Assistant Dean: Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at University of the Free State

Duties and responsibilities

• Support the Dean of the faculty as his/her representative on functional matters of concern to the faculty on the Qwaqwa campus.
• Support the campus Vice Principal: Academic & Research in operational management.
• Provide academic leadership and management to the faculty on the Qwaqwa campus through the provision of a high-quality, technically advanced and cost-effective educational service in alignment with the objectives of the university.
• Promote, through the provision of academic and managerial leadership, a high level of academic integrity, achievement and excellence in each department in respect of research, teaching and community service.
• Liaise with the Academic Heads of Department, support their teaching and learning activities, further study, publication, community involvement and research.
• Promote the faculty as a centre of excellence on the Qwaqwa campus through conducting, promoting and/or supervising research initiatives in the faculty.
• Support academic staff by lecturing in appropriate discipline as may be required.
• Monitor the provision of high-quality education by ensuring academic staff comply with the academic standards, rules and regimes as set by Senate and Council.
• Identify potential concerns/constraints in relation to facilities/resources, e.g. lack of laboratory facilities, shortage of skilled staff, etc., and motivate appropriate remedial action plans.
• Monitor the cost effectiveness and viability of existing programmes in Qwaqwa, e.g. staff/student ratios and motives/implement proactive plans and actions where programmes on offer may appear unsustainable.
• Motivate the development of new programmes and/or the modification of existing programmes to meet the needs of the community and stakeholders.
• Motivate and implement plans and strategies to ensure Branch Faculty growth and development is in line with the strategic vision and goals of the Branch and institution, e.g. monitors that enrolments are aligned with objectives of the 3-year rolling plan and statutory funding formula.
• Coordinate in conjunction with Subject Heads of Departments as appropriate, the preparation of the budget for the faculty in Qwaqwa, incorporating the resources (internal and external) required to achieve agreed objectives with optimal efficiency.
• Oversee the capture and generation of relevant data and statistics required for operational and strategic purposes, e.g. student intake levels by department vs target; equity profiles by department; monitor work performance and availability of staff via leave forms etc.
• Prepare and submit regular and/or ad hoc reports as required by the VP: academic & Research and/or executive management relating to the functioning of the faculty e.g. on viability of marginal programmes.
• Liaise with relevant offices to ensure efficient service to students and staff.

Inherent Job Requirements

• ​​​​​​​A relevant Doctoral degree in the Natural Sciences on NQF Level 10.
• Any member of the academic staff in the faculty who is appointed at Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor/Professor level.
• Proven experience in academic leadership as either an Academic Head of Department, Subject Head and/or Programme Director.

Recommendations

• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​A proven record of accomplishment of academic research outputs.