Graduate Assistant - Johannesburg, South Africa - University of the Witwatersrand

University of the Witwatersrand

Verified Company

Johannesburg, South Africa

3 weeks ago

Posted by:

Thabo Mthembu

beBee Recruiter

Description

The Cultural Policy and Management (CPM) Department is seeking a proactive sessional Graduate Assistant with experience in the arts department within the higher education environment and/or a desire to learn and work in this area.

He/she must be able to engage with the academic and public programs in the departments, providing departmental interface with organisations within the cultural and creative industries.

Cultural Policy and Management (CPM) is an interdisciplinary programme covering fields of cultural policy, arts management, urban cultural governance, cultural economy, cultural entrepreneurship, arts management, audience development, arts marketing, community arts centres, and cultural diplomacy.

The programme broadly explores democratisation of culture and cultural democracy with specific questions around social, cultural, political and economic implications of cultural policy governance, management and administration on broader local, regional and global society.

The programme uses experiential learning drawing on the unique location in the heart of South Africa's economy and its creative capital, the city of Johannesburg, and the extended South African and regional art and culture community that meets in Johannesburg.

The programme enables students to be part of this creative capital and draws from practice and theory that relates most specifically to an African context.

The programme requires students - both South African and other African countries - to be steeped in and knowledgeable about the cultural landscape of their environments and reflect on that knowledge and experience in relation to theory and concepts pertaining to the field.

Staff and students immerse themselves in the arts and creative sector and draw on that expertise and practice to enliven course material and ensure students are given every opportunity to participate in the cultural life of their communities.

The successful applicant would act as a teaching assistant to undergraduate lecturers teaching 3rd and 4th Years with specific focus on maintaining and further developing experiential learning or traineeship programme in liaison with the respective lecturers

Duties:

Negotiating partnerships with new local and international traineeship organisations/companies
Liaising with existing traineeship both local and international organisations in preparation for new academic year
Collating Bios for 3rd, 4th Year and Honours students ahead of their traineeship placements
Placing all 3rd, 4th Year and Honours students is appropriate organisations in line with their professional interests and skill set
Supervision of experiential learning in traineeship organisation in line with the course outlines
Supervision of continuous and summative traineeship assessments of students
Facilitating initial meetings between students and Traineeship Supervisors
Compiling regular reports on all traineeship placement and reporting to 3rd, 4th Year and Honours Lecturers
Reviewing and updating all traineeship documents in line with changes in the Cultural and Creative Industries sector
Supporting students to prepare for their traineeship tasks, reports, and exams
Supporting 3rd, 4th Year and Honours Lecturers in the preparation of exams and compilations of documents for external examiners
Organising excursions for MA Students - booking excursion sites and arranging transport and refreshments

Essential Requirements:

Hons / Master's degree in Cultural Policy and Management or equivalent
2 years' experience in project management, research and/or community engagement in the cultural and creative sector.

Core Competencies:

Networking skills and Cultural and Creative industry knowledge and contacts
Proactive and collaborative
Knowledge of / understanding of Teaching and Learning
Organisational and administration skills
Excellent interpersonal communication skills, both spoken and written
Computer Literacy (Zoom, Skype, Teams, Microsoft Office)
Ability to work independently and as a member of a team.
Ability to work under pressure, take initiative and solve problems.
Ability to perform duties with mínimal supervision and to exercise greater judgement.
Ability to interface with broader publics and the cultural and creative industries.
Excellent time management skills.
Be aware of and able to act on issues relating to transformation in the department and school.
An understanding of university systems would be a distinct advantage (including of SIMS and ULWAZI).

Detailed Description

Job Requirements

Additional Details

How To Apply

**_

**_

The University is committed to employment equity. Preference may be given to appointable applicants from the underrepresented designated groups in terms of the relevant employment equity plans and policies of the University. Designated groups as defined in the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, as amended, means black people