Current Vacancies at Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

About the job:

The CSIR has a vacancy for a Divisional Financial Manager, who will drive the financial strategy of the division. The incumbent will fulfil the role of strategic financial advisor to the division and be overall accountable for financial management, including monitoring and evaluation of all financial Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The incumbent will be required to manage and develop the finance team. This position is based in Pretoria.

Key responsibilities:

• Drive the financial strategic input into the division’s strategy and operational plan;  
• Provide expert strategic financial advice and input into divisional investment and commercialisation strategies;
• Drive the budgeting and forecasting processes in consultation with leadership;
• Consolidate and present divisional financial reporting;
• Data analytics and measurements for strategic informed financial decision making, financial direction and risk mitigation;
• Provide strategic leadership in the implementation of financial policies, processes and control measures, including monitoring and reporting compliance according to relevant financial legislation and regulations;
• Oversee contracting and contract management to ensure accurate and complete financial management;
• Strategic engagement with industry partners to provide financial input on program structuring, and feedback against programme budget, deliverables and objectives;
• Lead the finance service delivery to the division, including contracting, working capital optimisation, financial management and resolution of all financial queries;
• Accountable for division audits ensuring compliance to stated financial objectives and audit requirements;
• Lead and manage the divisional finance team and function.

Qualifications, skills and experience:

• A Chartered Accountant (SA), CIMA or similar qualification with at least ten years’ experience in finance, of which five years should be in management in a medium to large business;
• Exposure to private and public sector; 
• Experience in contract evaluation and management;
• Ability to analyse and interpret financial data;
• Internal and external stakeholder engagement, such as auditors, suppliers and industry funders;
• Sound understanding of legislation applicable to state owned entities;
• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) finance system application exposure;
• People management, leadership and negotiation skills.

Closing date: 03 July 2023

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About the job:

The CSIR has a vacancy for a Chief Information Officer who will lead the development of the Information Technology (IT) strategy with overall ownership for the development and delivery of IT services to meet business needs. This position is on a five-year contract that is renewable based on performance and is based in Pretoria.

Key responsibilities:

• Translate business strategy into technology strategy.
• Develop and maintain the IT strategy.
• Lead and manage the IT functions.
• Take ownership of all IT services and maintenance of existing IT systems.
• Manage the IT-business relationship.
• Represent technology in business discussions and ensure necessary technology capabilities needed by business are developed.
• Drive smarter technology investments in the organization.
• Create a culture of performance and value in technology services.
• Shape the IT organization in terms of structure, roles and responsibilities.
• Ensure effective management of risks and compliance.
• Develop and manage the ICT Strategy and Security department budget.
• Ensure cost effective service delivery.
• Comply with financial legislative requirements

Qualifications, skills and experience:

• A Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, information technology or industry application with at least fifteen years’ of management experience, of which, seven years is in service development or operations and five years is in business interfacing role.
• A Master’s degree in business management would be advantageous.
• Strong proven knowledge of core IT (Infrastructure, Applications), business processes and technology supplier community.
• Ability to translate business vision into IT vision, objectives, and programs.
• Proven leadership and management skills.
• Proven experience in managing digital transformations and implementing digital enablement strategies.
• Knowledge of and competence in the provision of ICT Strategy services including:
• Knowledge of components of a holistic Enterprise Architecture
• Ability to translate business needs into Enterprise Architecture requirements
• Knowledge of international information security standards
• Technical knowledge of the agile software development lifecycle, data management related ICT infrastructures and standards in the data sciences related disciplines
• Ability to contrast the design options’ benefits and provide a recommendation
• Creativity and innovation with the ability to lead a team in a fast-paced, multi-disciplinary environment.
• Ability to balance the long-term and short-term implications of individual decisions.
• Ability to remain neutral towards technology, vendor, and product choices, as well as to be more interested in results than in personal preferences.
• Solid experience, knowledge of project portfolio management, associated methodologies, and application thereof.
• Knowledge of continuous improvement processes, process control and enhancement.
• Financial management, budgeting, and reporting.
• People management and leadership skills.
• Excellent communication (written and oral) and presentation skills.

Must be in possession of a Security clearance certificate or be prepared to undergo clearance

Closing date: 14 July 2023

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About the job:

The CSIR has a vacancy for a System Administrator in the Centre for High Performance Computing (CHPC) area, within the National Integration Cyberinfrastructure System (NICIS), which is hosted by Next Generation Enterprises and Institution cluster. The incumbent will be responsible to maintain a Tier2 computing infrastructure for the WLCG. The position is based in Cape Town.

