Recruitment Vacancies at University of the Free State

Duties and responsibilities:

Placement of students

• Source jobs/employment opportunities from different companies and successfully place UFS students and graduates according to deliverables.
• Implement MSDF foundation resolutions.
• Prepare students for interviews by reviewing cv’s, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles, conduct mock interviews and provide feedback, in collaboration with student relations.
• Network build relationships and coalition with internal and external companies, staff and students for student placement.
• Drive initiatives and stakeholder relations to increase the employability and placement of students.
• Place students and graduates successfully in jobs.
• Post available job opportunities on different social media platforms and websites.
• Plan, organize and implement placement preparation day in collaboration with internal stakeholders.

Company Relations

• Plan, organize and implement career weeks and fairs successfully.
• Market Career Services through flyers, company presentations, podcasts, social media, e-mail communication and telephonic follow-up.
• Assist Student Relations with workplace readiness activities.
• Assist wherever possible with the career closet initiatives.
• Plan and execute company relations initiatives, programmes, and events to secure placement of students.
• Engage with faculty on current employment trends and placement.
• Represent the institution to target external companies by attending company relations’ stakeholder events and organizing Company Relations Corporate events.
• Create and manage new systems in the institution and technology sphere to communicate effectively with potential clients and students, to build and add onto the tool for professional communication with customers/companies.
• Assist with company relations’ initiatives, programmes, plans and events to secure placement for students.
• Collaborate with faculties through Academic Advisory Boards to build stronger ties within the industry and remain career relevant.

Division of Student Affairs Involvement

• Participate actively in student affairs structures by attending meetings and representing the Career Services division.
• Fulfil the roles of liaison officer and marketer when necessary.

Maintain and update the Company relations system

• Responsible for the successful implementation of the job portal and continued maintenance and management of the platform.
• Participate actively in strategic planning discussions in Career Services, Student Affairs and Centre for Teaching and Learning.
• Capturing and updating company information on the CRM system, CareerHub, Learner Case Management system, and spreadsheets.
• Post and regularly update the job portal and add job postings per week.

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Monitor and evaluate all programmes, workshops, and events continuously.
• Create, update, and maintain – the student database and stakeholder database utilizing the graduate exit survey and destination survey.
• Monitor student progress in the job application process as well as in their new work environment closely.
• Follow up on student progress through emails and calls.
• Monitor and evaluate all programmes, workshops, and events on a continuous basis.
• Track and report on successful placements.
• Report on career weeks and career fairs.
• Build and improve Career Services programmes.
• Encourage and monitor UFS academic achievers to partake in the GRADSTAR programme and awards.

Employment outcomes and deliverables

• Place students and graduates in jobs.
• Ensure successful implementation of the job portal and continuous maintenance and management of the platform.
• Ensure outcomes and deliverables for placement of students are met.
• Drive initiatives and stakeholder relations to increase the employability and placement of students.
• Liaise with service providers to upkeep the job portal.
• Liaise with companies, employers, firms, and stakeholders to increase the employment of students.

Strategic Planning

• Actively participate in strategic planning discussions in Career Services, Student Affairs and the Centre for Teaching and Learning.
• Strategize on opportunities to enhance recruitment efforts and implement identified strategies.
• Develop, coordinate, and help with marketing strategies.
• Research – analyse trends in the job market as well as in the recruitment sphere. 

Operational and Administrative Management

• Assist administrative staff with systems regarding finances, website, PeopleSoft data, etc.
• Take ownership and responsibility for office operations.
• Write and submit weekly and monthly reports on work progress and deliverables.

Inherent requirements:

• A bachelor’s degree/advanced diploma/ postgraduate certificate on NQF level 7.
• A minimum of Two (2) years of relevant working experience related to duties and responsibilities.

Recommendations:

• Postgraduate diploma on NQF Level 8.
• Blackboard, PeopleSoft, SharePoint, Excel. 
• Experience working with recruiters and successfully placing students into internships, graduate programmes, or job opportunities.
• Experience in organising and implementing career fairs and industry events.

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Duties and Responsibilities:

Associate Professor/ Professor

• Pursue an active best practice-informed scholarship of teaching and learning in quantity surveying, property, and construction management areas (undergraduate and postgraduate)
• Supervise undergraduate and postgraduate students (up to NQF Level 10).
• Mentor colleagues and students.
• Design, develop and implement new programmes and/or changes in existing programmes.
• Compile construction management, quantity surveying, project management and/or property studies accreditation documentation. 
• Conduct sustained research of national and international significance, deliver conference papers and publish articles.
• Develop and maintain links with other tertiary institutions, professional bodies, student alumni and industry stakeholders.
• Co-ordinate department research.
• Write research grant proposals and secure research funding.
• Develop, improve, and market the construction management, quantity surveying, project management and property studies programmes.
• Undertake university-engaged scholarly activities.
• Participate in departmental academic administrative tasks.
• Serve and actively participate on university and faculty committees.
• Represent the department on various platforms and use one's knowledge and experience to bolster the profile and brand of the department, faculty, and the university.

