Chief Researcher: Road Infrastructure Engineering at Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

About the job:

The CSIR has a vacancy for a Chief Researcher: Road Infrastructure Engineering within the Transport Infrastructure Engineering Impact Area of the Smart Mobility Cluster. The Impact Area plays a leading role in road construction materials, pavement design, road rehabilitation design and analysis methods, monitoring long-term performance of roads and road material characterisation and assessment. This position is based in Pretoria.

Key responsibilities:

• Provide technical and strategic leadership and mentorship to staff in the Impact Area by ensuring quality scientific outputs and the professional development and transformation of the group’s scientific capacity;
• Promote a culture of scientific, engineering and technological excellence in terms of both quality and delivery, and provide research, development and innovation leadership in transport/road infrastructure engineering;
• Manage large interdisciplinary projects in transport/road infrastructure engineering through robust, integrated planning;
• Conceptualise, structure, manage and implement large and impactful research projects nationally, regionally and internationally;
• Provide thought leadership in transport/road infrastructure engineering;
• Contribute to policy research in support of South Africa’s national priorities;
• Have networking ability both nationally and internationally, and interact with stakeholders within fields of expertise to develop long-term relationships both within and outside the CSIR in the field of transport/road infrastructure engineering;
• Formulate of national & international R&D strategies in collaboration with global partners;
• Coordinate engagements with strategic stakeholders that result in business leads for the CSIR;
• Attract sufficient funds, locally and internationally, for large teams of researchers & support staff;
• Manage CSIR Smart Mobility business and relationship strategy and communicate this to relevant stakeholders;
• Raise personal, team and institutional profiles through publishing original research and presenting work at national and international conferences and workshops;
• Plan and manage projects to develop and advance new/existing process technology from laboratory scale through pilot and commercial scale implementation;
• Lead and deliver the technical deliverables that are necessary in the design, optimisation and/or commercialisation of transport/road-related processes and products;
• Lead and execute project technical deliverables and milestones to ensure successful delivery of such processes and products.

Qualifications, skills and experience:

• A doctoral degree in civil engineering or related science or engineering field with at least fifteen years leadership experience in at least six of the following fields related to road transport infrastructure engineering/science:

A Masters qualification may be acceptable for highly experienced candidates on a journey to completing a PhD degree.

• Asset management
• Construction and maintenance
• Engineering geology
• Engineering forensic investigation
• Geotechnical engineering
• Infrastructure economics
• Materials design and evaluation
• Materials sciences/engineering
• Performance assessment and modelling
• Procurement/contractual models
• Product development
• Risk and vulnerability assessment
• Structural design
• Sustainability sciences (circular economy)
• Vehicle-pavement interaction
• Experience with involvement of collaborations between researchers in industry and academia;
• Having a rating with the National Research Foundation will be advantageous;
• Track record in successful patenting will be advantageous;
• Outstanding technical record over a ten-to-fifteen-year period, including high impact publications and technical reports;
• A track record in attracting and securing funding to support large teams of researchers/practitioners and support staff;
• Registration with a relevant professional body;
• Excellent understanding of the transport/road sector in South Africa in particular, but also regional and international transport/road sectors;
• Ability to identify newer technologies that would benefit South Africa, and lead the localisation thereof;
• Ability to innovate and generate new knowledge;
• Excellent interpersonal and organisational skills;
• Ability to continuously disseminate research, development and innovation outputs;
• Must have excellent communication, presentation and writing skills;
• Must have the ability to work accurately, efficiently and independently as well as in a team;
• Ability to work in a methodical manner is essential;
• Ability to carry out strategic stakeholder interactions at all levels;
• Ability to effectively present ideas, concepts, plan and procedures; and
• Demonstrated track record of the ability to work accurately, independently and efficiently.
• Must be computer literate, as well as have the ability to understand and use domain specialised software.  

Closing date: 11 October 2023