Director: Wits Sports at University of the Witwatersrand

Purpose:

The University seeks a Director Wits Sport to develop and implement the University’s strategy for student sport at high performance, competitive and recreational levels. The Director is responsible for the management of Wits Sport, ensuring that University Sports Administration provides an effective and efficient service by strategically overseeing  the organisation of sport structures and the management of coaches, students and all other stakeholders. The Director is an important catalyst for developing high performance sport and working closely with Wits Sport and Health (WiSH) and the leadership of the Zylstra Sports Complex in realizing this.

Brief Description        

Key responsibilities include the following:

• Position Wits Sport strategically, and lead purposeful engagements in the context of high performance (student) sport
• Develop the Wits high performance (student) sport strategy, and lead engagements with WiSH and others during implementation
• Develop a stakeholder relations strategy with institutional, national and global, partners and to position Wits as a preferred student sport destination
• Generate funding and income towards supporting the Wits vision for sport, including a strategic sports scholarship programme aligned with the University’s academic vision that attracts the best student-athletes to Wits
• Balancing this with a “sports for all” philosophy in support of competitive sport including inter-varsity competitions, regional sports leagues and recreational sport
• Helping to facilitate implementation of the Exercise is Medicine initiative, aiming to have every student understand and embrace the benefits of regular physical activity
• Manage resources, staff, operations, facilities and all aspects of Wits Sport whilst ensuring the development of systems and processes that are aligned with relevant University policies and processes
• Ensures and safeguard the application and compliance of the department and university with the statutory, mandatory and professional requirements within the University, in all sporting activities; the Higher Education regulatory framework and the University policies, protocols and guidelines; and relevant federation policies, guidelines and rules across all sporting codes
• Provide insights and leadership on trends in (high-performance) student sport, and ensure that appropriate support systems are in place to create an enabling environment for student sport to thrive at Wits and;

Requirements:

• Postgraduate qualification; a Master’s degree in the relevant field would be advantageous
• At least 5 years’ experience at senior level within an organised sports environment; exposure to leadership in university or other sports director positions would be advantageous.
• Visionary leadership in the student sports context, able to inspire and lead diverse teams of students and staff
• Strategic thinking with experience in development and implementation
• Experience in managing a complex student sport environment, including having an appreciation for the increasing high performance and semi-professional level of student sport
• Experience in ensuring compliance with a strong regulatory framework for finance, staff management and payments
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to interact across a broad range of society – including business, government and other national stakeholders as well as with students, staff (academic and PAS), alumni, donors and potential donors across diverse cultures
• The ability to manage multi-project campaigns; with high levels of computer literacy and strong organisational skills
• Excellent written and verbal skills are expected from this position, including the ability to write proposals, and make impactful presentations.