Twenty-seven-year-old Jobeca Watinga has always been a high scoring achiever throughout her educational journey. In March this year, Jobeca received her practicing certificate (CPA). Miss Watinga is currently in the role of Accounting Supervisor with Simberi Gold Company Limited.
She comes from a mixed parentage of Western Highlands (Father) and Milne Bay (Mother), Jobeca’s parents are self-employed and have raised 6 children of which 5 are employed and the last one is currently in university. Their commitment towards raising God fearing children has been the back bone of their family.
“I was raised by loving parents who raised me on strong Christian values and I am blessed that I do not have to look too far for role models,” Jobeca said.”
Last month, Jobeca earned the Simberi Gold Mine CEO’s Brilliance Award by introducing cost effective measures to the Justification for Capital (JFC) review process.
Miss Watinga shared her experience behind her award-winning initiative, “St Barbara Limited’s Simberi Gold Mine had a Justification for Capital (JFC) process where departments would submit requests to purchase capital items. Simberi had a history of much of these being rejected, especially for the high value requests that required going through their corporate office.
Part of my job was to go through all these paperwork and ensure the capital request was compliant with the company JFC policy. Once all was good, I would submit the request for final approval to purchase.
I noticed that with the JFC process, there was so much paperwork to be reviewed prior to approval. Especially for the final approvers at the top management that do not always have the time to go through all the paperwork.”
This issue brought about the idea of creating a template summary that fitted all paper-work onto one page summary.
She added that since the introduction of the template and proper guidance over submissions, Simberi Capital requests have been getting approved, in turn, helping to improve the operations of the company by addressing the capital operational requirements of the mine in time.
“I honestly did not expect to receive an award. I only did what I thought was necessary to make the process more efficient. The award came as a surprise, and I am grateful and humbled by the recognition,” she said.
When Jobeca joined the company in April 12th 2022, she started off as a Site Accountant and determinedly worked her way up to the Supervisor’s role.
Despite the challenges of having to adjust to a new environment and managing her first FIFO position, Jobeca expressed that having a supportive team has really pushed herself and her team forward. Every challenge encountered is a learning opportunity for Ms Watinga and many other professionals out there.
For a young woman who has been in the mining sector for a year, Jobeca said, “it is encouraging to see the increasing number of women join the mining sector.”
“If there was something I would say to encourage the upcoming young professionals and any other professional who wants to hear this, is to start with the end in mind. Have a clear picture of where you are now and where you want to be in the future and set milestones to achieve to get to where you want to be. Don’t just work because the job pays well but be intentional about the work you are doing; have an idea of how the job you are in now will take you to where you want to be. Lead a purpose driven life and be intentional in each career step you take. If you are not too sure where you want to be, pray about it. God has created us all for a purpose,” this was Miss Watinga’s advise to all young people. Jobeca Watinga, who has come from humble beginnings, takes pride in her work and says God gets all the glory for her achievements and hopes that by sharing her story, it is a testament of God’s goodness.
