Josh Pienaar

Higher Education and Business Consultant, Board Member & Mentor

BSc (CM), MBA, GCTAE, PhD, FAIB, FRSN, GAICD, PFHEA

Focussed. Experienced. Pragmatic.

Higher Education and Business Consultant, Strategist and Academic. I assist higher education providers with corporate and academic quality reviews with a view of Education Provider registration and businesses to streamline and operationalise their activities, policies, and procedures. I have expertise in corporate and academic compliance reviews, operationalisation of strategic plans and initiatives and project management.

Since 1995, I have worked in industries ranging from construction, oil and gas, procurement, information technology and enterprise resource planning and, more recently, since 2009, in the higher education sector. I have worked as Company Director in several portfolios for international organisations leading teams of up to 600 staff and budgets of USD 430 million.

Since 2009, my senior appointments include Head of Program, Deputy Dean (Learning and Teaching) and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Teaching) at CQUniversity Australia and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Students) and Registrar at the University of Southern Queensland. During this time, I chaired several committees, including Academic Board, Education Committee, Learning and Teaching Committee, Academic Appeals and Curriculum Design and Implementation Groups.

Working in Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the USA, I gained extensive experience as Company Director, SAP R/3 Consultant, Project Manager and Commercial Manager in the telecommunications, construction, logistics and oil and gas industries. During this time, I became fluent in utilising the New Engineering Contract and applying the PMBoK.

I am a member of the TEQSA Register of Experts, an Adjunct Professor at Salford University (UK), and an international auditor and reviewer for Hong Kong, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and Oman. I am recognised for my contributions to business, industry, and education through fellowships from the Australian Institute of Building and the Royal Society of New South Wales.

In 2022, the UK Higher Education Association (AdvanceHE) recognised me as a Principal Fellow for my sustained leadership and commitment to continuous improvement in customer experience and processes, for my sustained contribution to organisational excellence in business process improvement, teaching and learning and for delivering demonstrable outcomes in Higher Education.