Hire the Best Consultation Freelancers
in South Africa

You didn't start a business to manage your inbox. I take the operational weight off founders, business owners, and growing teams - inbox, calendar, client comms, workflows, and the daily chaos - so you can stay in the work that actually moves the needle. 7+ years as an Executive Assistant, now paired with AI tools (ChatGPT, n8n, Make) to do more, faster, without adding headcount. What you get: 🔹 Inbox & calendar management - zero-chaos systems 🔹 Client communication - fast, professional, handled 🔹 Project coordination - ClickUp, Trello, Slack 🔹 AI-powered automations - repetitive work eliminated 🔹 SOPs & reporting - your business documented and running clean If your business is growing faster than your capacity to manage it, that's exactly the problem I solve.

I am a methodical, analytical & hands on designer with a track record of being able to work well as part of a large or small team. I have a strong technical design ability with attention to detail. I'm passionate about exploring innovative ideas and practicing intelligent design and critical thinking by drawing inspiration from simplicity with a "form follows function" approach to design. With more than 15 years professional experience - 4 years Point of Sale, 5 years Safety Apparel, 6 years Product Design, I am ready to branch out as a freelancer. My skills will cover anything the project may require, including but not limited to; Project management, Research, Sketching, Prototyping, 3D modeling, Engineering and Designing for Manufacture.

I am a native English speaker, originally from the UK, but now based in South Africa. I have spent over 40 years of my working life in global IT/Business Management and Management Consultancy. My most recent experience is in Interim and contract-based positions in companies that need temporary executive-level assistance, either because of a turn-around requirement, to provide gap cover while recruitment is underway, or to manage a specific project. Since 2003 it has mainly been in senior positions in Tertiary education. I am now semi-retired. My most recent assignment was with SABEN/TENET, a supplier of ICT Internet connectivity to the South African tertiary education sector. My role was as project manager visiting all 53 TVET colleges in South Africa to establish the state of ICT provision in each TVET; My report was presented to the Minister of Education in early December 2019. Further assignments were cancelled because of travel restrictions following the Covid pandemic. I am now semi-retired. Prior to that, I was an ICT Consultant and part-time ICT lecturer at Woldia University in northern Ethiopia. My main project was the $ 25 million design and installation of a new state-of-the-art multi-campus network, including hardware, software and ancillary services such as a solar power installation. The current ICT department was also to be completely restructured. I had full management and budget responsibility, reporting directly to the head of the University. The project team was 5 University employees and around 30 sub-contractors. Unfortunately, the project will need to be restarted from scratch following the destruction of the University's ICT infrastructure in the 2021/2 civil war. I have also filled senior ICT roles at Pretoria University and been ICT Director at two universities in the Easter Cape province in South Africa. I have been writing regular articles on business and IT technical topics to be published on various blogs for Upwork clients each month for several years, supplemented by one-off assignments as they arise. Unfortunately, because of Non-Disclosure Agreements and other confidentiality considerations, the only samples I can provide are generic. I will be happy to provide any other samples that you might need, but only within those restrictions.

I have 3 years of full-time Rust only development experience. This was sparked after I wrote my undergrad thesis on creating procedural macros in Rust. And subsequently decided to be a full-time Rust freelancer. Most of these Rust projects got started here on Upwork. I still provide technical inputs and modifications for some of these projects from time to time. Some of my other Rust work has been contributions to libraries or conference presentations. However, my biggest project turned into a full-time Technical Lead at Shuttle for the past 2 years. Shuttle is a startup that had a successful seed round a year and a half ago. We focused on making a platform for deploying Rust backend applications with ease. To achieve this, we used AWS and some procedural-macro magic to create a new development paradigm called Infrastructure from Code. I was the first employee, and engineer, to help the Shuttle founders. My biggest contribution was using my macro development knowledge to create the magical experience Shuttle is known for today. And for some months I was also the only engineer producing code for the project. About a year ago the CTO founder also left the startup. This led to me also covering that role for about a year. During this time, Shuttle was named one of the 100 fastest Y-Combinator startups and Shuttle also won some UK startup awards. All this happened while I also oversaw development projects, hired new engineers, mentored current engineers, and provided community support. # Projects and experience Being Technical Lead at Shuttle from May 2022 - May 2024. This was at least my title since I also had to fill in for the CTO for the last year after the founding CTO left. Before being the Tech Lead I was the Rust engineer at Shuttle from Feb 2022. Before Shuttle, I helped the same founders on another startup called Synth from Oct 2021. My role was, again, being a Rust developer for any features they wanted to add to Synth or any bugs that needed fixing. Also, from Jun 2021, I've helped Elerian to modify their Rust plugin for a telephony system. I still help them from time to time when they need new modifications or bug fixes. I was also a speaker at Rust Nation 2024 where I delivered a technical tutorial on writing microservices in Rust.

I am highly skilled and expert translator in English, Zulu, and Xhosa, I have mastered the art of language translation across these three languages. I have a deep understanding of the syntax, semantics, and cultural nuances of each language. My expertise lies in their ability to accurately translate various forms of content - be it written documents, audio recordings or video subtitles - while maintaining the original message’s intent, tone, and context. I can work across various sectors such as legal, medical, technical, or literary fields, translating everything from legal documents and medical reports to novels. My language skills, they also possess excellent research abilities to understand industry-specific terminology and jargon. They are detail-oriented, ensuring that no detail is lost in translation. My strong interpersonal skills enable me to work effectively with clients to understand their needs and deliver translations that meet those requirements.