​​​Academic Head of Department:

Leadership

• Provide academic leadership and development in an academic department by creating and executing strategies to establish the department as a leader in the discipline.
• Develop an overall operational plan for the department in consultation with the Dean.
• Give academic leadership and direct department scholarship, teaching, and standards.
• Take leadership of programme accreditation and ensure national and international accreditation maintenance.
• Promote intellectual vigour and rigour in the disciplines of the department.
• Provide research leadership in the department.
• Influence the department's overall climate and culture and grow the department into a well-functioning academic unit.
• Contribute to faculty leadership by representing the interests of the department at the faculty board, Senate, and other University structures.
• Provide leadership in the marketing of the department's programme and assist in establishing collaborations with external parties.

General Management

• Develop various plans and execute them continuously, including Equity Plans.
• Monitor that areas of improvement identified are affected.
• Organize and co-ordinate staff, students, and activities.
• Mentor, develop and motivate staff.
• Structure and exercise overall control in the department.
• Create an atmosphere of consensus among staff.
• Communicate effectively internally and externally.
• Participate in faculty management structures.
• Lead and attend meetings.
• Lead project teams.
• Drive academic planning and development.
• 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.
• Manage facilities, equipment, and other department assets.
• Develop and manage the department risk register.
• Plan, manage and/or make recommendations with regard to staff leave applications.

Teaching, learning and students

• Ensure the provision of top-quality, research-informed facilitation of learning at all levels of teaching in the department.
• Ensure the enhancement of student experiences and their continuous engagement in academic debates.
• Ensure that adequate rules and regulations are in place and adhered to in order to optimally deliver high-quality teaching and learning programmes on both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
• Ensure quality and timely feedback on student work is provided.
• Ensure proper and quality-driven academic advice and support to all undergraduate and postgraduate students in the department.
• Manage the teaching and assessment quality enhancement processes in the department.
• Ensure that programme accreditation minimum criteria are maintained or exceeded.
• Manage curricula development and reviews and ensure the relevance of content, material and presentation in all modules to help  position the department as a leader in the fraternity.
• Oversee the development of new programmes or offerings in order to remain relevant.
• Ensure nominations of examiners and moderators are made.
• Consult with staff and students at regular intervals.
• Teach and supervise research students up to NQF Level 10.

Research management

• Develop and maintain a visionary research strategy for the department.
• Create an environment that encourages research, leading to strong and active research practices and outputs.
• Ensure that every academic staff member is engaged in quality-driven, discipline-specific and scholarly research.
• Attract postgraduate students to broaden the research base of the department. 
• Ensure ethical research requirements are met.
• Support and assist emerging researchers.
• Guide and support senior academics towards acquiring NRF ratings.

Human resources management

• Build effective teams in the department.
• Plan and implement a fair and reasonable workload of staff members in the department.
• Monitor the progress of staff probation and manage staff performance as well as appraisals in accordance with existing university policies and procedures.
• Recruit and select staff  for vacancies and/or specific strategic needs.
• Create and maintain a scholarship-friendly environment in the department.
• Plan, drive and oversee effective and relevant staff development.
• Attend to and/or delegate routine academic and administrative matters.
• Manage academic and support staff in accordance with UFS HR rules and policies. Ensure a good flow of information to staff.

Financial and physical resources management:

• Take ultimate responsibility for financial management, including, annual budgeting, financial planning, allocation of funds and financial control.
• Adhere to the UFS's financial policies and procedures.
• Encourage and support academic staff members to apply for external research and other grants.

Inherent Job Requirements:

​​​​​​Associate Professor

• PhD on NQF Level 10 in Property/Construction Management/Construction Economics & Management/ Quantity Surveying underpinned by an undergraduate degree in any of these disciplines.
• Experience as an external examiner for postgraduate students.
• Proven experience in presenting 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 master’s degree students.
• 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 in Property/ Construction Management/ Construction Economics & Management/ Quantity Surveying underpinned by an undergraduate degree in any of these disciplines.
• Experience as an external examiner for master’s degree and doctoral students.
• Acted as an 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 master’s-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:

