will be learning and doing something new. What is future for others, we are creating it here at Vodacom today.

At Vodacom, the future is exciting. Ready? I know I am. How about you?