We had the pleasure of interviewing Sarah Maseko to discuss more about her role at JET. While Sarah takes on many informal roles within the office as a positive leader among colleagues, her formal role is also multi-faceted. Working across divisions, including her work with Monitoring and Evaluation, Education Management, Implementation and Innovation, as well as Research and Data Ecosystems divisions, Sarah works closely with the finance department, ensuring invoice payments are completed, as well as organising travel and expenses for all staff.
She truly extends herself across the organisation, working with all active projects and the project managers. In her tenure since 2012, one highlight for Sarah was working on the Mr Price project from 2018-2022, which focused on teacher and learner testing. She was responsible for invoices and other logistics in four provinces (Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, and Free State) with staff ranging from 20-25 people. Additionally, the project involved organising imbizos for over 100 primary schools, involving principals and teachers. Beyond this project, Sarah continues to be responsible for researching venues, gathering quotations, and coordinating logistics that work within parameters of JET policy.
Sarah sees clear advantages to working across departments, because there are always learning opportunities. She feels encouraged by JET’s expansion into the international sphere. Understanding other international educational programming can be an asset to our work in education across South Africa as well. This is positive, because from her own perspective, it proves that the organisation is ‘moving in the right direction’. Young stars at JET give the organisation hope for growth far into the future. In 2018, she had the honour of representing staff at the Investors In People (IIP) ceremony; JET maintains a silver status in IIP today.
When Sarah is not working, she is involved in her church community, as well as the lives of her grandchildren. She is an invaluable resource for JET and serves as a leader in her work.
