Prof. Ngila is the Executive Director of the African Foundation for Women and Youth in Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (ESTI) whose main focus is to provide mentorship to women and youth in education and STEM fields.
Prof. Ngila is a member of the UN 10-Member Group for Technology Facilitation Mechanism on STI for SDGs; UNESCO International Consultative Group of Experts for Women in Science; Vice President of International Organization for Chemical Sciences in Development. She is a Fellow of TWAS, AAS and ASSAf and has received these Awards; 2025 IUPAC Distinguished Women in Chemistry; 2021 L'Oréal-UNESCO FWIS; 2017 African Union-Kwame Nkrumah Women in Science; 2016 South Africa Distinguished Women in Science Awards.
Prof. Ngila has previously held teaching and management positions; Ag. Executive Director of The African Academy of Sciences; Deputy Vice Chancellor of Riara University for Academic Affairs; Deputy Director of the Morendat Institute of Oil and Gas, Professor and Head of Applied Chemistry at University of Johannesburg; Senior /Lecturer at the University of KwaZulu Natal, University of Botswana, and Kenyatta University.
Prof. Ngila is a Visiting Professor at University of Johannesburg. Her research work is in the field of Analytical/ Environmental Chemistry focusing on water quality/pollution monitoring; modelling methods of water treatment based on nanotechnology; development of analytical methodologies for detecting chemical substances in water. She has mentored over 130 Postgraduate students (Postdocs, PhDs, MSc and Honours) in chemistry and related fields. She has published over 600 publications comprising of journals, book chapters, proceedings and conference abstracts.