Administrative Officer

Stellenbosch University; Stellenbosch; On-site; ZAR 350,000 - 520,000; Full time

Job summary

Stellenbosch University is seeking an Administrative Officer (Post Level 10) in the Department of Chemistry and Polymer Science on Stellenbosch Campus. The role covers secretarial, financial, and administrative tasks to support undergraduate and postgraduate activities.

The successful candidate will manage diaries, prepare documentation, coordinate meetings, handle budget and travel arrangements, and liaise with internal and external stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Minimum five years of secretarial/administrative experience.
• Proficient in financial, administration and information systems.
• Able to liaise with stakeholders at all levels within and outside the University.
• Proficient in MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams). Shortlisted candidates will complete a proficiency assessment.

Responsibilities

• Provide admin support to the Head of the Department and manage diaries.
• Coordinate departmental calendar and meetings; take and distribute minutes.
• Handle filing, correspondence, and communication with internal and external stakeholders.
• Manage financial administration, travel arrangements, and reimbursements.
• Prepare and edit memos, reports, and documents; monitor deadlines and records.

Skills

Secretarial experience

Office administration

Communication skills

MS Office proficiency

Team collaboration

Education

Secretarial/administrative qualification

Higher education admin experience

Tools

Microsoft Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Outlook/Teams

Job description

Department Description/Departement Beskrywing

Faculty of Science

Department of Chemistry and Polymer Science

Administrative Officer (Post Level 10)

(Stellenbosch Campus)

Ref. NW02/381/0926

The Department of Chemistry and Polymer Science is one of the largest departments in the Faculty of Science at Stellenbosch University (SU) and has 23 academic and 22 support staff spread over five buildings on the Stellenbosch campus. The Department has a very active and innovative undergraduate teaching programme and a comprehensive postgraduate research programme with approximately 100 enrolled postgraduate students. The support services in the Department are currently divided into three support environments (hubs). The incumbent will perform duties in one of these hubs that include departmental admin support to academic staff involved with undergraduate teaching, as well as support to postgraduate research groups. Duties/Pligte processing requisitions, issuing requisitions, placing orders and receiving goods, processing departmental bursaries, ad hoc payments, and interacting with debtors and creditors. compliance to SU policy). managing diaries, taking minutes during meetings, etc.).

• Administrative Support to the Head of the Department (HOD):
• Diary management for the HOD.
• Managing the departmental calendar in accordance with the University and Faculty calendars.
• Meeting coordination for the HOD and departmental meetings.
• Documentation preparation, including drafting and editing memos, letters, announcements, reports, agendas, and preparing and distributing accurate minutes of the meetings.
• Acting as the primary liaison between the HOD and all internal and external stakeholders.
• Keeping accurate filing records of departmental documents, data and statistics.
• Assisting with coordinating the submission of the annual report to Faculty.
• Financial administration and budget control:
• Timeous and efficient execution of financial administrative tasks related to the daily functioning of the Department and in line with Stellenbosch University's financial policies, including
• Managing cost centres of academic staff and researchers in the Department.
• Using the University's financial system to enter and extract financial data, and a thorough understanding of the Department's cost centres and accounts.
• Acting as internal liaison with SU's divisions of Purchasing and Procurement, Financial Services and the Vehicle Fleet.
• Responsible for all administrative and financial tasks regarding arrangements for national and international travel, accommodation and conference attendance for academic staff (with
• Administrative support:
• Receiving visitors, interacting with students, the effective management of email and telephonic enquiries.
• Maintaining an effective filing system of departmental documents.
• Providing secretarial and administrative support to academic staff members and implementing undergraduate and postgraduate administration.
• Handling undergraduate teaching and assessment administration.
• Handling the departmental postgraduate administration.
• Administering and scheduling activities for the Department of Chemistry and Polymer Science (scheduling meetings and planned activities, events coordination, monitoring and
• Compiling financial statements, memoranda and other relevant documents as needed.
• Coordinating effective internal communication with departmental staff and students.

Job Requirements/Pos Vereistes

• At least five years' secretarial and/or administrative experience.
• Knowledge and experience of financial, administration and information systems.
• The ability to liaise appropriately and effectively with individuals at all levels, both within and outside the University.
• Proven intermediate to advanced computer proficiency in the use of the Microsoft Office package (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams). Shortlisted candidates will be

required to complete an applicable proficiency assessment.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English.
• The ability to work under pressure without compromising accuracy.
• Outstanding interpersonal skills.
• The ability to work independently as well as in a team.
• Excellent organisational skills, and the ability to adhere to deadlines.

Recommendation/Aanbeveling

• A post-matric secretarial or administrative qualification (or equivalent experience).
• A general working knowledge of scientific terminology.
• Prior experience of administration work at a higher education institution.
• Prior experience with Stellenbosch University's online systems (SUNLearn, STEMLearn, SUNStudent, SUNFin, etc.).
• An excellent spoken and written command of Afrikaans.

CurrencyZAR Commencement Date01-Nov-2026 Closing Date06-Oct-2026 Amount of Travel Work At Home