Associate Professor/ Professor (Job ID: 6670)

CUADS UFS; Bloemfontein; On-site; ZAR 1,000,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Medical aid scheme

Housing allowance

Leave and sick leave

Job summary

The University of the Free State invites applications for the positions of Associate Professor and Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry. The appointees will provide strategic academic and research leadership within the faculty and contribute to curriculum development and departmental governance.

Responsibilities include teaching, supervising postgraduate students, securing external funding, publishing in top journals, and building international collaborations while

Qualifications

• Demonstrated research leadership and international recognition.
• Experience supervising Honours/Masters/Doctoral students.
• Proven record of peer-reviewed publications in relevant fields.

Responsibilities

• Provide academic leadership in Microbiology, Immunology, Infectious Diseases and related areas.
• Teach undergraduate and postgraduate modules in Microbiology.
• Lead postgraduate supervision at Honours, Masters and Doctoral levels.
• Establish and maintain an internationally recognised research programme.
• Lead and participate in multidisciplinary research initiatives.

Skills

Research leadership

Postgraduate supervision

Grant writing

Editorial board involvement

Publications

Collaborations

Education

PhD (NQF 10) in Microbiology/Immunology/Infectious Diseases/Molecular Biology/Cell Biology or related

Tools

MS Office

Job description

Associate Professor/ Professor (Job ID: 6670) - (2366)

Associate Professor/ Professor (Job ID: 6670)

Organizational Unit

University of the Free State > Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences > Department Microbiology and Biochemistry

Contract Type

Permanent

Occupational Level

Middle Management

Location

Closing Date

23/11/2026

Description

Duties and responsibilities: Associate Professor

• Provide academic leadership in Microbiology, Immunology, Infectious Diseases, Host-Pathogen Interactions, Fungal Biology, and related disciplines.
• Teach undergraduate and postgraduate modules in Microbiology.
• Lead postgraduate supervision at Honours, Master's and Doctoral levels.
• Establish and maintain an internationally recognised research programme.
• Lead and participate in multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research initiatives.
• Secure substantial external funding from national and international funding agencies.
• Publish high-impact research in leading international journals.
• Develop and strengthen national and international research collaborations.
• Mentor early-career academics and postdoctoral fellows.
• Contribute to strategic planning, curriculum development and departmental leadership.
• Serve on university, national and international academic committees and advisory structures.
• Promote the international visibility and reputation of the Department and University

Duties and responsibilities: Professor

• Provide strategic academic and research leadership within the Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry.
• Lead internationally recognised research in microbiology, infectious diseases, immunology, host-pathogen interactions, fungal biology, and related disciplines.
• Lead postgraduate supervision at Honours, Master's and Doctoral levels.
• Lead major collaborative research programmes and centres of excellence.
• Drive the acquisition of substantial external funding originating nationally and internationally.
• Publish in leading international journals and contribute to global advances in microbiology and infection biology.
• Establish and strengthen international partnerships with leading research institutions.
• Mentor academic staff, postdoctoral fellows and research leaders.
• Serve on international scientific panels, editorial boards, professional societies and funding review committees.
• Contribute significantly to faculty and university leadership.
• Promote transformation, postgraduate development, capacity building and student success.
• Enhance the national and international standing of the Department, Faculty and University.

Inherent requirements: Associate Professor

• PhD on NQF Level 10 in Microbiology, Immunology, Infectious Diseases, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, or a closely related discipline.
• Experience as an 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.
• Acted as an editorial board member of high-quality national scholarly journals.
• Proven national recognition for specialist expertise and research leadership in a specific scientific area of scholarship.
• An NRF rating of C3 or demonstrate potential for obtaining an NRF C3 rating.
• 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.

Inherent requirements: Professor

• PhD on NQF Level 10 in Microbiology, Immunology, Infectious Diseases, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, or a closely related discipline.
• Experience as external examiner for master’s-degree and doctoral students.
• Acted as editorial board member of high-quality international/ISI/IBSS journals.
• Proven international recognition for specialist expertise and research leadership in a particular area of academic scholarship
• An NRF rating of C1 or C2 or demonstrate potential for obtaining and NRF C1/C2 rating.
• Demonstrated successful supervision of graduated master’s-degree and preferably graduated doctoral students.
• Proven experience in delivering keynote addresses at national scholarly conferences.
• Served as a member of an international scholarly society OR an international committee or agency concerned with research at higher-education levels.

Recommendations

• Experience leading large collaborative research programmes.
• Demonstrated success in mentoring early-career researchers and building research capacity.
• Experience developing national or international research networks.
• Evidence of translational research and societal impact.
• Track record of influencing policy, practice, or strategic research directions within the field.
• Sustained record of attracting substantial competitive external research funding
• Evidence of research leadership through international collaborations and multi-institutional projects.

Required competencies

• Results Orientated:
  • The ability to set high standards, establish tough goals, and to work to achieve success.
  • 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.
• Leading:
  • The ability to maintain high levels of personal motivation, energy and enthusiasm.
  • The ability to be cooperative with others, display a good-natured attitude and encourage people to work together.
• Building Coalitions:
  • The ability to be self-assured and at ease with people in all types of social situations.
  • The ability to interact with others and establish personal connections with people.

Assumption of duties: 01 February 2027 or as soon as possible thereafter

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 me at 051 401 7659 or email at [e-mail] or [e-mail] . Additionally, kindly contact 051 401 2979 9813 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.

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