Associate Professor/Professor (Job ID: 6611)

University of the Free State; Bloemfontein; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,900,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Medical aid

Housing allowance

Leave benefits

Study benefits

Job summary

The University of the Free State invites applications for an Associate Professor/Professor in the Department Public Administration and Management at the Bloemfontein Campus. The successful candidate will teach Local Government Management, Public/Municipal Finance, and Public Administration modules across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.

They will lead research, supervise postgraduate students (Honours to PhD), contribute to curriculum development, and participate in departmental and

Qualifications

• PhD on NQF Level 10 in Public Administration and Management or a related field.
• Proven teaching experience in Public Administration and Management modules at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
• Experience as external examiner for postgraduate students.

Responsibilities

• Teach Local Government Management, Public/Municipal Finance, or Public Administration modules to undergraduate and postgraduate students.
• Perform academic administration of undergraduate and postgraduate modules pertaining to learning, teaching, research and assessments.
• Contribute to curriculum development in the department and faculty.
• Provide supervision in postgraduate programmes to Honours, Masters or PhD students.
• Conduct high-quality research, publish in accredited journals, and deliver quality research outputs in line with the faculty's research strategy.
• Provide leadership in pursuit of the department and faculty’s strategic plan with regard to research, learning and teaching, engaged scholarship, as well as leadership and administration.
• Participate in additional academic activities including, but not limited to, presentation of research papers at national and/or international conferences as well as involvement in departmental/faculty research projects.
• Serve as a member of various academic and research committees and perform any other tasks allocated by the Dean and Head of the Department.

Skills

Public Administration knowledge

Research leadership

Teaching experience

Education

PhD in Public Administration and Management

Job description

Job Title

Associate Professor/Professor (Job ID: 6611)

Organizational Unit

University of the Free State -> Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences -> Department Public Administration and Management

Contract Type

Permanent

Occupational Level

Middle Management

Location

Bloemfontein Campus - Bloemfontein, FS ZA (Primary)

Closing Date

09 October 2026

Duties And Responsibilities

• Teach Local Government Management, Public/Municipal Finance, or Public Administration modules to undergraduate and postgraduate students.
• Perform academic administration of undergraduate and postgraduate modules pertaining to learning, teaching, research and assessments.
• Contribute to curriculum development in the department and faculty.
• Provide supervision in postgraduate programmes to Honours, Masters or PhD students.
• Conduct high-quality research, publish in accredited journals, and deliver quality research outputs in line with the faculty's research strategy.
• Provide leadership in pursuit of the department and faculty’s strategic plan with regard to research, learning and teaching, engaged scholarship, as well as leadership and administration.
• Participate in additional academic activities including, but not limited to, presentation of research papers at national and/or international conferences as well as involvement in departmental/faculty research projects.
• Serve as a member of various academic and research committees and perform any other tasks allocated by the Dean and Head of the Department.
• Develop and maintain strong collaborative relationships with relevant research, civil society, government, industry, and professional organisations.

Inherent Requirements

Associate Professor

• PhD on NQF Level 10 in Public Administration and Management or a related field.
• Proven record of teaching Public Administration and Management related modules at an undergraduate and/or postgraduate level, with a specific focus on Local Government Management, or Public/Municipal Finance, or Public Administration modules.
• Experience as external examiner for postgraduate students.
• Proven experience in the presentation of research papers at national conferences, where there is evidence of peer review of papers.
• Proven national recognition for specialist expertise and research leadership in a specific scientific area of scholarship.
• An NRF rating of C3 or a research record of equivalent status.
• Proven experience in the supervision of graduated master’s degree students.
• A proven research record of relevant publications in national and international accredited journals
• Served as a member of a national scholarly society OR a national committee or agency concerned with research at higher education levels OR showed evidence of service as an active member of an international equivalent.

Professor

• PhD on NQF Level 10 in Public Administration and Management or a related field.
• Proven record of teaching Public Administration and Management related modules at an undergraduate and/or postgraduate level, with a specific focus on Local Government Management, or Public/Municipal Finance, or Public Administration modules.
• Experience as external examiner for master’s-degree and doctoral students.
• A proven research record of relevant publications, including in high-quality (e.g., Q1 and Q2), national and international accredited journals.
• Proven international recognition for specialist expertise and research leadership in a particular area of academic scholarship (for example, regularly serves as a reviewer for international/WoS/Scopus journals).
• An NRF rating of C2 or a research record of equivalent status.
• Demonstrated successful supervision of graduated master’s-degree and preferably graduated doctoral students.
• Served as a member of an international scholarly society OR an international committee or agency concerned with research at higher-education levels

Recommendations

• Member of a or registration with a professional body.
• Acted as an editorial board member of high-quality national scholarly journals.
• Proven experience in delivering keynote addresses at national scholarly conferences.
• Experience as a departmental leader/ manager in a higher education environment.
• Sound knowledge of the South African Public Administration and Management environment.
• Sound knowledge of the South African public sector environment.
• Proven work experience in the South African public sector environment.

Competencies

Required Competencies

• Results Orientated:
• The ability to cope with a frequently changing environment and to adapt to evolving situations.
• The ability to be reliable, responsible, dependable and to fulfil obligations.
• Strategic Thinking:
• The ability to deal with several activities at a time.
• The ability to carefully analyse information and use logic to address issues and problems at work.
• Business Acumen:
• The ability to adhere to rules and strictly follow work regulations.
• Proficient in using MS Office.
• Sound knowledge of the South African Public Administration and Management environment.
• Leading:
• The ability to lead, take charge of situations, and offer opinions and directions to others.
• The ability to be cooperative with others, display a good-natured attitude and encourage people to work together.
• Building Coalitions:
• The ability to negotiate, sell, influence and to persuade others.
• The ability to interact with others and establish personal connections with people.

Assumption Of Duties

As soon as possible

Salary

The salary is available on request.

Fringe Benefits

(Subject to specific conditions): pension scheme, medical aid scheme, group life insurance, housing allowance, leave and sick leave, service bonus and study benefits.

Enquiries

For enquiries, please feel free to contact 051 401 2258 or email [e-mail] or [e-mail]. Additionally, kindly contact 051 401 2876 / 7659 for assistance.

General

The UFS is a designated employer and is committed to the pursuit of excellence, diversity, and redress in achieving its equity targets in accordance with the Employment Equity Plan of the University and its Employment Equity goals and targets. Preference will be given to candidates from the under-represented designated groups including candidates with disabilities. Our Employment Equity Plan is available at: ufs-employment-equity-plan_2025.pdf

The University processes personal information in line with its obligations under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and any personal information provided to the University will be treated as confidential and processed in accordance with the rights provided to data subjects under POPIA.

The University reserves the right not to fill the post. The UFS will only consider applications of candidates who meet all the inherent requirements of the position. Applications that are incomplete will not be considered. Communication will be limited to shortlisted candidates only. Should you not be contacted within six weeks of the closing date for applications, you may assume that your application was unsuccessful.