Joana Pimentel
Service Management & PerformanceMy journey at Vodafone started many years ago when the new Lisbon HQ was built. The building is a masterpiece, and I was still in college, but I knew I wanted to work there!
At the first chance I got, I applied for a role in Customer Operations, and there I was. After many years and working in lots of areas, I made a career shift in 2012 and moved into the Technology team. My role was to help kick off a new shift Network Operations Centre, based in Lisbon.
The journey at Vodafone is a rollercoaster – in the best way. It’s full of new adventures that we embrace as a single team, with a sense of pride in working for such an inclusive and modern company. You can count on equal treatment and respect at Vodafone no matter who you are, and as a woman in a male-heavy field like technology, knowing I have the same opportunities as anyone else is priceless.
I enjoy every second of what I do, with an amazing team and a company that respects our personal lives and free time as much as it supports our careers.
Career support is amazing here
Vodafone has supported my career in every way. The company really focuses on career development, which has always increased my ambition and desire to keep improving. In every department I’ve been in I’ve felt able to learn and grow more, and we have a great mentorship program and culture of recognition and reward that is very motivating.
The learning path at Vodafone University is very attractive. I’ve used this platform for multiple courses, including ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) – ITIL Foundations. I’ve done training on security, legal situations and new technologies and products implemented across Vodafone. Currently, I’m doing a leadership program, run in partnership with one of the leading economics universities in Europe, Nova SBE.
There are also regular small training courses and workshops on relevant technology topics to make sure we’re always up to date on the industry. It’s amazing to always have the right tools available to develop and upskill (even skills we didn’t think possible!), and the support to grow as a professional, a person and a woman in technology.
Be like Bowie: never afraid to try and exceed yourself
Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to work on many exciting projects. As an example, I work with Partner Managers all over Europe and get to know everything about how each country is run on an Operations level. Travelling to those countries and talking to my colleagues there is the ultimate experience workwise, and it’s so nice getting an insight into different cultures.
When I think about life at Vodafone, I think about one of my musical inspirations, David Bowie, who taught me to never be afraid of changing and/or being myself, no matter what. Bowie was a progressive mind, way ahead of his time and somehow, I think I have always tried to be a bit like him in this company – and it is my intention to keep doing so.
Life at Vodafone means endless possibilities, room to explore and challenging ourselves. It means constantly moving and adapting to new times, new ways of thinking and new ways of doing business. Like Bowie, we should never be afraid of trying to exceed ourselves, and that’s exactly what Vodafone is all about!