Associate Professor​/Professor; and Academic Head of Department; appointment

Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences Department of Geology Associate Professor/Professor (Permanent) and Academic Head of Department (Contract appointment: 5 years with the possibility of reappointment for a further term) (Job ) Duties and responsibilities Associate Professor / Professor

• Present undergraduate and postgraduate modules.
• Synthesise knowledge through the publication of scientific papers in peer‑reviewed journals.
• Communicate research findings at scientific conferences.
• Source funding for research from international and national funding organisations.
• Participate actively in the professional community.
• Supervise postgraduate students at master's and PhD levels.
• Participate actively in leadership and administration at the departmental and Faculty levels.

• Provide strategic and operational academic leadership by creating and executing strategies to establish the department as a leader in the discipline vis‑à‑vis competing international entities.
• Drive excellence in teaching, learning, and curriculum innovation.
• Strengthen research performance and postgraduate training.
• Lead initiatives to increase research income and third‑stream revenue.
• Promote interdisciplinary collaboration and industry engagement.
• Foster staff development, succession planning, and transformation.
• Enhance national and international partnerships and collaborations.
• Ensure compliance with institutional policies, accreditation requirements, and quality assurance standards.
• Continuous planning and execution of teaching and research strategies, general organising and coordinating of administrative duties, mentoring and motivating staff.
• Manage departmental finances, infrastructure, and human resources (e.g., annual budgeting, allocation of funds) of the Department.
• Direct the academic debate in the department.
• Contribute to the overall leadership of the faculty.
• Frequent and continuous planning and execution of plans, general organising and coordination of staff, students and activities, mentoring and motivating staff, structuring, and exercising overall control are typical management functions performed by ADHs.
• Create an atmosphere of consensus among staff.
• Effective internal and external communication.
• The ADH is pivotal in linking the department’s staff and students with the University’s management and administration through communication, negotiation, and consultation.
• Active participation and involvement in faculty management structures, attending meetings, leading project teams, representing the department and faculty, and fulfilling the roles of liaison officer and marketer when necessary.
• Active participation and involvement in applicable UFS management structures, e.g. Senate.
• Initiate, formulate and implement a visionary academic strategy for the department that is aligned with and supportive of the guiding strategic documents of the UFS and faculty.
• Provision of top‑quality, research‑informed facilitation of learning at all levels of teaching in the department.
• Relevance of content, material, and presentation in all modules.
• Ethical requirements are met.
• Guiding and supporting senior academics towards acquiring NRF ratings.
• Active engagement with the faculty research committee and the UFS Directorate of Research and Development to ensure sustainable financial support for departmental research initiatives.
• Building an effective team of scholars through planning and implementing a fair and reasonable dispensation regarding the workload of staff members in the department.
• Planning and implementing a clear and reasonable career path for every staff member in the department, taking account of the strategic plans of the University, faculty and department.
• Allocation of funds.
• Adherence to the UFS’s financial policies and procedures.
• Encourage and actively support academic staff members to apply for external research and other grants.

• PhD on NQF Level 10 in Geological Sciences or a closely related field.
• Experience as an external examiner for postgraduate students.
• Proven experience in the presentation of research papers at national conferences, where there is evidence of…