SENIOR LECTURER/ LECTURER

The School of Construction Economics and Management is one of the 33 (thirty-three) schools within the University of Witwatersrand (Wits University), Johannesburg and one of seven (7) within the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at Wits University.

The school offers undergraduate programmes in Construction Studies and Property Studies, postgraduate programmes at Honours, PG Diploma, master?s and PhD levels in the areas of Quantity Surveying, Construction Management, Property Development and Management, Real Estate, and Facilities Management, and executive education programmes in construction and property disciplines. We recently started offering new Postgraduate Diploma programmes in Construction Project Management, Construction Management, and Construction Law and Contract Management. Current enrolment in the school stands around 1500 students of which 46% are undergraduates and 54% are postgraduates. We are a thriving school, and our programmes are accredited locally and internationally by SACQSP, SACPCMP, SACPVP, RICS, CIOB and IREM.

We are the largest school in our field in South Africa and our vision of being is to be a collaborative, healthy and self-sustainable team that works effectively to achieve high research output and impactful education internationally. The school has an Industry Advisory Board comprising of captains of industry drawn from the construction and property sectors. Our enrolment numbers have grown significantly in recent years, and we strive to provide a high- quality education experience for all our students. Our graduates occupy key positions in industry and are in some cases preferred by employers.

The school currently has a complement of 31 academic staff across various built environment disciplines and is now significantly expanding its staffing complement to support demand for its offerings and seeks to appoint experienced full-time academics to drive research and teaching in the following fields: Project Management, Construction Management, Quantity Surveying, Facilities Management and Property Studies/Real Estate. We seek research active individuals to play a role in developing innovative teaching and research aligned with the school?s strategic research themes:

? Digitalization of the Built Environment

? Infrastructure Procurement and Delivery Management

? Real Estate and Infrastructure Finance and Management

? Sustainability in the Built Environment

For Project Management positions, preference will be given to candidates with a construction or engineering management background who are capable of teaching in quantitative areas such as project control, project lifecycle analysis and quantitative risk analysis. We are particularly interested in candidates who can provide quantitative methodological support to research supervision. These positions may be particularly suitable for candidates with a terminal degree in Management Sciences or Operations Research. 

For Construction Management or Quantity Surveying positions, preference will be given to candidates with strong exposure to international best practice in areas such as measurement, procurement, contract management, green building, sustainability, building services, health safety and wellness, and site production management, particularly in the use of digital technologies and AI in QS and CM practice including Building Information Modelling, Digital simulation and modelling and be able to integrate their use into teaching and learning and research.

For Facilities Management, Property or Real Estate positions, preference will be given to candidates who can teach applied quantitative methods in real estate such as Valuation, Applied Econometrics, Applied Corporate Finance, Real Estate Finance, Portfolio Analysis and Asset Management to undergraduate and postgraduate students and provide quantitative methodological support to research supervision and who have a track record of research on asset and facilities management, property and infrastructure finance and financial modelling. 

The candidate?s qualifications and extent of relevant experience will determine the level of appointment.

Appointment criteria are specified in Faculty?s criteria of appointment which can be made available on request.

o Must be holders of a Master?s degree in a built environment or business management qualification although a PhD would be preferred

o Evidence of teaching, course development and academic administration will be an advantage

o Evidence of postgraduate supervision, and the production of research publications will be an advantage

o Should ideally be registered members of international or local professional bodies such as RICS, CIOB, SACPCMP, and/or SACQSP 

o Evidence of service to the profession and/or academic citizenship will be an advantage

o NRF rating is recommended

o Must be holders of a PhD in a built environment or business management qualification 

o Evidence of excellence in teaching course development and academic administration, planning and development 

o Evidence of postgraduate supervision to completion at Masters and/or Doctoral level

o Candidates should preferably be registered members of international or local professional bodies such as RICS, CIOB, SACPCMP, and/or SACQSP 

o Evidence of service to the profession and/or academic citizenship 

o Evidence of a track record of being published locally and internationally with demonstrated impact

o NRF rating is highly recommended

o Demonstrated ability to generate external research income will be an advantage

For both Lecturer and Senior Lecturer, the following duties will be required:  

o To provide best practice-informed teaching to undergraduate, postgraduate and executive education students.

o To supervise industry and postgraduate research particularly in a cross-disciplinary environment.

o To use the insights from reflective practice in teaching and supervision to actively pursue a scholarship of teaching and learning.

o To conduct research of national and international significance and publish consistently in leading international journals.

o To write research grant proposals and secure external research funding.

o To design and implement new programmes and manage existing programmes.

o To participate in academic administration including committees at the school and Faculty level.

o To mentor colleagues and students.

o To develop and sustain relationships with students, alumni and industry stakeholders.

o To work effectively with key stakeholders to help achieve the strategic vision and priorities of the school and the industry especially in the areas of skills development, professionalism and the demographic transformation of the professions within the built environment.

o To represent the school on multiple platforms and use his/her accomplishments to reinforce the brand of the school and the university.

Enquiries Only:  Further information can be obtained from the Acting Head of School, Prof. Dave Root, by e-mail: [email protected]