Key responsibilities:

• Administer and maintain a Tier2 High Performance Computing (HPC) facility for the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG);
• Ensure that the ALICE and/or ATLAS grid site is operational;
• Fulfil the required pledges to the ALICE and/or ATLAS experiment for computing and storage;
• Collaborate with colleagues internationally to maintain Tier2 computing infrastructure;
• Develop and maintain technical documentation, guidelines, and best practices for the Tier2 HPC environment;
• Monitor the health and performance of the Tier2 HPC environment;
• Participate on Human Capital Development initiatives;
• Contributing and identifying appropriate use and operational best practices
• Lead certain data/service migration projects and contribute on new projects or upgrade of systems;
• Back-up servers and associated operating systems and software;
• Conduct research on Tier2 HPC system and related hardware and software in support of procurement and system development; 
• Take initiatives and be a team player.

Qualifications, skills and experience:

• A National diploma or Bachelor’s degree in information technology or related field (e.g. computer systems engineering, computer science) with at least six years’ experience in LINUX system administration environment, of which five years should be in HPC;
• Must have experience in the following:
• Massively distributed systems and high throughput computing.
• Batch systems, HTCondor or similar.
• Implementations of cluster technologies;
• Linux installation and packaging tools, especially RPM;
• Configuration management via ansible/puppet/salt/chef.
• Software defined storage systems, EOS/CEPH/GlusterFS
• Scripting tools, bash, python, yaml etc.
• Creating Cron jobs and automation scripts
• Version control systems, git/svn/mercurial.
• Industry certification in related ICT field would be advantageous.
• Demonstrate leadership in either field of HPC (storage, cluster and configuration, interconnects or applications porting and tuning)
• Knowledge of programming (e.g. C, C++ and Fortran)
• Should have knowledge with High Energy Physics computing infrastructures.
• Strong analytical and problem solving skills
• Ability to work in a collaborative environment
• Detail-oriented, strong work ethic and high standard of excellence
• Fast learner, achiever, sets high personal goals
• Must be able to multitask projects and meet their respective deadlines
• All international qualifications require an evaluation report / certificate issued by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). 

Closing date: 04 July 2023

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About the job:

The CSIR has a vacancy for a Senior Engineer: Modelling and Simulation in the Aeronautics Systems Impact Area within the Defence and Security cluster. The incumbent will be responsible to develop simulation software for advanced Air Combat scenario engagement simulators and model Aircraft and related systems. This position is based in Pretoria.

Key responsibilities:

• Formulate, implement, and optimise the strategy for Modelling and Simulation;
• Develop and lead the development of simulation software tools which can include elements of simulation architecture, model development and integration, user interfaces, data management, 3D visualisation;
• Model Radar, Electronic Warfare, Communication and Weapon systems;
• Develop and implement models on the mission simulation framework;
• Answer complex air domain questions using modelling and simulation tools;
• Interact with internal and external clients to determine requirements;
• Compile reports and documentation on application and models;
• Ensure that the software configuration system is up to date;
• Develop training material and tools;
• Provide guidance, coaching and mentoring to Modelling and Simulation software engineers;
• Implement systems engineering and systems thinking practices;
• Develop stand-alone applications that can solve specific client requirements;
• Design, execute, analyse and report on simulation studies for specific client requirements;
• Communicate with relevant stakeholders (PMs, line management, senior management);
• Contribute to modelling and simulation roadmap and strategy.

Qualifications, skills and experience:

• A Bachelor’s degree in electronics, aeronautics and mechatronics or computer engineering or Bachelor of Science Honours in computer science with at least five years of engineering experience in Modelling and Simulation;
• A Masters’s degree in control systems, will be advantageous;
• Experience in the following is essential:
• Programming Languages (ex C++, Qt, QML);
• Mathematical analysis of systems;
• Implementation of algorithms;
• Knowledge/or experience in the following will be an advantage:
• Hardware and software interfacing;
• Mathematical Languages (ex, MATLAB);
• Modelling Environments (ex, Simulink);
• Military or civil air domain operations; 
• Excellent English communication, presentation and writing skills, including the publication of technical outputs.

South African citizenship and security clearance are required for this position.

Closing date: 12 July 2023

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About the job:

The CSIR has a vacancy for a Senior Software Developer in the Information and Cybersecurity Centre, within the Defence and Security Cluster. The incumbent will be responsible to research, design, develop and evaluate secure desktop, server, and mobile applications using a variety of technologies and programming languages and biometrics best practices for software development. This position is based in Pretoria.

