Jobs Availabe at University of Pretoria/Universiteit van Pretoria

RESPONSIBILITIES:

The successful candidates’ responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Provide support to lecturers and non-academic staff:

Provide 2nd line support to lecturers to ensure:

• The client's AV need is understood;
• The right equipment is set up as determined by the needs analysis;
• The right equipment is available at the right time and place;
• Diagnose and solve AV technical issues in critical timeframes across geographically dispersed locations; 
• Identify AV technical issues based on user service request;
• Escalate unresolved client AV challenges to 3rd-level IT support; 
• Provide in-person and telephonic assistance related to AV problems in our venues;

Provide IT support in collaboration with workstation support technicians:

• Assist with support on the computer as per the team leader's directive;
• Assist with software problems on the computer as per the team leader's directive;
• Configure the University of Pretoria’s enterprise Wi-Fi on devices; 
• Provide basic maintenance of Podium machines;

Maintenance:

• Provide 1st line maintenance on AV and electronic equipment (Technical task);
• Replace faulty or old AV equipment part of the system;
• Ensure that calls are logged for venues to be maintained and operational at all times per agreement;
• Inspect venue and report structures, including cleanliness, operation, and general appearance for all AV equipment; 
• Escalate unresolved maintenance problems to the 3rd level;
• Conduct equipment audit to maintain asset register as required:
• Report discrepancies regarding equipment;

Installation and repair:

• Repair and/or replace damaged video and audio cables;
• Repair overhead projectors, including bulb replacement;
• Install and wire Audio Visual equipment;

Participation in events:

• Provide support to an event by being a selected member of an event's team that will be responsible for AV systems;
• Set up fixed and temporary installations of audio-visual systems; 
• Provide after-hours support when scheduled; 
• Operate AV equipment for selected events; and troubleshoot and resolve problems;
• Select suitable equipment and ensure the safe return of the equipment from the store;
• Assess the operability of equipment;

Communication and teamwork:

• Liaise with team members to share real-time information;
• Provide feedback on issues regarding incidents, changes, or configuration changes;
• Monitor incident ticket completion that keeps the end user informed of the status; 
• Liaise with all parties involved in incident handling; 
• Communicate additional user requirement to management;
• Report non-standard implementations;

Ticket handling:

• Enter user and service request information into the ESM solution to open an incident ticket;
• Diagnose and resolve user incident ticket;
• Escalate the request to the team leader or 3rd level where a solution is not available;
• Monitor incident ticket completion and keep end user informed of status; 
• Close out incident ticket in ESM solution upon completion; 
• Adhere to technical support policies, procedures, and processes in order to meet customer needs; 
• Resolve incidents upon the SLA of each such ticket.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

• A relevant National three-year Diploma, with:

A total of two years’ experience in: 

• Computer operating and setup skills;
• Electronic repairs;
• Maintenance and repair of audio-visual systems;
• Support of audio-visual system;
• Valid driver’s license;
• Certificate in computer software, e.g., N+ or relevant;
• Working at heights certificate;

OR

• Grade 12; with

A total of four years’ experience in: 

• Computer operating and setup skills;
• Electronic repairs;
• Maintenance and repair of audio-visual systems;
• Support of audio-visual system;
• Valid driver’s license;
• Certificate in computer software, e.g., N+ or relevant

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RESPONSIBILITIES:

The incumbent will be responsible for:

• Undergraduate level teaching in plant pathology and basic plant biology;
• Honours level teaching in plant pathology;
• Supervision of postgraduate students in plant pathology;
• Acquiring research funding;
• Conducting and leading research in applied plant pathology;
• Initiating community engagement projects, and engaging in professional development activities.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

Senior Lecturer:

• PhD degree in plant pathology or a related agricultural field, with prior undergraduate and MSc-level training in plant pathology or related fields;
• In-depth understanding of basic principles of plant pathology and experience in field-based applied plant pathology;
• A minimum of two (2) years teaching experience at undergraduate level;
• Evidence of postgraduate supervision as main supervisor of at least one (1) graduated Masters student in a relevant field;
• A track record of research in the relevant field published in Web of Science-indexed journals;
• Evidence of successful research grant funding applications;
• Intent to obtain a National Research Foundation Rating (NRF) rating in the next three years;
• Valid driver's license;

Lecturer:

