Personal Assistant to the Senior Director Office of International Education at Nelson Mandela University

CORE PURPOSE OF JOB

• Working closely with the Senior Director: Office of International Education, the purpose of the job is to manage and administer specialised tasks in the Office of International Education and to provide secretarial support to the Senior Director: Office of International Education.

KEY PERFORMANCE AREAS

• To proactively manage the Senior Director’s diary.
• To provide general office management and administration.
• To provide Human Resources related assistance and support.
• To provide financial monitoring and administration.
• To Arrange high-level meetings, team meetings, conferencing and events, including sourcing external suppliers and end-to-end co-ordination in order to meet business objectives.
• To Manage an effective physical and electronic filing system.
• To professionally liaise with all internal and external stakeholders.

CORE COMPETENCIES

• Experience of working in a Higher Education Environment, preferably as a Personal Assistant at senior management level in an International Office context.
• Knowledge of office management and administration.
• Ability to deal with sensitive information with discretion and to maintain confidentiality.
• Proven competency in the use of MS Office Suite, particularly, MS Word, Excel and Outlook.
• Exceptional time management skills and ability to meet deadlines.
• Excellent people management skills, interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability to work well under pressure, learn continuously and adapt to changing internal and external environments.
• A service and humanising orientation.
• Understanding of the Mandela International Office strategic direction
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, sufficient to professionally handle correspondence (phone calls and walk-ins, drafting of memos, letter and emails) on behalf of the Senior Director.
• Excellent attention to detail, with the ability to maintain a high level of accuracy.
• Ability to multitask and coordinate multiple but related tasks towards a common goal.
• An understanding of procurement processes and financial systems of the university.
• Arranging logistics for local and international travel.
• Ability to use iTS.
• Ability to work flexibly and where required outside working hours to provide effective support to the Senior Director.
• Supporting the Office of International Education in the implementation of various projects.
• Excellent people management skills, interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to work well under pressure, learn continously and adapt to changing internal and external environment.
• A service and humanising orientation.

 
REQUIREMENTS
Candidates must hold Grade 12 qualification (NQF 4) plus post-school diploma (NQF 6), preferably a Bachelor’s degree (NQF 7). An Honours degree will be an advantage. Relevant work experience over 3 to 5 years in a higher education institution, preferably as a Personal Assistant at senior management level in an International Office context. Additional work experience includes:

• Knowledge of International Relation or Higher Education Internationalisation will be an added advantage.
• Ability to multitasks and a good sense of prioritizing daily workload.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.