Key responsibilities:

• Design and develop secure software applications and components for internal projects, concept demonstrators, and solutions for clients;
• Conduct research into new developments in the biometrics space, and apply these findings to outline potential solutions, applications, processes and guidelines;
• Assist other research group members and research groups with general software development;
• Administer, configure and maintain different biometrics infrastructures, systems, and tools in line with various technical Research and Development (R&D) projects;
• Contribute to the assessment and audits of biometrics technologies;
• Implement algorithms on systems;
• Design and execute field experiments on biometrics;
• Grow effective relationships with specific clients/stakeholders;
• Supervise (technically) both junior employees and students;
• Draft proposals in support of seeking further funding.

Qualifications, skills and experience:

• A Bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering or related fields with at least four years’ experience in software development of which one year should be working in diverse technical R&D projects;
• Software engineering certifications and DevOps experience will be advantageous;

Must have experience and/or knowledge of the following:

• Mobile applications development;
• Operating systems including Windows, Linux and other platforms;
• Project Management with demonstratable successful completion of projects;

Experience in applying relevant knowledge to develop subsystems or part of overall systems/solutions/products in any of the following:

• Biometrics/Smart cards;
• Identity Authentication;
• Data analytics;
• Signal Processing;
• Electronic Design;
• Proficient in and/or adaptability to other Programming Languages (e.g. C#, PHP, Java, Python, JavaScript, SQL);
• All international qualifications require an evaluation report / certificate issued by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA).

Closing date: 14 July 2023

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About the job:

The CSIR has a vacancy for Manager: Information Specialist in the Knowledge Management and Information Services (KMIS). The purpose of this role is to manage a team of information specialists and information scientists that facilitate access to information, data and knowledge management services in support of CSIR RD&I processes and to provide competencies that enable CSIR staff to execute the organisational mandate and strategy in their respective fields of endeavour. This position is based in Pretoria.

Key responsibilities:

• Contribute to the strategic and operational management of KMIS, including the development and implementation of operational/business plans as well as the identification of new focus areas.
• Understand the needs and requirements of different customer segments and provide fit-for-purpose services and solutions.
• Regularly assess clients' information needs and gaps using market research tools including questionnaires, surveys, interviews, focus groups, and observation.
• Manage Service Level Agreements and relationships with clients, who include Division/Centre management and staff.
• Improve continuously the operational effectiveness and efficiency of the team.
• Champion the professional and personal development of team members.
• Manage and lead a team of information professionals that provide guidance and advice to CSIR staff on all aspects relating to professional knowledge and information management practices.
• Leverage the capacity of the CSIR line staff through the provision of relevant information, data, and knowledge management services, taking advantage of the latest developments in information resources, services, and technologies.
• Strengthen the identification, generation, and use of strategic information to guide organisational decision making.
• Conduct benchmarking exercises on a national and international level to investigate research support practices, including the evolving scholarly communication landscape in the field of information provision.
• Lead and provide expert-level advice and support services based on an in-depth understanding of information, data, and knowledge management principles, scholarly publishing, as well as related ICT solutions.
• Contribute to the development of knowledge sharing events.
• Represent KMIS at national and international levels, participate externally in professional fora, preferably in a leadership role, and ensure a strong network with peers in other science councils and tertiary education institutions.
• To lead and direct service development projects on behalf of KMIS, which include conceptualising the problem, identifying collaborators, designing the work plan, and communicating outcomes and solutions. 

  Qualifications, skills and experience:

• A master’s degree in library and information Science with at least eight years information services experience in a scientific, technical or research environment of which at least two years should be in a managerial capacity as the incumbent needs to function as an expert in the organisation as well as in the professional community.
• Experience in client relationship management.
• Understanding of team leadership.
• In depth understanding of information and knowledge management principles, scholarly publishing as well as related ICT solutions.
• Expertise in the use of online information resources and retrieval systems and the implementation of advanced search methodologies.
• Experience with working with business development and commercialisation functions.
• Ability to conceptualise and implement service solutions.
• Proficiency in general management including conceptualisation, planning, and organising, negotiation, performance monitoring and management.
• Benchmarking skills to ensure most appropriate practices for the CSIR.
• Advanced presentation skills.
• Ability to build and maintain strong collaborative working relationships with key stakeholders.
• Self-management (planning, prioritising and time management – includes the ability to work independently)
• All international qualifications require an evaluation report / certificate issued by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA).

Closing date: 07 July 2023