[3] Harber started his career at the Springs Advertiser and worked at the Sunday Post, the Sowetan and Rand Daily Mail newspapers.

He left to form internet company BIG Media (Pty) Ltd. Harber was appointed to the Caxton Chair of Journalism at his alma mater, the University of the Witwatersrand, as an adjunct professor.

Harber also runs the Henry Nxumalo Foundation NPC, which provides support to investigative journalists.

[7] He is the co-editor of three books about HIV/AIDS and investigative journalism in South Africa, and the author of Diepsloot (2011)[8] and So, or the Record: Behind the headlines in an era of state capture (2020).

Harber is married to Harriet Gavshon, a television producer and they have two children.