CADASTRAL OFFICER

The Department of Land Reform and Rural Development is advertising a Cadastral Officer position within its Information Services directorate, based in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal. This role is critical to the accuracy and integrity of South Africa’s cadastral system, which records the precise boundaries and ownership of land parcels. Working within a unit that supports Surveyors-General Offices, the successful candidate will help ensure that all cadastral documents are correctly captured, maintained, and made accessible to both internal users and the general public. This is a technical administrative post that combines data management, document control, spatial data handling, and client support, making it a varied and responsible role within government land administration.

Candidates wishing to apply must hold a Grade 12 certificate together with a National Certificate in Geomatics or a Survey Officer Certificate at NQF Level 5, and they must also have completed the prescribed training required for that qualification. This formal background is essential because the duties demand a solid understanding of surveying concepts and spatial data structures. Job-related knowledge required includes computer literacy, a working grasp of spatial data, and familiarity with the functions of the Surveyors-General Offices. In addition, applicants should demonstrate strong interpersonal relations, good verbal and written communication, proficiency with computer software, and sound organisational ability. These skills are necessary to handle the volume of documents, respond to queries, and maintain orderly records.

The core duties of the Cadastral Officer revolve around capturing, maintaining, and updating alpha-numeric data for all cadastral documents. This includes entering information from newly submitted documents, performing mathematical consistency checks, and verifying data for proposed new land parcels. The officer will also update cadastral survey databases whenever approved documents are added or amended, and capture and verify historical cadastral records. Beyond data entry, the role requires managing documents according to legislated processes: withdrawing or cancelling documents, endorsing registered land parcels, leases or servitudes, amending approved documents, inserting new approvals into the archive, extracting and refiling records, and repairing documents to keep them in usable condition. A significant part of the work involves technical examination of diagrams, general plans, survey records, and sectional title plans, as well as checking designations on newly submitted lodgements and updating noting sheets.

The position also involves supplying cadastral information to internal and external clients, such as issuing survey data to land surveyors, disseminating information to the public in hard copy or digital form, and providing aerial photographs, rectified imagery and maps from the national geospatial information authority in line with service level agreements. Spatial data maintenance is another key responsibility, including capturing new documents to detect spatial overlaps before approval, adding newly created land parcels to spatial datasets, and updating historical data. Finally, the officer must scan all cadastral documents upon approval, amendment, endorsement or withdrawal, link the scanned images to the alpha-numeric data, and ensure the digital repository remains accurate. This position has employment equity targets; accordingly, preference will be given to Coloured, Indian and White males, African, Coloured, Indian and White females, and persons with disabilities, in line with the department’s equity plan. This is a full-time, technically demanding post suited to individuals with meticulous attention to detail and a commitment to preserving South Africa’s land record.