About the position
Postion Summary:
The Research, Innovation, Impact Support and Advancement (RIISA) is a division within the NRF that provides funding across the human capital development pipeline, for next-generation and emerging researchers. The Next Generation Researcher section provides support for postgraduate students pursuing a honours, masters and doctoral degree and as well as Global Knowledge Partnership mobilities placements.
Key Responsibilities:
- The Liaison Officer supports the departmental team and Manager in achieving department-specific goals and objectives outlined in the Annual Performance Plan, aligning with NRF vision 2030This involves supporting end-to-end grant administration activities for programme implementation, such as call provisioning, applications, screening, review, evaluation, awarding, expenditure, communication, monitoring, and reportingThe role also includes identifying risks, challenges, opportunities, and innovative solutions to enhance service quality within the new NRF Service Delivery ModelOther duties include continuously updating data and document repositories, ensuring compliance with NRF policies, providing technical administrative support for presentations and meetings, and participating in drafting internal business documentsMaintain effective client information database for national, regional, and global stakeholderThe Liaison Officer provides technical support for various stakeholder engagements, including meetings, workshops, conferences, and institutional visitsActive participation in departmental meetings, briefings, seminars, and forumsA key aspect is serving as a liaison for communication between the NRF and institutional grants administration officersResponsiveness to stakeholder requests and inquiries in an informed and customer-centric manner, and providing support relating to NRF ConnectAssisting with coordination of communication and marketing activities of the unit is crucial, including communication to postal and panel reviewersThe Liaison Officer assists with the technical administration of grant administration transactions in collaboration with the RIISA finance departmentProviding effective administrative support to the unit to ensure compliance with Supply Chain Management (SCM) guidelines for procurement is essentialOther tasks include compiling data for budget processes, administering grant awards and budget adjustments, addressing audit queries, and extracting grant income and expenditure dataEnsures cost efficiency for operational costsThe Liaison Officer provides administrative support for the monitoring and evaluation of departmental funded projects and initiatives to ensure expected output, outcomes, and impact are achievedThis includes extracting and compiling performance data for reporting on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) quarterly and annuallyActive participation in the evaluation of funding instruments is expectedThe role also involves continually monitoring the quality of Grant Data to ensure data integrity and providing grant administration inputs for departmental and RIISA Quarterly and Annual Progress Reports (APR
Minimum Qualification:
- Bachelors Degree / Advanced Diploma / NQF 7
Minimum Experience:
- Bachelor’s Degree / Advanced Diploma / NQF 7At least 1-2 years post-bachelor’s degree work experience in a relevant research and development environment
- Technical office administration experience is also essential
Experience:
- Crucial related skills include stakeholder liaison, financial administration, good writing skills, good interpersonal skills, problem-solving, time management skills, and communication skillsComputer proficiency with the MS Office suite is explicitly required
Knowledge:
- Candidates must possess knowledge of the South African Higher Education System and the National Research Foundation and its mandateKnowledge of technical office administration is also necessary
The NRF website provides more details on the initiatives and activities Applicants should submit a comprehensive CV by registering and apply online through the NRF Recruitment and Selection Portal. Applications should be accompanied by a letter of motivation indicating the applicant·s suitability for the position. The names and contact details of at least three referees should be provided.
Desired Skills:
- Skilled in applied field of position
- Knowledge to be relevant
- Responsible in performing duties
About The Employer:
The National Research Foundation (NRF) supports and promotes research and human capital development through funding, the provision of National Research Facilities and science outreach platforms and programmes to the broader community in all fields of science and technology, including natural sciences, engineering, social sciences and humanities. The National Research Foundation (NRF) is and established by an Act of Parliament and mandated to contribute to national development by supporting, promoting and advancing research human capacity development, through funding and the provision of the necessary research infrastructure, in order to facilitate the creation of knowledge, innovation and development in all fields of science and technology, including humanities, social sciences and indigenous knowledge; and supporting and promoting public awareness of, and engagement with, science.