🎯 Strategic Automation Architect | I Prevent the $1K+ Mistakes Other Freelancers Don't See Coming I don't just build automations - I architect business transformation. With 1,500+ production workflows are automated and over $1 million in client value, I solve the right problem, not just execute the brief. 🏆 TOP 1% CREDENTIALS: - Top Rated Plus (100% JSS) | Top 1% Upwork Freelancer | 40%+ returning clients - Elite Strategic Thinking (top 2%) | $150K+ earned | Make Certified Expert - Strong Business Acumen: Understanding ROI, cost optimization, operational costs, compliances - Rare Domain Expertise: Rare expertise: Geospatial, Compliance, Full-Stack, AI 📊 RECENT CLIENT OUTCOMES 🌾 AgriTech: "Add map" → Enterprise geospatial engine → Enabled new revenue streams & precision analytics 🚚 Moving Co: "Basic integration" → Complete process re-engineering → Eliminated manual bottlenecks 🏥 Medical: "Quick fix" → 119-module compliance system → Tax automation, zero violations 🔧 Service Co: "Fix tracking" → SaaS replacement strategy → Eliminated subscription costs 💬 AI Startup: "Simple chatbot" → Full-stack AI SaaS platform → Avoided platform costs 📋 Survey Co: "Basic automation" → Strategic infrastructure → Operational transformation 🎬 Media Co: "Fix threading" → Custom Gmail API algorithm → Production solution 📞 Marketing: "Quick update" → Architecture redesign → Reliability transformation 💰 PRICING - Strategic Projects: $3,000+ - Execution-Only: $2,500+ - Emergency: $300+ - Consultation: $200+ - Discovery: $500+ - Retainers: Support ($300+/mo) | Growth ($1,000+mo) | Strategic ($2,500+/mo) 🛠️ SERVICES: - Discovery & Strategy - Architecture Design - AI Integration - Complex Automation - Geospatial/Specialized - Emergency Support - Simple Execution (per provided specs) 📏 PROJECT SIZES: - Small (20-30hrs, single platform) - Medium (30-80hrs, multi-platform) - Large (80+hrs, transformation) - Enterprise (200+hrs, mission-critical) 🔧 TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES AUTOMATION: Make (Integromat) | Zapier | n8n | ActivePieces | REST API | GraphQL | OAuth | Airtable | Salesforce | HubSpot | Google Sheets | Monday | ClickUp | Notion AI: OpenAI (GPT-4 Vision) | Claude | Gemini | Llama | ElevenLabs | Custom prompt engineering | LangChain FULL-STACK: React | Node.js | Python | PostgreSQL (Postgres) | Vercel | Replit | Git | TypeScript | MongoDB | Webhooks | Next.js | Docker | Express | API Rate Limiting SPECIALIZED: Geospatial (EPSG 3857) | Tax Compliance (SARS, 18A) | GDPR | HIPAA | Payment Processing 🎯 WHAT MAKES ME DIFFERENT STRATEGIC ARCHITECTURE: I diagnose what you need, not just build what you ask. Example: Client requested "form automation" - I redesigned their entire lead management system. PREVENT COSTLY MISTAKES: - Distributed OAuth (system failures) - Platform lock-in (migration flexibility) - Scalability bottlenecks (future-proof) ELITE COMPLEXITY: - 119+ module scenarios with 9-level nesting - 20+ decision points - Production-grade error handling - Full-stack when platforms can't deliver AI-ACCELERATED: 3-5X faster delivery than traditional development - passing savings to you through value-based pricing 📈 BY THE NUMBERS: - 1,500+ workflows automated - Top 1% complexity - Zero critical failures across 3,192hrs - 100% retention on strategic work 🔍 MISTAKES I PREVENT - TECHNICAL DEBT: I architect for 3-year roadmaps, not quick fixes - PLATFORM LOCK-IN: Vendor-agnostic architecture, not expensive traps - HIDDEN COSTS: Optimize API calls, processes, bandwidth from day one 📋 HOW I WORK DISCOVERY FIRST: Paid discovery ($500-5,000) audits systems, designs architecture, calculates ROI - prevents scope creep, saves $2K-50K technical debt FIXED-PRICE PREFERRED: - Small Integration ($1K-5K) - Strategic Automation ($5K-15K) - Enterprise Transformation ($15K-80K) TRANSPARENT: - Proactive solutions - Architecture-first - Complete documentation ⚠️ WHO I DON'T WORK WITH: - Adult, gambling, illegal industries - Projects below $500 - "Cheap & fast" over quality - Transactional one-offs ✅ WHO I EXCEL WITH: - Established businesses ready for transformation - Scale-stage startups with traction - Companies valuing strategy - Long-term partnerships ❓ QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE HIRING: - Will this scale to 10X volume? - What happens when APIs change? - Who maintains this long-term? - Building technical debt or assets? - What's the compliance plan? If unclear, you need strategic architecture - not just execution. 🚀 LET'S TALK Spending tens of thousands on manual processes? Considering automation infrastructure? Let's talk. I'll tell you honestly if automation is right - and if I'm the right person. 📞 Discovery call: 15-30min, no obligation. I'll audit your setup and identify quick wins + long-term opportunities. Ready to transform operations, not just automate tasks? 📍 Johannesburg (UTC+2) 🌍 Global clients (EU/US/APAC) are Welcome! ⚡ <20hr response 🤝 Open to partnerships Last Updated: 15th January 2026