Office Manager (Post Level 12) at University of the Free State

Duties and responsibilities:

Support to the Director  

• Provide professional service to the Office of the Director by attending to all telephonic, email, and other enquiries to the Director.  
• Scrutinise and record details of all incoming emails, prioritise according to urgency, and redirect inappropriately addressed emails to the correct party. 
• Provide an effective interface between the Office of the Director and members of the UFS Business School, the University community, the public, private and community organisations, and business and government sectors.
• Contact and liaise with internal and external visitors and staff members who meet with the Director in a friendly and professional manner. This includes screening of visitors. 
• Manage the diary of the Director fully, including setting up meetings with relevant departments, committees, and or external stakeholders. Make, cancel, or change appointments, when necessary, to accommodate important commitments. 
• Adhere to processes and procedures for all work done in direct support of the Director. 
• Ensure that the diaries are kept up to date. 
• Compile the Director’s daily programme, ensuring that he/she is familiar with it and that all the relevant documents are available. 
• Alert the Director to urgent and important matters on a day-to-day basis.
• Maintain confidentiality when dealing with sensitive and confidential information.

Office Administration

• Draft letters and reports for the Director. 
• Coordinate and assist with the drafting of the annual faculty report. 
• Prepare and draft material, including electronic presentations, as requested by the Director. 
• Ensure office compliance with safety regulations and arrange for maintenance and repairs when necessary. 
• Maintain distribution lists on MS Outlook for the Business School.
• Arrange and coordinate key Business school events. 
• Support the school marketing effort with the updating of the website. 
• Maintain the electronic filing system.
• Monitor telephone accounts of staff reporting to the Dean and bring any discrepancies to his/her attention. 
• Draft notices, circulars, correspondence, agenda, and minutes.

Financial administration 

• Arrange travel and accommodation bookings for the Director.  
• Obtain and appraise quotes and process orders for the Office of the Director.  

Stakeholder liaison  

• Liaise with organisations to which the Director has an association (SABSA, The Association of African Business Schools (AABS, Mangaung Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and others). 
• Assist with School community engagement activities from time to time and events related to Alumni. 
• Engage professionally and effectively with a diverse cohort of stakeholders, namely postgraduate students, and adult working professionals in managerial roles.

 Meeting administration 

• Deal with all meeting administration, including preparing agendas, circulating documentation to committee members, taking minutes of meetings, e.g., School Management Meeting and Departmental Meetings.
• Coordinate meetings, including booking of venues, ordering of catering, and preparing documentation. 
• Type and check final minutes, arrange duplication, and dispatch to relevant members. 
• Extract minutes/reports and refer them to other committees/persons where actions are required.
• Prepare, distribute, and follow up on action lists. 

Postgraduate Academic Administration 

• Capture data on RIMS. 
• Assist and support prospective and current postgraduate students with registrations and examinations. 
• Coordinate, in conjunction with the Director, on Africanisation and Internationalisation activities in the school. 
• Assist with the tracking of postgraduate students. 
• Assist with the planning, organising, and coordination of all research-related activities and events in the school.

Inherent requirements:

• A bachelor’s degree or an advanced diploma/BTech degree/postgraduate certificate on NQF Level 7 or a three-year national diploma on NQF Level 6.
• A minimum of one (1) year's relevant executive assistance and office management experience in a business school or academic department.

Recommendations:

• Experience within the higher education environment.
• Knowledge of university systems, policies, procedures.
• Computer Literate: Microsoft Office suite, Internet, email.  
• Experience in word processing, spreadsheets, and databases. 
• Knowledge and experience of local and international travel procedures. 
• Three to four years’ relevant experience in a Business School environment and experience as an executive assistant. 
• Knowledge of the profile of Business School students, Executive Education participants, and their unique challenges. 
• Knowledge of the management education sector.