• PhD degree in plant pathology or a related agricultural field, with prior undergraduate and MSc-level training in plant pathology or related fields;
• In-depth understanding of basic principles of plant pathology and experience in field-based applied plant pathology;
• A minimum of one (1) year teaching experience at undergraduate level;
• Evidence of postgraduate supervision;
• A track record of research in the relevant field published in Web of Science-indexed journals;
• Intent to obtain a National Research Foundation Rating (NRF) rating in the next five years;
• Valid driver's license.

go to method of application »

RESPONSIBILITIES:

The successful candidate’s responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

Development and implementation:

• Manage the design, development, customisation, support, and maintenance of Enterprise Content solutions using Oracle WebCenter, portal, content, and sites;
• Integrate Enterprise Content Management within and with other relevant applications;
• Ensure quality assurance of the developed solution/components;
• During the system configuration, development, and/or customisation, do the necessary system testing and/or system unit testing;
• Develop and ensure compliance with defined best practices within the Enterprise Content Management system environment;
• Coordinate with users to do the necessary system and integration testing, and obtain the necessary sign-offs;
• Prepare test data and use cases for relevant stakeholders;
• Make corrections to system errors, and make changes if the system does not comply with the compiled users' needs;
• Translate functional specifications into technical designs and/or system configuration;
• Keep abreast of system functionality and features of both current and later releases of the software;
• Collaborate and share knowledge with other relevant stakeholders;

Maintenance and upgrades:

• Maintain relevant applications in production, and troubleshoot and resolve production problems within the agreed Service Level Agreements;
• Log issues and coordinate (where relevant) with Product Vendor Support to ensure a functioning and well-maintained system;
• Perform system administration duties, e.g., monitoring, patching, and upgrading;
• Perform day-to-day system administrative functions, resolving and preventing problems and generally ensuring that previously defined/required processes continue to function;
• Identify trends of reported production problems to manage the root cause of the problem, and subsequently rectify the problem and apply measurements to prevent similar problems in the future;
• Coordinate the testing of the release of new patches, bundles, and maintenance packs, and new versions of the enterprise content management software;
• Provide technical assistance to relevant stakeholders regarding system changes;

System configuration and administration:

• Install, configure, and administer Enterprise Content Management environments;
• Manage the Enterprise Content Management environment web application server/cluster configuration;
• Ensure high availability, security, and performance of the Enterprise Content Management environment;
• Create and maintain technical documentation related to relevant Enterprise Content Management environments;
• Identify and manage risks or issues within Enterprise Content Management environments;
• Maintain and manage logs, patches, and related documentation;

User support and communication:

• Provide technical support and training to relevant stakeholders, and contribute to relevant end-user training material, where required;
• Establish effective communication channels with relevant stakeholders;
• Attend to incidents, requests, and problems on the Enterprise Service Management platform;
• Contribute to the ITS catalogue, adhere to the prescribed change management processes, and compile and submit system reports when required;
• Ensure the prescribed procedures according to which the users must register the system errors and/or approve the desired system changes, before being implemented in production.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

• A relevant Bachelor’s degree or BTech in IT (e.g., B.Sc., B. Com Informatics); with

Four years’ experience in:

• Working with JavaScript, JSP, HTML, and CSS;
• Industry standard enterprise content management platforms;

OR

• A relevant National three-year Diploma; with 

Six years’ experience in:

• Working with JavaScript, JSP, HTML, and CSS;
• Industry standard enterprise content management platforms.

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RESPONSIBILITIES:

Leadership:

• Working closely with the Director of the Future Earth Africa Hub to provide operational direction and lead communications and engagement for the AHLC;
• Positioning the Hub strategically within the University of Pretoria and Rhodes University, identifying and advancing intellectual synergies across faculties and departments;
• Networking and building collaborative partnerships across the continent and globally;

Strategic Management:

• Working with the FE Africa Hub Director to oversee the operationalisation and strategic direction of the AHLC, based on Steering Committee-approved work plans;
• Leading the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) of the FEAH’s activities across the continent on behalf of the National Research Foundation (NRF) and Future Earth Africa Hub;
• Building the management and administrative capacities of the Future Earth Africa Hub entities, including regional nodes; 
• Strategic communication, marketing, and branding of the Work Package 2 activities;
• Data management of Work Package 2 activities across the entities of the Future Earth Africa Hub Leadership Centre (FEAHLC);

Scientific/Academic Research:

• Representing African Future Earth stakeholders in global Future Earth structures, elevating African sustainability science priorities;
• Building capacity of the entities of the Hub in supporting the NRF mission in the different regions of the continent, including fundraising, running research calls, engaging with governments to develop and support the common regional research agenda, funding of research themes, and running and reviewing research calls;

Funding and Financial Management:

