Pamela is a seasoned leader in higher education who completed her MA and PhD studies in comparative Literature and Media at the University of Siegen in Germany, supported by the German Exchange Programme, DAAD. Her versatile career includes higher education and research management, media/communication and literature, human resources development, institutional advancement, student affairs and international relations. She is a past senior employee of the National Department of Education, an academic at the Universities of Siegen in Germany, Kathmandu University in Nepal, and the former University of Natal. She has also served as a Special Advisor to the Vice-Chancellor at the University of Johannesburg where she also took on the leadership of the Human Resources Division. She is also a past employee of the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) where she established an International Relations office and managed the Learning and People development unit.

Before joining the University of the Western Cape as Deputy Vice-Chancellor, she served as Dean of Students at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.