Senior Assistant Officer at University of the Free State

Duties and responsibilities

Provide the following administrative support to the Research Chair in Climate Change and Agriculture: 

Academic Administration:

• Manage communication to students and staff active in the chair.
• Plan practical work conducted by students in the chair.
• Organise workshops and seminars.
• Assist with the quarterly reporting of the chair to the ARC and with reporting on externally funded projects.
• Capture research data for RIMS and other monitoring purposes.
• Enter scientific literature into the database.

General Administration:

• Provide administrative support to line manager.
• Responsible for general office administration and operations.
• Manage the diary of the Chair holder.
• Schedule appointment.
• Receive visitors.
• Handle general enquiries.
• Scrutinise and record the incoming mail and categorise it into priorities of urgency.
• Administer departmental venue bookings.
• Responsible for meeting administration.
• Arrange events within the department or section.
• Responsible for travel and accommodation arrangements.
• Liaise with external and internal stakeholders.
• Draft letters.
• Ensure office compliance with safety regulations.
• Receive and process auditing information.
• Capture and make sure of the accuracy of data.
• Maintain a pending system for follow-up of previous correspondence and pass items to line manager for follow-up.

Financial Administration:

• Request and appraise quotations.
• Create/Receive purchase orders and provide it to the suppliers.
• Process invoices for payments of service providers.
• Create and distributes invoices.
• Manage ad-hoc claims.
• Capture, approve, report, and follow up on job requests for maintenance and repairs where necessary.
• Responsible for the insurance of equipment.
• Manage and administer the asset registers.

Inherent requirements:    

• Bachelor’s degree or an advanced diploma/BTech degree/postgraduate certificate on NQF Level 7 or a National Diploma on NQF Level 6 in Office Management/Administration or closely related field.
• Minimum of one (1) year’s relevant working experience relating to the duties and responsibilities.

Recommendations:

• Experience within the higher-education environment.
• Knowledge of university systems, policies, and procedures.