• Ensuring sound financial management in accordance with funding contracts and University of Pretoria policies and practices;
• Identify and attract new funding opportunities;

Early Career Researchers Management:

• Leading in the identification, mobilising, accessing, and, where needed, designing capacity building programmes to support early career researchers in the Africa Hub related entities and regional nodes;
• Attending to scientific redress (e.g., gender equity) and inclusivity principles in the AHLC overall, in consultation with FEAH director and REAH entities;

Human Resources Management:

• Managing staff in the unit and ensuring that they perform to the required standards;
• Identifying the learning and development needs of staff and creating opportunities for development and training;
• Encouraging and/or facilitating regular meetings among staff members to endure the optimal flow of information;

Stakeholder Management:

• Identifying, developing and establishing relationship with relevant stakeholders;
• Continuously engaging strategic partners and identifying opportunities to grow the AHLC brand in the local, African, and global communities;
• Managing all relationships with the various research partners and ensuring that they are kept informed on all the milestones.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

• PhD related to sustainability science or a similar area;
• Seven years of experience;
• Experience in regional scientific leadership in sustainability science leadership in sustainability science or a related area;
• Proven experience in fundraising and effective writing of research funding proposals;
• Proven strong leadership, demonstrating good project and people management skills;
• Experience at the international level and in a multicultural setting is desirable;
• Experience in raising funds and writing research funding proposals; 
• Experience in working with producers of Universities and research Centre;
• Experience coordinating large-scale scientific events, conferences, or multi-stakeholder convenings.

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The successful candidate’s responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

Service excellence and support:

• Provide first contact support to users with all IT-related problems, including a first contact resolution telephonically or remotely where possible; 
• Analyse, diagnose and resolve technical problems, or escalate to the relevant support group or vendor; 
• Record incidents and service requests on the Enterprise Service Management (ESM) platform;
• Troubleshoot, document actions, and escalate/close out incident or service request; 
• Serve all channels used by the users, such as telephone, email, virtual agent, and Enterprise Service Management (ESM); 
• Manage user expectations with regard to the expected Service Level Agreement (SLA); 
• Create and maintain knowledge articles; 
• Monitor incidents and service requests from when they are reported until they are finalised;
• Propose updates and additions to the dynamic Service Catalogue; 
• Stay abreast of societal and environmental issues relevant to the ITS Help Desk; 
• Adhere to policies and support the University’s security policies/requirements; 
• Manage and escalate compliments and complaints relating to ITS service delivery; 
• Execute activities which assist in the implementation of the ITS Helpdesk goals that align with ITS’ and the University’s objectives; 

Service enhancement and quality:

• Provide quantified feedback and updates on incidents and service requests on the ESM platform; 
• Manage problem-solving processes transparently through regular stakeholder feedback to promote engagement and trust between ITS and stakeholders; 
• Manage the resolution of first-line support incidents and service requests directed to the Helpdesk; 
• Prioritise business needs while providing customers with the best possible service using the relevant tools to ensure service delivery; 
• Adhere to SLA’s; 

Knowledge sharing and engagement:

• Provide assistance to the Help Desk Analysts on UP departmental and academic functions; 
• Liaise with the Help Desk Analyst on internal standard operating procedures and processes; 
• Provide guidance and information to users as required, and contribute to the development of training documents; 
• Participate and facilitate on-the-job training, and contribute to and participate in projects; 
• Contribute and review knowledge-sharing articles;
• Liaise and collaborate with other ITS teams to resolve complex issues; 
• Contribute to the updating of SLA’s in line with technology changes and updates, as required; 
• Identify trends and recurring issues and make recommendations for improvements; 

Cyber and Information Security support:

• Partake in critical ITS Cyber and Information Security prevention activities; 
• Identify changing trends related to security issues, and coordinate the resolution of threats identified by users; 
• Advise users of threats and how to mitigate them, and implement the required measures to contain threats in collaboration with the ITS Security virtual team;
• Adhere to and enforce security guidelines. 

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

• A relevant three-year National Diploma / NQF level 6 qualification, with

A total of three years’ experience in:

• IT Service Desk environment; 
• Software and hardware troubleshooting;
• Working on a service management tool/platform;
• A+ certified;
• ITIL v4 Foundation certified;
• SDI SDA certification; 

OR

• Grade 12, with
• A total of five years’ experience in:
• IT Service Desk environment; 
• Software and hardware troubleshooting; 
• Working on a Service management tool/platform; 
• A+ certified;
• ITIL v4 Foundation certified;
• SDI SDA certification.