DIRECTOR:ESI.1.03

Organization: Evolutionary Studies Institute

UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND, JOHANNESBURG

FACULTY OF SCIENCE

DIRECTORSHIP

DIRECTOR: EVOLUTIONARY STUDIES INSTITUTE

(5-year fixed term appointment)

The Faculty of Science invites applications for the above Directorship:

The Evolutionary Studies Institute (ESI) is an international leader in palaeosciences research, advancing palaeontology, palaeoecology, and related evolutionary disciplines for 80 years. It employs six full-time academic researchers, 12 technical and administrative staff, and hosts more than 30 postgraduate students. The ESI holds one of the largest palaeontological collections in Africa, comprising fossil hominins and faunas from the Cradle of Humankind, Palaeozoic and Mesozoic vertebrates from the Karoo Supergroup, and a large palaeobotany herbarium. These collections receive international and local research interest. The ESI manages a suite of staffed research facilities, including fossil preparation laboratories, a fossil casting lab, a Micro-CT scanner with a virtual image processing lab, and a variable pressure SEM. The Faculty of Science seeks to appoint a suitably qualified and experienced Director for the ESI to manage, support, and develop these staff and resources.

The ESI Director will be expected to provide academic vision, professional leadership, and managerial coordination of its various programmes to maintain and build the Institute?s international standing. This vision should include innovations in research, postgraduate training, education, and public communication that foreground the Institute?s role in understanding evolutionary and environmental change. The ESI Director must have the academic standing to instil confidence in the members of the Institute and possess high-level leadership skills to build consensus and enact a shared strategic vision.

The ESI Director is responsible for the administration of the Institute and should be visible and active in the affairs of the Faculty and the University. This includes coordinating academic activities in teaching, research and postgraduate training, human resource activities in recruitment and management, and financial and infrastructure resource management. The ESI Director is expected to maintain an active research program, engage in postgraduate supervision, and contribute to course instruction at an appropriate level during their term of office. The ESI Director will also manage stakeholder relationships with Sterkfontein Caves, the Origins Centre, and other Palaeosciences-adjacent Wits initiatives.

The successful candidate will be appointed for a fixed term of five years with the possibility of a second term following due process and will be eligible for a position in the ESI as a member of the academic staff at the appropriate academic rank after the period served as Director. The ESI Director reports to the Dean of Science and is a member of the Faculty Executive, chaired by the Dean of Science, and contributes to the overall strategic and operational management of the Faculty of Science.

For more information about the Institute see: https://www.wits.ac.za/esi/   

QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS: The Director must hold an appointment at a minimum level of Associate Professor or equivalent at the time of applying, a PhD in an appropriate field that is relevant to the Institute (i.e. Palaeosciences and adjacent disciplines), an accomplished research record, and bona-fide experience in postgraduate training, undergraduate teaching experience, academic leadership, and administration preferably within a university or research environment.

SALARY & BENEFITS: An attractive and competitive salary package will be negotiated on an individual basis.

ENQUIRIES: Mrs Zandi Makasi, Tel: +27 (0) 117171434