Vice Dean: Teaching and Learning (Contract Appointment: Five (5) Years, with the Possibility of reAppointment for a Further Term) (Appointed for 60% of the Time) (Job ID 5834) at University of the Free State

Duties and responsibilities

• Take responsibility with the Dean to ensure the achievement of the mission of all faculty-based programmes and initiatives. 
•  Lead the faculty's Teaching and Learning (T&L) portfolio by guiding T&L policies, teaching approaches, digitalization, and innovation in the field to ensure the smooth running of all T&L activities. 
• Guide strategic and visionary T&L matters such as course and curriculum development, teaching innovation and hybrid teaching methodologies. 
• Ensure that the General Rules and Regulations of the UFS and Education rules related to the academic programs are adhered to, updated where needed, and communicated to all staff in Education.
• Liaise with top management through the Dean, especially the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic, CTL, SAS, and DIRAP. 
• Continuously look for new T&L needs from the related market, students, and government.
• Take responsibility with the T&L Manager of Education for leading the T&L committee and all initiatives in the field of T&L. 
• Attend all UFS T&L-related meetings, formal and informal. 
• Ensure the application of the quality assurance framework to all T&L matters in the different departments. 
• Spearhead curriculum renewal and innovation in the faculty. 
• Coordinate the initiation of short learning programmes.

Inherent Job Requirements

• A Doctoral degree on NQF Level 10, within a discipline of Education. 
• A minimum of five (5) years’ experience on management level. 
• Proven experience in forming networks and linkages between the UFS and industry. 
• Proven experience in supervision of master’s and doctoral students.
• Proven evidence of publishing in peer-reviewed journals. 
• Must be appointed as Associate Professor or full Professor in the faculty.
• Proven experience in the leadership of Teaching and Learning, such as curriculum development, design and renewal, and assessment.

Recommendations

• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​A deep understanding of all UFS policies and rules related to T&L is evident in the departmental policies developed and successful implementation. 
• A fair understanding of the HEQSF, SAQA, and DHET rules and requirements and the development of new qualifications. 
• Evidence of curriculum development, innovations, and staff development within his/her department concerning new strategies and innovation. 
• Evidence of implementing a composite strategic plan for T&L in his/her department. 
• Knowledgeable about the functioning of the faculty executive committee. 
• Analytical problem-solving skills with impeccable attention to detail.
• Evidence of inter-faculty and inter-department collaborations. 
• Ability to set an overall strategy and drive process improvement. 
• The ability to build relationships with and between faculty and UFS staff. 
• Identify, train, and develop leaders within the faculty and set them on a path for management.
• A deep understanding of national and international trends in current, new and emerging modalities of improving Teaching and Learning in higher education.