Associate Professor/professor

**Main Job Objectives**

All academics are responsible for the dissemination of knowledge (teaching and learning), creation of knowledge (research) and community engagement, recognising that there are differences in the execution of these responsibilities within the various departments and Faculties. Academics are also expected to assume some administrative, management and/or leadership duties at the departmental, Faculty and/or University level, and make some contribution to their profession.

In addition, a Professor and Associate Professor are to provide academic leadership in teaching and learning, research, and community engagement, as well as to contribute towards the governance of the institution. This leadership contribution of the Professor should be evidenced at the departmental, Faculty and institutional levels.

**Key Roles and Responsibilities**

**Teach and Learning**
- Engaging in curriculum development
- Facilitation of learning
- Assessment of learning
- Evaluation of teaching
- Support of students in their studies
- Supervision of postgraduate students (where the person has the appropriate qualification to do this)
- Assume leadership responsibilities as they relate to teaching and learning

**Research including**:

- Undertaking independent research and publishing research
- Participating in national and/or international fora to share research results
- Identifying and accessing funding sources to support own and where feasible, student research
- Assumes leadership responsibilities as they relate to research

**Community Engagement including**:

- This may be associated with teaching and learning through credit bearing service learning (SL) courses or non-credit bearing community engaged learning activities or associated with research through engaged research

**Administrative and/or Leadership responsibilities may include**:

- Assuming administrative and/or leadership duties in the department such as course coordinator; coordination of particular programmes e.g., PhD, Masters programmes; coordination of particular research projects; tutor selection and co-ordination
- Serving on departmental, faculty and/or University committees

**For Associate Professors and Professors**

**Intellectual and academic leadership including**:

- Contributing to the positioning of the department in the national and international milieu with particular reference to the strategic imperatives of the Faculty and University
- Ensuring awareness of the changes, challenges and opportunities within the HE sector, strategic imperatives of the institution and exploring what this means for ones own academic department and supporting the HoD in the implementation of necessary changes at the departmental level
- Providing intellectual academic leadership in terms of the departments teaching and learning, research and/or community engagement activities
- Assisting in the conceptualisation, interrogation, implementation and review of academic standards, processes and systems at the level of the department
- Assisting the HoD with the support, guidance and development of those new to academia and/or to Rhodes University

**As a member of the senior leadership of the Faculty and institution, the Professor is responsible for**:

- Championing the academic endeavour and ensuring that this remains the focus of the institution and that decisions are made that support (and do not undermine) these endeavours
- Participating in the key debates related to the current and future functioning of the institution

**Professional involvement**

In addition, it is understood that the academic will contribute to the discipline and profession through:

- Being of service to other universities e.g., external examining, assisting with curriculum reviews, organising of conferences, collaborations on inter-university projects
- Being of service to professional bodies e.g., servicing on national bodies, journal servicing
- Being of service to other stakeholders such as government or NGOs e.g., servicing on advisory bodies, contributing to policy formulation and review

**Job Requirements**

**Educational Qualifications and Experience**

**For Associate Professor**
- At least a PhD in Physical Geography
- Considerable teaching experience at the undergraduate and post graduate levels
- Experience in teaching and research in Physical Geography
- Research supervision of Masters and preferably PhD degrees
- National and emerging international profile in discipline
- Track record of research publication
- Track record of administration, management, and/or leadership roles (leadership roles may be informal)

**For Professor**
- At least a PhD in Physical Geography
- Extensive teaching experience at the undergraduate and post graduate levels
- Experience in teaching and research in Physical Geography
- Research supervision of Masters and preferably PhD degrees
- International profile in Physical Geography
- Track record of research publication
- Trac