Director: Academic Administration (Office of the Registrar) at University of Cape Town

The Director

• Leads the student records office, the examinations office, and the doctoral degrees board office in their respective functions.
• Liaises with the deputy vice-chancellors, deans, deputy deans, heads of academic departments, chairpersons of relevant committees and members of the academic staff in order to provide guidance regarding academic administration policy and practice as required.
• Provides detailed direction, through a dotted-line relationship with faculty managers, to the faculty offices and the Graduate School of Business regarding the academic administration work undertaken in these offices.
• Develops standardised administrative processes and systems that contribute towards a positive experience for students.
• Collaborates with internal stakeholders in multiple operational areas that intersect with the academic administration. These include student admissions, student housing, fees and financial aid, student system support, legal services, the international academic programmes office and institutional planning.
• Builds and maintains positive professional and interpersonal relations with colleagues  at different levels  and across multiple functional areas within the university.

Requirements for the position:

• Master’s degree (NQF level 9).
• 10 years’ relevant experience within a university, of which 5 years have been in a senior management capacity.
• A proven understanding of the national higher education landscape in South Africa.
• Proven experience in the translation and implementation of legislative frameworks that apply to higher education, as well as experience in internal institutional governance processes. This includes the interpretation of legislation, policies and associated guidelines.
• Knowledge of the academic administration systems within a higher education institution, including the associated governance and implementation frameworks.
• A proven track record of managing change in a transforming organisation.
• Excellent planning, organisational and prioritisation skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Line management of staff and teams.

Advantageous:

• Experience with the implementation of administrative systems to support operational processes for student-centered service provision and communication.

Responsibilities:

• Develop, integrate and implement business processes needed for academic administration, to give effect to Senate policy and institutional strategic priorities, ensuring coherence, consistency and accuracy.
• Ensure coherence and consistency in processes across faculty academic administration to ensure accuracy of the student record in all faculties.
• Develop and implement controls and protocols to ensure the integrity of graduation and certification processes, and the integrity of student data.
• Facilitate system enhancements that will enable the automation of the business processes in academic administration.
• Contribute to institutional responses in commenting on national policy drafts and guidelines as appropriate.
• Fulfil full-service functions required for university examinations, including examination timetables and related arrangements.
• Direct the annual planning, scheduling, and preparation of graduation ceremonies.
• Manage the performance and development of staff.
• Develop and implement an annual budget.
• Develop reports and conduct committee functions.