Job Description

Job Title
Associate Professor/Professor (permanent) and Academic Head of Department (contract appointment: 5 years) (Job ID: 5570)

Organizational Unit
University of the Free State -> Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences -> Department Business Management

Contract Type
Permanent

Occupational Level
Middle Management

Location
Bloemfontein Campus - Bloemfontein, FS ZA (Primary)


Closing Date
10/12/2023

Description
KINDLY TAKE NOTE: Applications may only be submitted online through the official UFS vacancy website: https://ufs.hua.hrsmart.com/hr/ats/JobSearch/viewAll - Applications submitted through any other platform will not be considered.
Duties and responsibilities:
Academic Head of Department

• Provide academic leadership by creating and executing strategies to establish the department as a leader in the discipline vis-a-vis competing international entities.
• Responsible for directing the academic debate in the department.
• Responsible for influencing the department's overall climate and culture.
• Responsible for energising everybody in the department and beyond.
• Responsible for shaping the future of the department.
• Contribute to the overall leadership in the faculty.
• Responsible for frequent and continuous planning and execution of plans, general organising and coordinating of staff, students and activities; mentoring and motivating staff.
• Create an atmosphere of consensus among staff.
• Create effective internal and external communication.
• Participate and be involved actively in faculty management structures, attend meetings, lead project teams, represent the department and faculty, and fulfil the roles of liaison officer and marketer, when necessary.
• Participate and be involved actively in applicable UFS management structures, e.g. Senate.
• Initiate, formulate and implement a visionary academic strategy for the department that is aligned with and supportive of the guiding strategic documents of the UFS and faculty.
• Ensure the provision of top-quality, research-informed facilitation of learning at all levels of teaching in the department.
• Ensure relevance of content, material and presentation in all modules.
• Ensure the enhancement of student experiences and their continuous engagement in academic debates.
• Ensure that adequate rules and regulations are in place to optimally deliver high-quality teaching and learning programmes on both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
• Adhere to all the rules and regulations of the UFS, faculty and department.
• Ensure quality and timely feedback on student work.
• Ensure proper and quality-driven academic advice and support to all under- and postgraduate students in the department.
• Ensure the revisiting and development of fresh learning programmes that will help to position the department as a leader in the fraternity.
• Create and maintain a visionary research strategy for the department.
• Create and maintain an environment that encourages research, leading to strong and active research habits and a culture of inquiry.
• Ensure that every academic staff member is engaged in quality-driven and discipline-specific research.
• Ensure that postgraduate students are recruited to broaden the research base of the department and ethical requirements are met.
• Guide and support senior academics towards acquiring NRF ratings.
• Ensure active engagement with the faculty research committee and the UFS Directorate of Research Development in order to ensure sustainable financial support for departmental research initiatives.
• Plan and implement a fair and reasonable dispensation regarding the workload of staff members in the department.
• Plan and implement a clear and reasonable career path for every staff member in the department, taking account of the strategic plans of the University, faculty and department.
• Implement appropriate mentoring interventions where and whenever it is needed.
• Manage staff performance in accordance with existing university policies and procedures.
• Responsible for recruitment and selection of scholars in the case of vacancies and/or specific strategic needs, whenever strategic repositioning requires expansion of academic endeavours.
• Create and maintain a scholarship-friendly environment in the department.
• Plan and oversee effective and relevant staff development.
• Responsible for financial management culminating annual budgeting, financial planning, allocation of funds and financial control.
• Adhere to the UFS's financial policies and procedures.
• Encourage and actively support academic staff members to apply for external research and other grants.

Professor

• Provide leadership in pursuit of the department and faculty strategic plan with regard to research, teaching, engaged scholarship and leadership and administration.
• Provide supervision to postgraduate students, namely Honours, Master's and PhD students.
• Lecture Business Management, Venture Creation, Entrepreneurship, and Analytical Decision-Making at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
• Conduct high-quality research and publish in accredited international and national journals and deliver quality research outputs in line with the research strategy of the faculty.
• Maintain a research output pipeline to meet the yearly required supervision and publication of research output units.
• Apply for funding in (multidisciplinary) research projects.
• Act as a mentor to colleagues within the department and faculty at large.
• Attend and speak at national and international conferences, research colloquia, workshops and seminars in order to enhance research and disciplinary knowledge.
• Identify opportunities and apply for external research funding, whether as an individual or in collaboration with colleagues
• Assist in disseminating the work associated with research projects in the media and through the newsletter and website.
• Participate in community activities such as mentorship and provide training and short courses in the areas of specialisation.
• Perform academic administration pertaining to undergraduate and postgraduate subjects xe2x80x93 this may include typing, setting and marking of all question papers and memorandums, recording of marks and handling of student complaints.
• Serve as a member of various academic committees and perform any other tasks allocated by the Dean and head of the department.
• Develop and maintain strong collaborative relationships with relevant research, civil society, government, industry and professional organisations, nationally and internationally.