• Experience in successful programme accreditation management.
• Experience in research conference organisation.
• Ability to generate external research income.
• Registration with relevant professional bodies or ability to demonstrate that registration can be achieved with reasonable time.
• Experience in scholarly engagements such as industry or community service and editorial roles in journals.
• Awareness of technological, environmental, and socioeconomic issues in the built environment sector and the role of the university in addressing such.
• Experience in managing resources including people.
• Experience in administrative duties in a tertiary institution.
• Awareness of current developments and debates in tertiary education and in the built environment and the implications of these.
• Knowledge of emerging technologies in learning and teaching.
• Ability to manage change in a department and monitor and evaluate its impact.
• Knowledge of DHET, CHE and NQF policies and regulations.
• Knowledge of professional programme accreditation guidelines.
• At least 5 years' experience of management of staff and resources (taking lead roles, planning, monitoring, and evaluation).
• Record of active involvement in professional or scholarly bodies or entities.
• Record of impactful research including publication in accredited international journals and teaching experience including student supervision at NQF Level 10 at an institution of higher learning.

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Duties and responsibilities: 

• Attend to all social support-related queries from staff and students. 
• Attend to all telephonic calls. 
• Greet and receive clients and visitors. 
• Manage all email inquiries, respond, and be responsible for follow-ups. 
• Manage social support information and keep records of all student cases and updates. 
• The first point of contact for student requests and refers accordingly. 
• Administrate all social support committees, task teams, and meetings. 
• Controls the stock register of social support supplies. 
• Draft reports, create spreadsheets and update reports. 
• Arrange travel and accommodation when required. 
• Manage the compliance check of all sponsorship requests.
• Support and provide guidance to students making a sponsorship application.
• Estimate costs involved for the event or request for sponsorship.
• Process and create Requisitions for issuing Purchase Orders.
• Receive and approve invoices for payments of service providers.
• Create and process Travel Authorizations and Cash Advances for students travelling.
• Facilitate journal transfers for institutional service providers.
• Manage and keep a record of all expenses, invoices, POs, approvals, and motivations.
• Administer bereavement-related expenses.
• Order office supplies. 
• Compile monthly, quarterly, and yearly financial reports. 
• Generate cost centre reports and check weekly /Monthly. 
• Provide administrative and financial administration support for projects, including institutional social support.
• Keep projects on track, reminders on delegated tasks to the team.

Inherent Job Requirements:

• Grade 12 or National Vocational Certificate on NQF level 4. 

Recommendations:

• Eligible to obtain a driver’s license within one year. 
• A relevant post-school qualification, i.e., National Diploma in Office Administration on NQF level 6, or higher. 
• Relevant working experience in the portfolio or related to the duties and responsibilities. 

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Duties and responsibilities:

• Conduct innovative research and obtain evidence-based empirical data on the innovative instructional strategies and curriculum innovations in science education.
• Author/co-author at least three (3) publication outputs per year in the form of DHET-accredited scholarly journal articles or books/chapters in books. The renewal of the fellowship beyond the first year depends on satisfactory performance and the submission of an annual progress report.
• Initiate projects and seek funding for them.
• Register and reside as postdoctoral research fellow at the UFS and participate in relevant activities of the School of Postgraduate Studies and the Directorate of Research Development.

Competencies

Eligibility requirements:

• Open to all South African and foreign nationals for full-time research at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein Campus. 
• Graduated with a PhD degree in a relevant discipline within the past five years.
• Successful applicants may not hold full-time salaried employment during the fellowship.
• Successful applicants must be able to relocate to the UFS for the duration of the fellowship. This is a residential fellowship: the successful applicant is required to spend 85% of her/his postdoctoral period at the UFS.

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Duties and responsibilities:

• Ensure that all guest reports, dockets, and correspondence are completed accurately and punctually.
• Make reservations for guests.
• Ensure that check-in and check-out procedures are strictly adhered to.
• Report any faults to the Maintenance Section.
• Liaise closely with Housekeeping on check-ins and check-outs.
• Ensure all takings for the day is correct, balanced and banked according to the policy and procedure.
• Ensure charges are correctly entered onto Guest's Folio.
• Ensure float, cash and credit takings for shift are balanced and cashier report is completed.
• Handle conference enquiries.
• Carry out any other function and responsibility as directed, to ensure the smooth running of the front desk.
• Willing to work assigned shifts and weekends.
• Assist on occasion with breakfast and other functions.
• Perform any other duties as required by Housing and Residence Affairs Management.

Inherent requirements:

• Grade 12 or national vocational certificate on NQF Level 4.
• A minimum of one (1) year working experience relating to most of the duties and responsibilities.

Recommendations:

• Bachelor’s degree or an advanced diploma on NQF level 7 or a three-year national diploma on NQF level 6 in Hospitality Management or an equivalent qualification.
• Knowledge of reservation booking system.