Subject Head (five-year contract) (Job ID: 6280) at University of the Free State

INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED!

• To ensure your application is complete, you must submit ALL documents listed under the inherent requirements, as well as the following standard documentation:                                        
• A detailed Curriculum Vitae.
• Copies of your qualifications, or official proof of qualifications obtained (If you hold foreign qualifications, please include SAQA accreditation).
• A copy of your identity document (South African ID or passport for foreign nationals).

Duties and responsibilities: 

• Provide academic leadership by creating and executing strategies to establish the department as a leader in the discipline vis-à-vis competing international entities.
• The subject head is directly responsible for:
• Directing the academic debate in the department;
• Influencing the department's overall climate and culture;
• Energising everybody in the department and beyond; and
• Shaping the future of the department.
• Contribute to the overall leadership in the faculty.
• Responsible for frequent and continuous planning and execution of plans, general organising and coordinating of staff, students and activities, mentoring and motivating staff, structuring, and exercising overall control.
• Create an atmosphere of collaboration among staff.
• Responsible for effective internal and external communication.
• The AHD is pivotal in linking the department’s staff and students with the University's management and administration through communication, negotiation and consultation.
• Active participation and involvement in faculty management structures, attending meetings, leading project teams, representing the department and faculty, and fulfilling the roles of liaison officer and marketer, when necessary.
• Active participation and involvement in applicable UFS management structures, e.g. Senate.
• Initiate, formulate and implement a visionary academic strategy for the department that is aligned with and supportive of the guiding strategic documents of the UFS and faculty.

Ensure –

• The provision of top-quality, research-informed facilitation of learning at all levels of teaching in the department.
• Relevance of content, material and presentation in all modules.
• The enhancement of student experiences and their continuous engagement in academic debates.
• That adequate rules and regulations are in place to optimally deliver high-quality teaching and learning programmes on both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
• Adherence to all the rules and regulations of the UFS, faculty and department.
• Quality and timely feedback on student work.
• Proper and quality-driven academic advice and support to all underand postgraduate students in the department; and
• The revisiting and development of fresh learning programmes that will help to position the department as a leader in its field.    Create and maintain a(n) –
• Visionary research strategy for the department; and
• Environment that encourages research, leading to strong and active research habits and a culture of inquiry.

Ensure that –

• Every academic staff member is engaged in quality-driven and discipline-specific research;
• Postgraduate students are recruited to broaden the research base of the department; and
• Ethical requirements are met.
• Guide and support senior academics towards acquiring NRF ratings.
• Engage actively with the faculty research committee and the UFS Directorate of Research Development in order to ensure sustainable financial support for departmental research initiatives.

Build an effective team of scholars through:

• Planning and implementing a fair and reasonable dispensation regarding the workload of staff members in the department;
• Planning and implementing a clear and reasonable career path for every staff member in the department, taking account of the strategic plans of the University, faculty and department;
• Appropriate mentoring interventions where and whenever needed;
• Managing staff performance in accordance with existing university policies and procedures;
• Recruitment and selection of scholars in the case of vacancies and/or specific strategic needs, whenever strategic repositioning requires expansion of academic endeavours;
• Creating and maintaining a scholarship-friendly environment in the department; and
• Planning and overseeing effective and relevant staff development.
• Responsible for the financial management which culminates in:

Annual budgeting;

• Financial planning;
• Allocation of funds; and

Financial control.

• Adherence to the UFS’s financial policies and procedures.
• Encourage and actively support academic staff members to apply for external research and other grants
• Inherent requirement
• A PhD on NQF Level 10 in English.
• A full-time, permanent member of the academic staff of the Department of English at the University of the Free State (UFS), Bloemfontein campus.

Recommendations:

• A minimum of three (3) years’ lecturing/leadership experience at a tertiary institution.

Closing date:

• 2 November 2025