Deputy Director: Student Administration - Department of Enrolment and Student Administration

Overview

UP Professional and Support

DEPARTMENT OF ENROLMENT AND STUDENT ADMINISTRATION

DEPUTY DIRECTOR: STUDENT ADMINISTRATION

PEROMNES POST LEVEL 4

The University of Pretoria invites applications for the following vacancy. The University of Pretoria's commitment to quality makes us one of the top research universities in the country and gives us a competitive advantage in international science and technology development.

This position is responsible for the Student Administration Division within the Department of Enrolment and Student Administration (DESA). The incumbent manages staff within the Student Administration:
Operations and the Academic Programmes and Scheduling units. These functions serve as a crucial connection between faculty administration and students, ensuring that related administrative processes support the lifecycle of students until graduation. The role involves working across functional areas and addressing complex system problems by providing effective solutions.

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

• Operational management
• Manage the staff and operations in the Student Administration Division related to:
• The Academic Programmes and Scheduling unit: responsible for the preparation of Faculty Board meetings, implementation of approved curriculum changes, scheduling functions, provision of annual yearbooks, and related tasks;
• The Student Administration:
  Operations unit: coordinating student administration in faculties, invigilation of examinations, provisioning of certificates, graduation processes and procedures, inaugural addresses, and verification of qualifications.
• Coordinate, monitor and make decisions on quality related to the student administration service excellence.
• Benchmark services, business processes and systems with other institutions locally and internationally through research, collaboration and site visits.
• Define the scope of the Student Administration division within the Department’s strategy in collaboration with the Director.

• Financial management
• Manage allocated budgets for the division and oversee budgets for the Student Administration:
  Operations and Academic Programmes and Scheduling units, in compliance with University policies.
• Implement cost control measures and provide expenditure reports to the Director.
• Contribute insights to the IT capital budget process in partnership with the Deputy Director:
  Student Systems.
• Oversee and provide guidance on all contractual agreements with service providers.

• Human Resources management
• Manage recruitment, selection and placement of staff in collaboration with the Director and the Department of Human Resources, based on organisational needs, job requirements and Employment Equity targets;
• Refine HR governance processes and ensure clarity of duties and responsibilities in staff job descriptions;
• Develop, document and formalise standards for individual work success through participative management processes.

• Stakeholder management
• Facilitate, coordinate and lead meetings to develop and implement action plans;
• Establish and manage liaison between Student Administration and other support divisions and departments;
• Facilitate outcomes and implement corrective actions when necessary;
• Manage ad hoc and cross-functional projects as required;
• Oversee meetings on matters including Student Administration, operational matters, Heads of Student Administration in faculties, and the Senate Review Committee on readmissions (Secretariat only);
• Lead change management initiatives to keep students and staff informed about changes and improvements related to Student Administration processes.

• An applicable Honour’s degree, with a total of eight years’ experience, of which three years must be in management, in:
• University Student Administration;
• Academic and student administration and operational management in a higher education institution;
• Proven experience and knowledge of stakeholder management, change management, HR, development and management of academic programmes, and cross-cutting systems management with ability to innovate at an institutional level.

• Knowledge:
  Administrative and computer literacy; knowledge of higher education rules and regulations; student systems and life-cycle; designing and implementing business plans/proposals; data interpretation/analysis and report writing.
• Technical competencies:
  Relevant language and communication skills; computer literacy;
  People Soft.
• Behavioural competencies:
  Ability to be flexible, adapt to changing circumstances, manage time and priorities, multitask in a pressured environment, demonstrate initiative, collaborate as a team player, exhibit strong interpersonal skills, deal with cross-functional complexity, negotiate effectively, demonstrate leadership, apply analytical skills, lead a team and adapt to diverse situations to resolve problems.