Gandiwa holds a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Science and Health from Zimbabwe’s University of Science and Technology (2004), an MSc in tropical resource ecology from the University of Zimbabwe (2007), and a PhD in wildlife conservation and management from the Wageningen University in the Netherlands (2013). His career has focused on wildlife ecology and conservation. He started his career in wildlife conservation in 2004 when he joined the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority as an ecologist based in Gonarezhou National Park. He worked as an ecologist for almost 9 years before joining Chinhoyi University of Technology, Zimbabwe in 2013 as an Associate Professor in the then Department of Wildlife and Safari Management. In 2014, he was appointed the inaugural Executive Dean for the School of Wildlife, Ecology and Conservation where he currently provides academic leadership in terms of research, teaching and engagement with industry/community on wildlife related issues. In September 2015, he was appointed as a Full Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. To date, he has published 72 scientific articles as peer-reviewed journal articles, two book chapters, and several conference proceedings and technical reports, contributed  knowledge which has been vital to sustainable conservation and is involved in community outreach through education related roles.