Deputy Director: Student Services

RESPONSIBILITIES:

- Strategic management:

- Enhance and build on the reputation and image of the University of Pretoria by providing user friendly, integrated, reliable systems with a strong focus on customer equity;
- Provide strategic leadership and decision making in respect of the Student Services Division’s activities according to the vision, mission, aims and objectives of the department’s strategy;
- Provide strategic advice and support to the Director, as required, as well as a complete monthly progress report and analysis of the division’s performance against the departmental strategic plan;
- Organise the activities of the division to serve its strategic focus and that of the University;
- Ensure that the UP strategic plan and the division’s plans / objectives are aligned, implemented and achieved;
- Strategic planning in terms of the future migration and infrastructure needs of the division;
- Establish effective work relationships and communication channels with internal and external stakeholders and other relevant entities;
- Maintain high levels of integrity and acceptable ethical standards;
- Do continuous short
- and medium-term planning to ensure the effective functioning of the division, and long term planning for system related aspects;
- Initiate and influence policy at macro level by providing strategic information to the Director;
- Establish an organisational structure in which posts can be utilised to cover the complete extent of functions. Continuously review the structure and systems, based on formulated aims and strategies, to ensure optimal and effective work output;
- Develop and establish relationships and lines of communication between substructures and individual posts, to ensure that staff members succeed in rendering services that achieve optimal client satisfaction;
- Monitor the functioning of the division and establish systems for continually identifying and addressing any gaps and/or shortcomings;
- Contribution towards minimizing or eliminating risks that the division may be exposed to through taking appropriate steps proactively within the sphere of the post’s portfolio;
- Ensure compliance with applicable legislation, regulations and national policy directives;
- Innovation and business process re-engineering on a continual basis to ensure the strategic objectives of the division are achieved and that the image of the institution remains competitive;
- Benchmarking on a continual basis to ensure that the institution and the division stay competitive both locally and internationally. Attempt to be a leader in establishing benchmarks that other universities aspire towards;
- Take responsibility for the financial budget of the Division and ensure that spending is according to budget and in line with UP financial guidelines;
- Operational and project management:

- Identify and define the functional terrain of the Student Services division, within the parameters of the strategy of the Department, in consultation with the Director;
- Provide leadership, decision making with regard to the division’s operational activities, and monitor on a continuous basis;
- Create opportunities for optimal performance by supplying adequate and required operational and logístical support systems;
- Oversee efficient, effective, integrated and accurate systems for students and staff;
- Provide input into the maintenance, development, enhancements and upgrades of PeopleSoft and other student systems, to ensure self-services are fully exploited;
- Business process re-engineering to ensure that business processes are revised and re-engineered to ensure continual improvement, improved productivity, and reduced wastage;
- Provide support for, and facilitate the integration and coordination of self-service functionalities used by students across the University;
- Champion various change management initiatives to ensure students / staff are fully aware of the self-service enhancements;
- Ensure adaptability in how services are delivered, as in the case of Covid lockdown;
- Stakeholder management: facilitate, co-ordinate, chair various key meetings, and ensure that specific action plans are developed and implemented. Facilitate outcomes and implement corrective actions, where necessary. Ensure cooperation with other stakeholders to meet needs of division and UP as a whole. Ensure effective communication with students in cooperation with relevant stakeholders;
- Manage special system related projects, which include institutional projects that affect the market and the image of the University of Pretoria, as well as internal projects, which affect the whole institution e.g. self-service enhancements and continual innovations, student intranet, and self-services;
- Provide strategic leadership for the project management of DESA projects, as well as cross-functional projects across the institution. This includes initiation, facilitation, coordination, negotiation, project planning, budg