Job Opening at Stellenbosch University

Duties

• Personal, telephonic and electronic communication, internal as well as external;
• Secretarial and other general administrative duties;
• Handling access control, general enquiries of students, visitors, the University and general services;
• Providing administrative support to personnel, including booking venues, reporting and following-up about faults, purchases and requisitions, internal communications, academic information,
• administrating module evaluations, coordinating courier and postal services, copying and scanning, stationery;
• Liaising with other departments/divisions and universities;
• Booking venues for meetings;
• Setting up, checking and testing all technical equipment prior to scheduled meetings;
• Drafting the agenda;
• Taking and typing of minutes, reports and general correspondence;
• Maintaining the departmental website and social media.

Job Requirements        

• Relevant post-matric qualification;
• Excellent professional communication skills in at least two of the three official languages in the Western Cape;
• Proven secretarial and administrative experience;
• Proven computer proficiency (MS Word, Excel, Outlook, Internet);
• Initiative and the ability to work independently;
• Excellent organisational and time-management skills;
• The ability to work in a team;
• The ability to function under pressure and handle multiple demands;
• The ability to think ahead.

Recommendation      

• Knowledge and experience of the administrative and computer systems of Stellenbosch University;
• Experience of regular contact with students, university staff and the general public;
• Knowledge and experience of electronic learning and teaching platforms (e.g. SUNLearn);
• Experience with website management update;
• Knowledge of General Linguistics as a field of study.

go to method of application »

Duties    

• Identifying opportunities for routine youth engagement and integration of youth preferences into programming and research;
• Engaging key stakeholders, including adolescents and youth, in co-creating psychosocial and community-based interventions for adolescent mental health;
• Undertaking relevant systematic reviews, realist reviews, and other preparatory research linked to ongoing and new intervention studies;
• Planning, organising and facilitating research activities, including developing study procedures, protocols, and informed consent processes, compiling questionnaires and overseeing 
• translation and piloting of tools;
• Overseeing and coordinating the set-up and implementation of research projects (in South Africa as well as other country sites) including formative stakeholder engagements, negotiating 
• entry into recruitment sites such as schools, and setting up referral pathways and links;
• Coordinating and conducting training of data collection and intervention teams (virtually and in-person), piloting intervention and/or research processes;
• Providing support and supervision to the data collection and/or intervention teams and overseeing the referral process of the participants who require psychosocial support;
• Facilitating and participating in community engagement activities, such as serving as a liaison between the Institute and key stakeholders within the community and broader adolescent 
• mental health field (including, but not limited to, NGOs, schools, health care facilities, community forums or government entities);
• Conducting academic administration activities such as the development and submission of ethics applications, grant applications and progress reports;
• Helping to manage and conduct research activities across the Institute, including monitoring policy issues and trends that may impact or enhance the Institute's research;
• Identifying opportunities for dissemination, community engagement, and social policy advocacy at community, district, and national level;
• Contributing to research outputs such as publications, conference presentations and other knowledge products;
• Engaging in development of new research projects, including proposal development, budgeting, methodology and measurement selection, and training research staff;
• Engaging with research project partners in planning phases of new studies.

Job Requirements    

• A Master's degree in a relevant field of study, i.e., Psychology / Social Work / Social Policy and Management / Public Health / Global Health;
• Registered as a PhD student in Public Health;
• If applicable, registration with the relevant Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA), or SA Council for Social Service Professions (SACSSP);
• Demonstrated project management experience related to mental health, adolescence, trauma, working with refugees, substance use, and school- and/or community-based services for adolescents;
• Demonstrated experience in engaging communities, including adolescents and youth, in co-designing and developing psychosocial interventions;
• Previous experience in conducting reviews using systematic and realist review methodologies;
• At least two years' experience overseeing and conducting rigorous field research, including using quantitative, qualitative and/or mixed methods, and collecting and analysing quantitative and/or qualitative data;
• Practical work experience as a researcher in community-based research, with the ability to engage with various stakeholders such as school leadership, clinic and hospital teams, NGO 
• partners, community members and adolescent advisory boards. Proven experience and involvement in service to the community would be taken into account;
• Relevant experience in conducting multi-country research, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa;
• Experience in training and supervising research or intervention teams working with adolescent populations;
• Effective communicator;
• A valid driver's license; 
• Must be prepared to travel for extended periods. 

Recommendation  

• Relevant experience in initiating and managing stakeholder relationships;
• The ability to work independently and as part of a team;
• Advanced writing and verbal presentation skills, particularly the ability to communicate technical research considerations in a non-technical manner;
• A track record of presentations at international and regional conferences.