Competence Area Manager Built Environment, Spatial Planning and Systems, Pretoria, R1.2 pa neg Our client in the Built Environment (BE) has a challenging position for a Competence Area Manager (CAM) in the Spatial Planning and Systems competence area. This group focuses on urban & regional planning and sustainable human settlements, including functional regions and settlements; socio-ecological resilience and vulnerability; planning processes and instruments; urban growth simulation; remote sensing; social facility guidelines and space requirements; accessibility analysis and typology development; integrated settlement design for sustainability; housing and urban development options; planning and design of safer communities and resource-efficient technology alternatives including appropriate water and sanitation technologies. As a member of the Built Environment leadership team, the Competence Area Manager will provide leadership and direction to the competence area in collaboration with its engineers, technologists and scientists. This position is based in Pretoria Requirements: • A Master’s degree in a relevant science or engineering domain although a Doctoral degree would be preferred. • At least 5 years’ leadership and management experience of professionals (including all aspects of science, financial, HR, and logistics management). • Minimum of 10 years’ experience in research. • Evidence of substantive training in leadership and/or business management. • Preferably registered with professional body. • Experience in financial, HR, and business mechanisms and processes • Insight into science and technology of the competence area to provide guidance on research direction. • Must have publications track records. • Appropriate national and international scientific engagement among peers. • Interpersonal communication skills. • Excellent people skills. • Excellent team player. • Communication and presentation skills. • Extensive report-writing skills. • Skills and experience in scientific project leadership. Responsibilities: Leadership and Management • Contributing to the operating unit (OU) research strategy in conjunction with Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) Leadership. • Providing and coordinating strategic leadership within the competence area, and providing inputs at OU level. • Member of management team with management team responsibilities and accountability. • Motivating and leading research groups and individual researchers to deliver on the OU research strategy. • Effective and mature management of professionals. • Ensuring staff development, strategic human capital development (HCD) (profiles, capacity and development) to advance individual researchers through their research careers. • Ensuring demographic transformation of the competence area. • Performance management. • Staff authorisations. • Effective communication and motivation of staff. • Ensuring implementation of quality initiatives. Business • In line with the OU strategy, and in conjunction with SET Leadership, constructing and implementing a business plan for the operation, sustainable growth and robustness of the competence area (including strategy, goals, mission, HR, finances) and ensuring that the competence area remains a national leader in its field, with international recognition. • Implementation and compliance with appropriate financial and business systems. • Alignment of competence area strategic objectives with those of the OU. • Business development. • Strategic stakeholder interaction (competence-aligned stakeholders and clients) and liaison with external stakeholders, together with Strategic Relationships Manager and SET Leadership. • Financial sustainability of the competence area. Research and Research Investment • Contributing to OU research strategy development and implementing appropriate components of research strategy. • Contributing to strategic investment goal setting and development of a research strategy for the competence area. • Proposing, planning and implementing Parliamentary Grant and other grant-funded projects. • Ensuring high-quality SET expertise, development of appropriate SET capacity and profiles. • Ensuring SET outputs (SET productivity) and quality. • Responsibility for managing families of research groups. • Establishing and servicing strategic alliances (institutional) according to research and development (R&D) strategy (with SET leadership). Our client is an Employment Equity Employer, giving preference to suitable previously disadvantaged candidates who contribute to the diversity of the Company. Instructions Credit, criminal, qualification and employment history checks are a pre-requisite for this position. Should you not be contacted within 10 days please consider your application as unsuccessful. Please note that correspondence will be entered into with short-listed candidates only.