Key details

Job Highlight

Requirements

Experience

• Five (5) years’ experience at a middle/senior managerial level providing executive support
• strategic coordination or advisory services in the public sector. Demonstrated experience in strategic planning
• policy analysis
• governance
• reporting and institutional coordination. Experience working with political principals
• oversight structures
• and high-level stakeholders is essential.

Knowledge

KNOWLEDGE: Knowledge and understanding of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa and public sector legislation (including Public Service Act, Public Administration Management Act, Skills Development Act, Public Finance Management Act).

Public sector governance, executive support functions and institutional coordination practices.

Public administration, public policy processes and government planning and reporting cycles.

Legislative and policy frameworks: Constitution, PFMA, PSA, PAMA, MISS, PAIA, POPIA and Treasury Regulations.

Government protocol, Cabinet and Cluster systems, parliamentary processes and intergovernmental relations.

Strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, risk management and policy analysis.

Executive communication, briefing systems, corporate governance and decision-support processes.

Knowledge of stakeholder management methodologies and issue- management approaches.

Batho Pele Principles.

Competencies

COMPETENCIES: Must be able to provide a vision, set the direction for the business unit and inspire others to deliver on the organisational mandate.

Must be able to plan, manage, monitor and evaluate specific activities in order to deliver the desired outputs.

Must be able to compile and manage budgets, control cash flow, institute risk management and administer tender procurement processes in accordance with generally recognised financial practices to ensure the achievement of strategic organisational objectives.

Must be able to initiate and support organisational transformation and change to successfully implement new initiatives and deliver on service delivery commitments.

Must be able to promote the generation and sharing of knowledge and learning to enhance the collective knowledge of the organisation.

Must be able to explore and implement new ways of delivering services that contribute to the improvement of organisational processes to achieve organisational goals.

Must be able to systematically identify, analyse and resolve existing and anticipated problems to reach optimum solutions in a timely manner.

Must be able to manage and encourage people, optimise their outputs and effectively manage relationships in order to achieve organisational goals.

Must be willing and able to deliver services effectively and efficiently to put the spirit of customer service (Batho Pele) into practice.

Must be able to exchange information and ideas in a clear and concise manner appropriate for the audience to explain, persuade, convince and influence others to achieve the desired outcomes.

Must be able to display and build the highest standards of ethical and moral conduct to promote confidence and trust in the Public Service.

Skills

• SKILLS: High-level analytical
• interpretative and synthesis skills. Executive writing
• speech writing
• policy brief development and communication. Strategic planning
• coordination and project management. Problem-solving
• judgement and decision-making. Stakeholder engagement
• negotiation and diplomacy. Excellent interpersonal and professional communication skills. Advanced computer literacy (MS Office suite
• digital collaboration tools). Information management
• workflow management and organisational skills.

Personal Attributes

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES: Participate in professional development growth activities for maintaining professional knowledge and staying current with curricular trends.

Ability to multi-task and organise, prioritise, and follow multiple projects and tasks through to completion with attention to details.

Ability to work independently while contributing to a team environment.

Ability to analyse problems, identify solutions and take appropriate action, resolve conflicts using independent judgment and decision-making processes.

Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with management, employees, stakeholders and the public.

Integrity and honesty; detail-oriented; creative and innovative; ability to work under pressure.

Travel and work extended hours.

Preference will be given to African Females, Youth, African and Coloured Males and people with disability in accordance with our employment equity requirements.

Duties

The incumbent will be responsible for the following Key Results Areas: Analyse, synthesise and quality-assure strategic submissions, reports and briefing notes for the Principal to support informed decision-making.

Provide advisory support on institutional priorities, emerging policy issues, sector trends and risks affecting the NSG.

Coordinate the development of executive communication, speeches, talking points and strategic inputs.

Manage executive 77 correspondence, oversee quality assurance processes and ensure adherence to protocols and timelines.

Support the Principal on strategic engagements by preparing agendas, research notes, policy briefs and follow-up actions.

Monitor the implementation of key directives and decisions issued by the Principal, ensuring accountability and timely reporting.

Coordinate the development and integration of strategic, operational and performance information for the Office of the Principal.

Manage processes for MANCO, EXCO, governance committees and other internal structures to ensure well-coordinated and compliant submissions.

Establish tracking mechanisms for institutional commitments, Cabinet/Cluster decisions, parliamentary queries and performance reporting obligations.

Facilitate alignment between the Office of the Principal and branches on priorities, risks, critical projects and institutional messaging.

Oversee executive internal communication channels to ensure accurate, timely and coherent information flow.

Provide oversight of executive diaries, logistical arrangements and workflow to support efficiency and responsiveness.

Oversee issue-management processes, including synthesising institutional challenges, escalations and risks for executive attention.

Provide a central coordination point for branches to engage with the Office of the Principal on strategic matters.

Facilitate coherent institutional responses to queries from oversight bodies, the Ministry, parliamentary committees and central departments.

Support crisis-response coordination and prepare executive situational analyses to aid rapid interventions.

Monitor cross-cutting institutional projects and provide progress briefs to the Principal.

Track and manage reputational risks and prepare executive responses and mitigation updates.

Coordinate strategic engagement with key partners through high-level meetings, dialogues and collaborative platforms.

Build and maintain relationships with government departments, HEIs, research bodies and development partners to support institutional collaboration.

Facilitate cooperative initiatives with internal and external stakeholders to advance institutional priorities.

Manage stakeholder communication and information exchange to strengthen collaborative efforts.

Maintain stakeholder mapping, engagement plans and follow-up processes to ensure sustained partnerships.

Coordinate the Principal’s participation in national, continental and international collaborative forums.

Manage the resources (people, finance, systems, assets) allocated within the directorate.

Manage the implementation of operations management within the business unit, including determining service standards, standard operating procedures, business process management, total quality management, and digital transformation.

Develop appropriate strategies and plans for achieving performance targets and business unit requirements, including quarterly performance reporting.

Identify and manage strategic and operational risks within the business unit, as well as mitigation plans, including business continuity plans.

Manage a team of employees and service providers who are expected to accomplish assigned duties efficiently, effectively, and competently and to strive for improvement and excellence in all work performed.

How to apply

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