Refilwe Mogale

Dynamic management professional with over 8 years of experience in the Department of Basic Education (DBE), specializing in executive-level reporting and strategic drafting. Appointed Report Writer for the National Basic Education Lekgotla for three consecutive terms, demonstrating a commitment to excellence in communication and policy formulation. Certified Mentor and Coach actively engaged in national policy reform through participation in the Employment Equity Task Team, with proven ability to manage budgets and resolve high-level stakeholder queries effectively. Expertise includes financial governance, public service compliance, and people development, ensuring operational efficiency and fostering growth within teams.

Policy Development & Review Secretariat & Governance Support Financial & Administrative Management Professional Mentorship

1. High-Level Reporting & Technical Drafting

Lead Report Writer, Basic Education Lekgotla (2023, 2024, 2026)

• Appointed as the primary official responsible for capturing, synthesizing, and drafting the comprehensive outcomes of the National Basic Education Lekgotla.
• Developed executive summaries, presentations and thematic reports used by Senior Management to track departmental progress and strategic goals.

2. Quality Assurance of Executive Submissions

• Responsible for the drafting and rigorous quality assurance of inter-departmental memoranda.
• Managed the end-to-end development of submissions for the Minister and Director-General, ensuring technical accuracy and alignment with departmental prescripts.

3. Member: National Employment Equity Policy Task Team (2025 – Present)

• Appointed to a high-level committee to review and modernize the Department's Employment Equity Policy.
• Contributing to the drafting of new policy frameworks that align with current Public Service regulations and organizational wellness standards.

4. Lead Secretariat (2024 – Present)

• Managing the secretariat function for executive-level meetings, including the National Education Excellence Awards and Female in Leadership Management Programmes.
• Developed a Decision Matrix system to track and follow up on post-meeting action items, ensuring accountability across directorates.
• Expertise in recording and producing high-accuracy minutes for National Consultative Forum, Inter-Provincial meetings and senior committee sessions.
• Budgetary Oversight: Compilation of annual budgets and monitoring of monthly cash flow to prevent under or over-expenditure.
• Systems Management: Developed and maintained tracking systems for national queries from the Director-General's office to ensure 100% resolution rates across provinces.

5. Certified Mentor and Coach (2025)

• Utilizing a 2025 certification to provide structured coaching to administrative interns and junior staff, focusing on enhancing office efficiency and professional growth.

Office Management |University: North-West University (LeMark training and development) - [2015]

1. Organizational and Communication Skills

Planning :

• Experiences in Office Management includes managing the Chief Director's diary, scheduling meetings, making travelling and accommodation arrangements, securing venues and other requirements such as arranging catering, parking for delegates and provide administrative support for meetings as well as processing of all subsistence and travel claims for the Chief Directorate.
• Responsibilities in meetings includes the production and distribution of meeting documents to members and other relevant officials. This includes printing and binding documents, being a resource person and minute taker for the meeting as well as maintaining the meeting attendance register and provide nametags. These meetings serve as an opportunity to discuss weekly progress reports and plans which assist in reporting and compiling monthly and quarterly reports for the Chief Director.

Communication :

• Experience in this regard includes liaising with internal and external stakeholders through written and telephonic communication and attending to enquiries from the general public through written letters to stakeholders and memoranda to internal staff, as well as screening and transferring calls to the relevant officials.
• Liaise with travel agencies to make travel arrangements.

Customer relations :

• Duties include exhibiting and distribution of materials when having meetings and workshops.

Report writing skills :

• Drafting and quality assurance of correspondence, inter-departmental memoranda, Minister and Director-General Submissions, Monthly and Quarterly Reports.
• Captured and compiled minutes for meetings and following up on actions to be taken.
• Written reports after monitoring to different provinces for projects.

2. Office Administration Support and Secretarial functions:

• Provide support to the office of the Chief Director through:

Daily office administration :

• Administration matters such as telephone accounts and leave registers;
• Process travel and subsistence claims and complete traveling request forms (VA26);
• Ordering and issuing stationery to colleagues;
• Calculating monthly subsistence travels, kilometers and cellphone claims;
• Assist the office administrator in handling Finance, MTEF/ENE and;
• Managing IT equipment's such as faxing, photocopying, scanning and distribution of documents.

Record Keeping :

• Receive, record and distribute all incoming and outgoing documents;
• Create a Tracking system for the following: E-mails, Telephone Statements, Leave Register, Queries;
• Filing the Directorate documents and;
• Record minutes of meetings for the directorate and relevant committees.

Financial Management :

• Providing financial support to the office of the Director by compiling annual budgets;
• Assist the current office administrator with compiling MTEF and ENE when necessary;
• Monitoring monthly cash flow and advise the Director on areas of under or over expenditure;
• Assist in compiling monthly expenditure reports;
• Draft memoranda as required by the directorate to request the shifting of funds when required; and
• Manage the directorates stock register.

Office Management :

• Managing the workflow in the office of the Chief Director;
• Receive telephone calls, screen and put through to relevant officials. Take and provide messages when necessary and drafting routine correspondence and reports.

Management of Query Database :

• Receive and analyze query data from the DDGs office and ensure that all queries are forwarded to the relevant provincial officials;
• Deal with DG Memo and Call centre queries of parents and schools from different provinces across the country;
• Verify and capture all queries onto the tracking system so they are recorded and well documented;
• Update query database on a weekly basis and keep a monthly record of the admissions complaints;
• Liaise with the Director, the Governance sub-directorate and give an update on the status of queries; and
• Assist the Governance sub-directorate to ensure that parents and complaints problems are resolved.

Provide Support to Meetings :

Organizing and providing support within the Chief Directorate to the National Consultative Forum, South African Principals Association, Female in Leadership Management Programmes and the Inter-Provincial Meetings through:

• Sending out invitations to invitees with a draft agenda and other meeting details;
• Securing meeting venues and visiting the venue before the day of the meeting;
• Prepare presentations, attendance registers, microphone, pointer, laptop for minutes and a projector where necessary;
• Liaise with other personal assistance and secretaries prior the meeting to confirm receipt of invitations, documents, agenda and previous meeting minutes;
• Taking minutes in meeting; and
• Drafting of decision matrix and following up on actions to be taken.

I remain abreast with the procedures and processes that I apply in my Departmental responsibilities:

• Study relevant Public Service and Departmental prescripts/policies and other documents to ensure that the application thereof is understood.
• National Development Plan (NDP)
• Action Plan to 2019
• The South African Schools Act
• National Education Policy Act
• Constitution of RSA (Act 108 of 1996)
• Employment of Educators Act (Act of 1998)
• Public Finance Management Act (Act 29 of 1999)
• Public Service Act, Constitution of RSA (Act 108 of 1996)
• Batho Pele principles

• Mr James Ndlebe, Chief Director, Ndlebe.j@dbe.gov.za, +27 12 357 4163, +27 84 951 1893, Department of Basic Education, Planning and Implementation Support
• Mr Nkosana Thakgedi, Director, Thakgedi.n@dbe.gov.za, +27 12 357 4277, +27 83 308 1340, Department of Basic Education, Education Management and Governance Development
• Ms Zanele Mlambo, Deputy Chief Education Specialist, Mlambo.z@dbe.gov.za, +27 12 357 4165, +27 83 253 2092, Department of Basic Education, Education Management and Governance Development

• Entrepreneurship: Sammy and Bertha Marks
• Job Shadowing: Kungwini Municipality
• Year: 2009