Jobs Available at University of the Free State

Duties and responsibilities

Strategic and Relationships

• Develop and execute a results-driven strategic vision for innovation, commercialisation, and incubation aligned with institutional objectives and national innovation priorities.
• Lead the Technology Transfer Office (TTO), ensuring effective Intellectual Property (IP) management, licensing, and commercialisation strategies.
• Establish sustainable funding models for Technology Transfer and Incubation, leveraging industry partnerships, grants, and venture capital.
• Oversee the commercialisation of research outputs, ensuring revenue-generating opportunities through spinouts, licensing, and contract research.
• Foster a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation, integrating research-based ventures into the economic ecosystem.

Oversight of the Business Incubator

• Lead the university's incubator as a platform for spin-out enablement, innovation scaling, and entrepreneurial pipeline development, integrating research commercialisation, innovation acceleration, and responsible start-up governance principles.
• Develop and implement business acceleration programs, enabling spin-out companies to secure funding and market access.
• Engage with investors, industry leaders, and innovation hubs to position the incubator as a leading centre for research commercialisation.
• Ensure the incubator operates as a financially sustainable entity, attracting external funding and strategic partnerships.
• Develop incubation policies, frameworks, and key performance indicators (KPls) to measure success and impact.

Financial Strategy, Funding Development, and Third-Stream Income Generation

• Develop and implement financial strategies for innovation, commercialisation, and incubation.
• Lead strategic budgeting, agile financial forecasting, and the development of differentiated funding models that support high-impact, multi-year innovation portfolios for innovation and commercialisation initiatives, ensuring long-term sustainability and third-stream income growth.
• Provide governance oversight in research commercialisation projects, optimising resource allocation for maximum impact.

Contract Negotiations, Risk Management, and Compliance

• Lead complex contract negotiations and reviews, ensuring regulatory compliance and institutional risk mitigation while supporting high-value innovation transactions, complex partnerships, and institutional risk exposure mitigation.
• Ensure IP governance frameworks align with the Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research and Development Act (IPR Act).
• Manage risk assessment processes in commercialisation deals, spinout companies, and funding agreements.
• Develop and implement best-practice policies for technology transfer, business incubation, and commercialisation contracts.

Stakeholder Engagement and Thought Leadership

• Foster interdisciplinary innovation collaborations across faculties to drive research impact and commercialisation opportunities.
• Engage with national and global innovation funders, development agencies, and commercialisation networks to enhance the institution's innovation footprint, strengthen partnerships, and attract high­ impact investment and grant opportunities.
• Represent the university at conferences, industry panels, and government innovation forums.
• Work closely with faculty deans, research chairs, and university leadership to align innovation, incubation, and commercialisation strategies with institutional goals.

Inherent Job Requirements

• A Professional Bachelor’s degree/ Honours degree/ Postgraduate Diploma on NQF Level 8.
• A Chartered Accountant (SA).
• Minimum of five (5) years’ experience in senior financial and innovation management, preferably in research- intensive institutions or commercialisation platforms.
• Demonstrated expertise in research funding models, grant management, and third-stream income generation.
• Demonstrated experience at an executive level, including financial oversight, business growth, and governance.
• Demonstrated experience in contract negotiations and reviews, ensuring compliance and protecting institutional interests.
• Demonstrated experience in intellectual property management and commercialisation strategies to maximise research impact and revenue generation.
• Strong track record in strategic planning, risk management, and compliance in a research or innovation environment.

Recommendations

• ​​​​​​​Minimum eight (8) years’ progressive experience in executive level financial leadership, innovation, governance, or research commercialisation strategy.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel (including financial modeling, pivot tables, scenario analysis, and dashboarding).
• Comprehensive knowledge of technology transfer and commercialisation lifecycle, including IP disclosure, valuation, protection (patents, trademarks, copyrights), licensing, spin­ out formation, and IP monetisation.
• Proficiency in using IP and contract management systems, with the ability to track innovation KPls and manage project pipelines.
• Strong working knowledge of South African regulatory frameworks, including the IPR Act, Companies Act, Higher Education Act, and Treasury Regulations, with proven experience in developing and implementing compliance frameworks and risk assessments.
• Demonstrated expertise in business incubation models, venture creation, early-stage investment readiness, and private-sector partnership structuring (including shareholder and co-investment models).
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and engage effectively across academic and industry environments, with excellent policy development, stakeholder engagement, and communication skills.
• Familiarity with hybrid and remote working environments and supporting technologies (e.g., MS Teams, SharePoint, workflow automation), including successful implementation of digital coordination and cost-reduction strategies.

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Duties and responsibilities: 

• Maintain a proper filing system pertaining to all the relevant documentation and communications. If the journal is hosted online, this could be the management of the online workflow. 
• Deal with communications to the Southern Journal for Contemporary History. 
• Receive submissions to the Southern Journal for Contemporary History and respond to contributors. 
• Decide jointly with the Editor-in-chief if submissions are sufficiently qualified to be considered for review.  
• Coordinate the review process, if needed in consultation with the Editor-in-chief. 
• Assign related duties to Associate editors. 
• Communicate with authors. 
• Liaise with printers or other administrative partners. 
• Manage the editorial and publication process. 
• Proofreading and language editing of article manuscripts. 
• Keep custody of the records relating to the Southern Journal for Contemporary History. 
• Handle book reviews. 

