Executive Operations Manager: Office of the Dean: Student Affairs Division at University of Fort Hare

JOB PURPOSE:

The Executive Operations Manager will work closely with the DSA to provide leadership within the division and coordinate a wide range of activities across the University, working with senior academic as well as administrative and professional services colleagues. The key responsibilities of this role are to support the DSA by providing oversight support services, producing high-level reports, assisting the Dean in driving the mandate of the Student Affairs Division, and ensuring that the Office of the DSA has proper governance, operational controls, administrative and reporting procedures and people systems in place to ensure operational efficiency.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:     

• Master’s degree or equivalent qualification
• 10 years work experience
• 5-10 years of relevant experience in a Student Affairs Division or related Division, of which at least three years should have been in a challenging high-profile role supporting senior/executive management or in a managerial role in STUDENT AFFAIRS or Auxiliary areas.
• Knowledge of higher education sector and an understanding of the operations and affairs of a university environment.

 DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:

• Provide strategic leadership and support services in the office of the Dean: Student Affairs
• Provide support to Unit Managers to plan, implement, monitor and evaluate the systems and procedures necessary for the smooth operation of the Division.
• Tracking and monitoring progress on tasks assigned by the executive to various senior managers in his/her Division and integrating or collating reports where required; and taking minutes at meetings that are not supported by the Committees section.
• Ascertaining quality assurance on the executive’s submissions to the Management Executive Committee (MEC), other University structures, partners, and stakeholders.
• Ongoing monitoring of the Division’s performance in relation to the APP and other planning instruments and identifying areas of concern.
• Preparing presentations, notices, circulars, and drafting speeches for the executive; handling incoming and outgoing correspondence at executive level; and drafting appropriate responses on behalf of the executive while ensuring compliance with timelines and all requests for information from external institutions such as Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and others.
• Conducting research for executive strategic advice and collating background information to support the executive in the execution of his/her functions; drafting data-driven briefing documents and brief reports for high level decision-making; and writing evidence-based reports on behalf of the executive for internal University structures as well as external bodies.
• Leading or coordinating key projects assigned by the executive with excellent project management skills such as tracking progress on project deliverables, managing their timelines and workflows, and report writing.
• Compiling the budget and monitoring expenditure in the Office while ensuring sound human relations within the Office including good interactions with the university community and external stakeholders.