Administrative Assistant: Hasso Plattner Institute of Design Thinking Graduate School of Business

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

Hasso Plattner Institute of Design Thinking Graduate School of Business

The Hasso Plattner Institute of Design Thinking at the University of Cape Town (d-school) is looking for an organized, proactive individual to join their team. This is a new position and the University of Cape Town would like to appoint an administrative assistant to the Director for a period of 24 months. The position requires someone to coordinate the administrative activities for the d-school, a new unit currently operating under the Deputy Vice Chancellor’s Office and based at the Graduate School of Business. The new UCT d-school has been established with seed funding from the Hasso Plattner Foundation. It is the third Hasso Plattner Institute of Design Thinking in the world; joining the well-established Institutes at Stanford http://dschool.stanford.edu/ and Potsdam Universities http://hpi.de/en/school-of-design-thinking.html.

The d-school, is an education, training and research institute that offers programmes in design thinking to post graduate students who are registered at UCT. The institute also offers executive professionals programmes in the private, public sectors, and community-based development practitioners. The d-school‘s overall objective is to promote, train and capacitate individuals and organisations in the practice of design thinking as an enabler of innovation and new outcomes that can meet the needs of users in complex socio-political and economic contexts.

Reporting to the d-school Director, the Administrative Assistant is required to:

• Provide administrative support to the Director
• Coordinate efficient day to day running of the office and office space
• Establish and maintain the office filing system (physical and virtual)
• Ensure that administrative systems remain functional and that office systems are maintained
• Monitor units budgets and expenditure
• Liaise with UCT’s financial and contracts departments
• Communicate and consult with relevant stakeholders
• Monitor the progress of relevant recruitment and selection paperwork
• Keep unit aware of the contractual obligations for each research and programme project
• Liaise with finance to set up dedicated funds, reporting requirements, etc required for specific projects
• Photocopy and scan and assist with the compilation of documents and presentations as necessary
• Maintaining stocks of standard forms and stationary and completing requisition orders to facilitate the replenishment of items prior to depletion
• Arrange travel as and when required
• Book venues, arrange catering and attend to all other logistical and administrative arrangements for meetings as required
• Preparing notification, agendas and minutes for specific meetings and attending to the distribution and/ or arranging for the collection of documentation prior to scheduled meetings
• Keep all staff informed of developments within the department
• Process reimbursements and invoices for the programs
• Receive and arrange for the printing of program stationery timeously
• Oversee the quality of all material printed
• Ensure the safe keep of all d-school program material, stationery and other inventorial items
• Liaise and work closely with the IT department on all d-school IT support needs
• Liaise and work closely with the UCT property department on d-school space and office furniture needs
• Develop and continuously update Standard Operating Procedures for admin related processes
• Maintain a database of all d-school contacts
• Provide d-school team with regular updates of GSB/UCT policies impacting d-school work
• Maintain participants database with all relevant information
• Provide logistical support and assistance to delegates during d-school program training

The successful candidate will need to have:

• At least five years appropriate administration and coordination experience
• Preferably experience of a university environment
• Preferably prior knowledge of UCT computer systems
• Excellent organisational, planning and multi-tasking skills; the ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment; prioritising tasks and working on different country-specific programs simultaneously
• The ability to work independently with minimal supervision, exercise judgement and establish priorities and display personal initiative and resourcefulness
• Good written and presentation skills (total written proficiency in English is required)
• Ability to communicate effectively with stakeholders and partners outside South Africa is essential
• High level of proficiency in MS Office applications
• Strong interpersonal skills and a high level of diplomacy with a high level of emotional intelligence and personal integrity
• Excellent attention to detail
• A professional and mature attitude to the workplace and external environment

The post is advertised as a temporary assignment and linked to the funding cycle of the Institute (24 month contract). The monthly COE will be between R152 148 to R279 277 per annum based on experience. To apply, please click the link below, click on blue box “View all jobs”, follow the brief registration process at the bottom of the advert and submit the following documents:

• UCT Application Form (download at http://forms.uct.ac.za/hr201.doc)
• Cover letter motivating your application
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Please ensure the title and reference number are indicated on the application form. An application which does not comply with the above requirements will be regarded as incomplete. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and may be required to undergo an assessment. Closing date: 8 July 2016 Reference number: E60619 UCT is committed to the pursuit of excellence, diversity and redress in achieving its equity targets. Our Employment Equity Policy is available at http://www.uct.ac.za/downloads/uct.ac.za/about/policies/eepolicy.pdf.

UCT reserves the right not to appoint.