Inherent requirements:

• Relevant master’s degree on NQF Level 9 in the Humanities

Recommendations:

• Relevant PhD on NQF Level 10 in the Humanities.
• Relevant working experience in managing or administering large-scale academic projects in history or an adjacent field.  
• Familiarity with open-access publishing.  
• Fluent in English. 

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Duties and responsibilities:

Data analysis and development of data analytics

• Use analytical, statistical, and programming skills to collect, analyse & interpret large and/or unstructured data sets
• Effectively mine and analyse large sets of data to derive actionable insights and value from data (internally & externally sourced).
• Deliver accurate reports on time (Including performing required checks to ensure data accuracy and integrity)
• Gather data and enable a centralized data knowledge management system that integrates sources into one platform.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to understand current challenges and needs that should be met with data solutions.
• Design, build and update various platforms, dashboards and reports.
• Sharing findings using impactful data visualizations and efficient communication.
•  Develop a process to aggregate data and then enable centralization and automated delivery.
• Assess the effectiveness and accuracy of new data sources and data gathering techniques.
• Develop analyses metrics and new reports to support critical project decisions
• Provide input on optimal data architecture to support effective data solutions for assigned projects.
• Support work on predictive analytics and data modelling to derive insights about future project decisions that are aimed at improving student performance and success.
• Over time develop real-time data gathering, analytics and reporting capabilities for assigned CTL focus areas.

​​​​​Research

• Integrating traditional research with data-driven insights
• Present findings from research in appropriate forums (including conferences and journal publications).
• Assist with conducting online and face-to-face workshops to disseminate research findings.

Training

• Contribute to formal and informal CTL staff development, particularly in statistical data analysis skills

Stakeholder Engagements

•  Proactively engaging with CTL staff on Track-Your-Success project requirements and/or needs regarding data analytics.
•  Assist with a range of projects at the CTL and/or UFS pertaining to data analytics, this will include research projects, as well as other institutional or national projects/interventions pertaining to teaching and learning or student success
• Provide data analytic support to Track Your project leads in the Digitally Enhanced

Inherent Job Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree or an Advanced Diploma/B.Tech degree/Postgraduate Certificate on NQF Level 7 in computer sciences, mathematics, statistics, data science, or a related field.
• Minimum of two (2) years of relevant data analytics/analysis/science experience.
• Minimum of two (2) years of relevant experience, preferably working with large datasets and experimentation. 

Recommendations:

• Relevant post-graduate qualification
• Experience in working in a similar role in higher education
• SAS/ Python /R /SQL proficiency required, but not limited to this
• Expert Excel user with the ability to understand and build complex spreadsheets
• Experience in working with data visualization tools and software such as but not limited to Microsoft PowerBI or Tableau.
• Sound experience in data mining, modelling and analytics and reporting tools, including the use of AI in these processes.

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Duties and responsibilities:

• Contribute to academic advising during the process of registration on the BFN campus.
• Provide academic advising support and referral to prospective students about degree/programme selection.
• Collaborating with faculties (i.e. Education, Theology and Religion) to develop and deliver academic advice and support, where required.
• Connect students to student support stakeholders (on-campus professional staff - academic and support)
• Develop and deliver contextualised just-in-time academic advising services for students.
• Present student academic support and wellness initiatives (i.e. Central Academic Advising Learning Communities) aligned to the AA cycle.
• Contribute to the Kovsies Advice edition, where necessary.
• Maintain accurate records of interactions with students (case management system).
• Maintain systematic and frequent student communication and engagements (emails, SMSes, and calls).
• Maintain a relationship with the UFS Advising Network.
• Participate in research and academic advising practice-related training and development opportunities (eg. Centre for Graduate Studies and ELETSA webinars)
• Contribute to the training, development, support and supervision of Advisor/transition advisor in academic advising.
• Develop work plans for advisor/transition advisor
• Support the ongoing training and development advisor/transition advisor in academic advising.
• Contribute to the quality assurance (qualitative and quantitative data collected from academic advising   initiatives) within the UFS.
• Use evidence-based practices to inform academic advising practices
• Participate in learning and teaching research within the institution.
• Participate in research-driven academic advising practice within the institution.
• Contribute to research output in academic advising through conferences, presentations, and/or publications through appropriate channels

Inherent Job Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree or an Advanced Diploma/B.Tech degree/Postgraduate Certificate on NQF Level 7 in the field of Social Sciences/Education or a relevant field.
• A minimum of two (2) years' relevant experience in higher education.
• A minimum of two (2) years’ experience in teaching and learning (academic advising, tutoring, success coaching, etc.)
• Certification as a trained Academic Advisor (ie, AAPD SLP)(attach proof).

Recommendations:

• Three (3) years’ relevant experience in academic advising.
• Honours degree on NQF level 8 in the field of Social Science/Education or relevant field.