Student Manager: Student Housing and Residence Life at University of Fort Hare

JOB DESCRIPTION:

• The Senior Manager: Student Housing and Residence Life reports to the Executive Director: Student Affairs and provides institution-wide leadership for student accommodation and residence life across UFH campuses. The incumbent will oversee fair admissions and allocations, occupancy, residence operations, student development and discipline, private accommodation accreditation and contract management, and the coordination of maintenance, safety, emergency and wellbeing services. The role must ensure compliance with University policies, the DHET Minimum Norms and Standards for Student Housing and other applicable requirements, while using reliable data and financial controls to provide safe, inclusive and academically supportive living-learning environments.

KEY PERFORMANCE AREAS:

• Compliance assurance for University-owned, leased and accredited private accommodation, including accessibility, health, hygiene, fire, building, security and occupational-safety requirements.
• Accreditation, contracting, monitoring and enforcement of service standards for private and off-campus accommodation providers.
• Maintenance and facilities coordination through defined emergency, urgent and routine response standards and service-level agreements.
• Fair, transparent and data-controlled admissions, allocations and waiting-list processes, including access for first-year, rural, low-income and disabled students.
• Risk registers, incident and occupancy dashboards, compliance audits and regular performance, financial and governance reporting.
• Student wellbeing, inclusion, emergency support and referral arrangements within residences.
• Living-learning, co-curricular and residence-development programmes that support academic success and graduate attributes.
• Structured engagement with students, residence governance bodies, faculties, service units, private providers, communities and external agencies.
• Strategic leadership, governance, policy implementation and performance management for Student Housing and Residence Life.
• Financial planning, separate residence management accounts, procurement, contract and lease management, and responsible use of housing resources.
• Leadership, staffing, supervision, performance development and training of residence personnel and student residence leaders. 

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS 

• Post Graduate qualification in Business Administration or any related field
• At least eight (8) years’ working experience
• Three years managerial experience in the higher education sector
• Full knowledge of ITS and Budgeting
• Knowledge of student development theory and best practices in residential life 

ADDED ADVANTAGES

• A relevant Master's degree at NQF Level 9 in Student Affairs, Higher Education Studies, Business or Public Administration, Facilities or Property Management, Human Settlement, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the DHET Minimum Norms and Standards for Student Housing, relevant health and safety requirements, residence governance and private-accommodation accreditation.
• Demonstrated experience using housing, occupancy, financial, contract and incident data for operational control and governance reporting.
• At least eight years' relevant experience in student housing, residence life, accommodation operations or a comparable large residential-services environment, including substantial higher-education experience.
• At least four years' management experience with responsibility for staff, budgets, accommodation operations, contracts, facilities coordination, student services and risk. 

COMPETENCIES (AS PER THE UNIVERSITY COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK)

• Business Acumen
• Change Leadership
• Critical Thinking
• Partnering
• Clear communication, negotiation and stakeholder management 

Deadline:11th October,2026