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Lilo du Toit

Experienced multitasker in research, writing, editing, proofreading, and translation

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Intro
Johannesburg, South Africa
100% home-based freelance multitasker in research, writing, editing, proofreading, and translation at Self Employed
Research Specialist at National Treasury
Studied Development Studies/International Development at University of Johannesburg Faculty of Humanities
Studied Development Studies/International Development at University of Johannesburg Faculty of Humanities
Studied Development Studies/International Development at University of Johannesburg Faculty of Humanities
Research
linkedin.com/in/lilo-du-toit-579ba015
Joined August 8, 2021

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English
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Afrikaans
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Native or Bilingual
Dutch
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About
I worked for about 15 yrs in social science research, on every aspect of the research process from beginning to end, including conceptualizing, designing methodologies, implementing, managing, data processing, analysis, writing for publication but also for any kind of audience, from professionals to laypersons. In my previous office job, I was a Learning and Evaluation Specialist in charge of managing an insane amount of information on the organization's activities in the job creation sphere over a decade. The fund I was working for was situated within National Treasury. I didn't enjoy the job, not because of the work but because of a demotivating, negative, and sometimes outright aggressive atmosphere, so I had been considering going freelance for a while before the first lockdown began. I continued working remotely for Treasury but took on some other freelance jobs on the side. Pretty soon, the freelance work was enough to sustain me, and I resigned my position at Treasury. Since then, I've been working in a number of capacities, getting a chance to employ some of my many other skills besides research. I've been working as a translator, editor, ghostwriter, technical web content writer, nonfiction writer, SEO writing and editing, and research consulting. Most of the writing I've done has been of a technical nature, often on subjects I have no experience with. My background in academics/research taught me find quality information, comprehend it and write about it in a variety of styles. My academic background has taught me to write correctly and to the point, referencing and citing correctly, and writing for a variety of audiences. I can research and write about practically anything (I'm including a link to some of my technical and nonfiction writing) and can submit articles that don't need a lot of editing or proofreading as I do both of those professionally myself. I believe in effective communication between team members and am well versed in a number of online tools to facilitate this, from Google chat, Hupspot, Harvest, WordPress, and ClickUp. I submit quality pieces on just about any subject you can throw at me, and I stick to deadlines. i can honestly say that I have worked with information and data collection in various formats, from text to quantitative databases, to web tools such as Crowd Tangle. I've written on oil refining, lithium-ion batteries, cuisine, travel, medicine, depression, technology. politics, economics, culture...there is almost nothing that I cannot write about. I prefer however not to write about violence or cruelty towards people or animals. Please see some of my writing samples at: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GgCc3bG0UG3qKvp1iedyizNsJUSE7Dutv-t_QbNEERo/edit?usp=sharing AND https://docs.google.com/document/d/1q51727_LBfOE1cqKyg6H3yQczyDmJbCd1DmVm9m7M6g/edit?usp=sharing
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Experience
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Self Employed
Mar 2018 – Present
Centurion, South Africa
100% home-based freelance multitasker in research, writing, editing, proofreading, and translation
100% home-based freelance multitasker in research, writing, editing, proofreading, and translation
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National Treasury
Nov 2017 – Present
Pretoria, South Africa
Research Specialist
I manage research and reporting of job creation initiatives, ensuring that accurate, up-to-date information is at my employer's fingertips. The reporting framework is rigorous and complex and requires extensive planning and data collection activities, as well as the early definition of project goals. Additionally, I gather material to document the experience and learning of a public sector entity active in development finance for almost a decade, producing at least three learning products per month. The fund's work in this area is important for economic development.
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University of Johannesburg
Feb 2016 – Oct 2017
Johannesburg, South Africa
Quantitative Research Consultant/Specialist—Centre for Anthropological Study
Manager and analyst for a Financial Diaries study. Contributions regarding the research approach, the design of the research tools, the definition of population parameters, sampling, and all other aspects of managing a field study from beginning to end. The purpose of this was to ensure the quality and veracity of the data met the requirements of rigorous research. The dataset contained 730 items with 93 variables after I processed and cleaned it using SPSS. We mostly used descriptive statistics, followed by some significance tests and correlation tests. As a result, the client had an in-depth understanding of the financial circumstances of households in the Siyabuswa area.
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University of the Witwatersrand Faculty of Health Sciences
Apr 2010 – Dec 2015
Johannesburg, South Africa
Lead Researcher—Centre for Rural Health
Monitoring and evaluation of a donor-funded initiative (Atlantic Philanthropies) to train a cadre of mid-level healthcare workers called Clinical Associates or Physician Assistants. This was to identify major implementation/training issues, as well as to select appropriate measures for evaluating the program. As the Centre's lead researcher, I worked on developing a research strategy that included collaborations in rural, public health research. Within the Faculty, this work raised the profile of the CRH. The data/research I produced was used to strengthen the efforts of the Rural Health Advocacy Project, which advocates for greater attention to rural health services. I published a great deal at CRH and the School of Public Health. I lectured on Research Methodology (quantitative and qualitative), rural health, disease burden, statistics, epidemiology, and social epidemiology. I am still a reviewer of articles in the journal "Rural and Remote Health" for issues such as content, editing, and citations. Furthermore, I assisted in monitoring and evaluating several other donor-funded programs that CRH operates.
Education
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University of Johannesburg Faculty of Humanities
Feb 2009 – May 2013
MA, Development Studies/International Development
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University of Johannesburg Faculty of Humanities
Feb 2004 – May 2006
B.Honors, Development Studies/International Development
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University of Johannesburg Faculty of Humanities
Feb 2000 – May 2004
BA, Development Studies/International Development