Associate Professor

• Provide leadership in pursuit of the department and faculty strategic plan with regard to research, teaching, engaged scholarship and leadership and administration.
• Provide supervision to postgraduate students, namely Honours, Master's and PhD students.
• Lecture Business Management, Venture Creation, Entrepreneurship, and Analytical Decision-Making at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
• Conduct high-quality research and publish in accredited journals and deliver quality research outputs in line with the research strategy of the faculty.
• Attend and speak at conferences, research colloquia, workshops and seminars in order to enhance research and disciplinary knowledge.
• Identify opportunities and apply for external research funding, whether as an individual or in collaboration with colleagues
• Assist in disseminating the work associated with research projects in the media and through the newsletter and website.
• Participate in community activities such as mentorship and provide training and short courses in the areas of specialisation.
• Perform academic administration pertaining to undergraduate and postgraduate subjects xe2x80x93 this may include typing, setting and marking of all question papers and memorandums, recording of marks and handling of student complaints.
• Serve as a member of various academic committees and perform any other tasks allocated by the Dean and head of the department.
• Develop and maintain strong collaborative relationships with relevant research, civil society, government, industry and professional organisations.

Inherent requirements:
Associate Professor

• PhD on NQF Level 10 with specialisation in Business Management.
• Proven experience in presenting Business Management, Venture Creation, Entrepreneurship, and Analytical Decision-Making at the undergraduate and postgraduate level.
• Proven skills in data analysis using IBM SPSS, AMOS, PLS.
• Experience as external examiner for postgraduate students.
• Proven experience in the presentation of research papers at national conferences, where there is evidence of peer review of papers.
• Acted as an editorial board member of high-quality national scholarly journals.
• Proven national recognition for specialist expertise and research leadership in a specific scientific area of scholarship.
• An NRF rating of C3 or equivalent status.
• A proven research record of relevant publications in national and international accredited journals
• Proven experience in the supervision of graduated masterxe2x80x99s degree students.
• A proven research record of relevant publications in national and international accredited journals.
• Served as a member of a national scholarly society OR a national committee or agency concerned with research at higher education levels OR showed evidence of service as an active member of an international equivalent.

Professor

• PhD on NQF Level 10 with specialisation in Business Management.
• Proven experience in presenting Business Management, Venture Creation, Entrepreneurship, and Analytical Decision-Making at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
• Proven skills in data analysis using IBM SPSS, AMOS, PLS.
• Experience as external examiner for masterxe2x80x99s-degree and doctoral students.
• Acted as editorial board member of high-quality international/ISI/IBSS journals.
• Proven international recognition for specialist expertise and research leadership in a particular area of academic scholarship (for example, regularly serves as a reviewer for international/ISI/IBSS journals).
• An NRF rating of C1 or C2 or equivalent status.
• Demonstrated successful supervision of graduated masterxe2x80x99s-degree and preferably graduated doctoral students.
• Proven experience in delivering keynote addresses at national scholarly conferences.
• Served as a member of an international scholarly society OR an international committee or agency concerned with research at higher-education levels.

Recommendations:

• Proven lecturing experience in the Higher Education environment.
• Proven experience in a leadership role within a department, research centre, and/or institute.
• Proficiency in computer skills, eg, MS word, excel, PowerPoint.
• Proven skills in data analysis using IBM SPSS, AMOS, PLS.
• Good command of the English language.
• Member of a or registration at a professional body
• Experience as a departmental leader/ manager in a higher education environment.

Competencies

Required competencies:

• Results oriented.
• The ability to cope with a frequently changing environment and to adapt to evolving situations.
• The ability to be reliable, responsible, dependable and to fulfil obligations.

xe2x80xa2 Strategic thinking.

• The ability to deal with several activities at a time.
• The ability to carefully analyse information and use logic to address issues and problems at work.

xe2x80xa2 Business Acumen.

• The ability to adhere to rules and strictly follow work regulations.
• Proficient in using MS Office.

xe2x80xa2 Leading.

• The ability to lead, take charge of situations, and offer opinions and directions to others.
• The ability to be cooperative with others, display a good-natured attitude and encourage people to work together.

xe2x80xa2 Building coalitions.

• The ability to be self-assured and at ease with people in all types of social situations.
• The ability to interact with others and establish personal connections with people.

Please ensure that all relevant documentation is attached to your application.

• A detailed curriculum vitae and cover letter.
• Copies of qualifications (please provide the SAQA accreditation in the case of foreign qualifications).
• A copy of your identity document (ID or passport in the case of foreign nationals).
• Proof of registration with a Professional Body (if applicable).
• A copy of your driverxe2x80x99s license (if applicable).
• Confirmation of employment from current employer / last employer if unemployed (only applicable to external applicants).

Assumption of duties:
As soon as possible Closing date:
10 December 2023 Salary:
The salary is available on request. Fringe benefits:
(Subject to specific conditions): pension scheme, medical aid scheme, group life insurance, housing allowance, leave and sick leave, service bonus and study benefits. Enquiries:
For enquiries, please feel free to contact me at 051 401 9814 or email at MakolaCM@ufs.ac.za or Recruit@ufs.ac.za. Additionally, kindly contact 051 401 2979/ 9810/ 9813/ 9848 for assistance. General:
The UFS is a designated employer and is committed to the pursuit of excellence, diversity, and redress in achieving its equity targets in accordance with the Employment Equity Plan of the University and its Employment Equity goals and targets. Preference will be given to candidates from the under-represented designated groups including candidates with disabilities. Our Employment Equity Policy is available at : EEA13_EE Plan UFS 1 March 2022 (003).pdf The University processes personal information in line with its obligations under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and any personal information provided to the University will be treated as confidential and processed in accordance with the rights provided to data subjects under POPIA. The University reserves the right not to fill the post. The UFS will only consider applications of candidates who meet all the inherent requirements of the position. Applications that are incomplete will not be considered. Communication will be limited to shortlisted candidates only. Should you not be contacted within six weeks of the closing date for applications, you may assume that your application was unsuccessful.