Job Title: Associate Director for Academic Affairs
Reporting Relationship: Director, the Africa Institute
Span of Supervision: Academic Departments and Units
Location: The Africa Institute (AI), Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Expected Starting Date: Spring 2020
Role Purpose:
The Associate Director for Academic Affairs will be a member of the faculty of the IA, who is responsible for working with the Director to establish the academic structure of The Africa Institute and its different departments and units, in addition to playing a key role in establishing the Academic Affairs department, which is crucial in ensuring a smooth academic and educational experience to students and visiting scholars of the AI. This position will be pivotal in promoting and maintaining the academic excellence of the Institute. The incumbent will actively contribute to establishing and coordinating the academic programs leading to both Masters’ and Ph.D. degrees. The Associate Director is expected to have a doctoral degree with a specialization in African and African Diaspora Studies (Humanities or Social Sciences) who holds a doctoral degree and a record of publications and teaching experience.
Key Responsibilities:
Academic Programs and Accreditation
· Establish the Academic Affairs Department and plan for the required resources. Initially, plan for the Library, Office of Academic Services, Academic Advising and Registrar
· Develop and administer academic policies and procedures
· Strategically contribute to developing the academic programs and start the accreditation process
Faculty Supervision and Development
· Work with the Director of AI to establish the academic structure of the Institute
· Direct the design and implementation of the faculty development plan including that of adjunct and visiting faculty.
· Supervise the faculty affairs manager in the recruitment and orientation processes.
· Manages faculty evaluations procedures in compliance with the faculty by-laws and statutes
· Prepare and maintain a Faculty/Instructor Handbook
Supervise the Registrar to:
· Prepare, update and publish the academic calendar
· Ensure students are enrolled for classes in a timely fashion
· Ensure an overall effective classes schedule
· Ensure academic records are correctly maintained and updated
Required Education:
The Associate Director for Academic Affairs should be a qualified scholar with a Ph.D. degree from an internationally accredited research university who has a promising record of published work, in addition to teaching credentials.
Required Work Experience:
· Must have minimum 10 to 15 years of experience in higher education with specialization in African and African Diaspora Studies, and a reasonable experience of graduate teaching and supervision, academic program leadership, and faculty development is required. Experience as a tenure-track, tenured, or non-tenured faculty member at an accredited college or university with a record of teaching and leadership in graduate education, online education, or professional studies.
· Experience as an academic program director/administrator is preferable.
· Experience as an assistant academic dean or associate academic dean highly desired.
· Proven track record in institutional/departmental building.
Key Competencies:
· Excellent leadership and planning skills
· Ability to work collaboratively
· Good Communication and interpersonal skills
· Experience with developing and implementing policies and decisions.
· Excellent organizational and problem-solving skills.
· Respect of diversity and experience in working in multi-cultural environments
· English proficiency is a must. Knowledge of other languages such as Arabic and French is an advantage.
If you are interested, kindly send your CV and a Cover Letter to the following email: applications@theafricainstitute.org , hr@theafricainstitute.org
Please mention the position you are applying for in the subject line.
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Job Title: Librarian
Reporting Relationship: Associate Director for Academic Affairs
Span of Supervision: 1-3 staff members
Location: The Africa Institute (AI), Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Expected Starting Date: Spring 2020
Role Purpose:
Academic Librarian will be a people-focused role, requiring individuals to manage learning resources while keeping the library users' needs in mind. The Librarian will work on establishing a state-of-the-art resource system for the use of faculty and students.
Key Responsibilities:
· Determine the selection of available materials for use by faculty, students, visiting scholars, researchers, and the public at larger.
· Selecting, developing, cataloguing and classifying library resources
· Develop and index databases that provide information to library users
· Ensure availability of writing resources to students
· Answering visitors’ inquiries
· Ensure library is meeting the needs of all groups of users; faculty, postgraduate students, staff, and be attentive to special needs/disabled visitors
· Develop list of required IT facilities
· Assist readers to use computer equipment to conduct searches
· Plan with the Archivist the strategic directions for archiving materials acquisition
Required Education:
Master of Library Science, Master in Information Management or a related field. Reasonable knowledge of African and African Diaspora studies in relation to information sciences will be preferred.
Required Work Experience:
· A minimum 7 years of experience in a library in higher education setting
· Experience in developing innovative research services to enhance research and teaching
· Experience in providing copyright or licensing services in an academic setting.
· Experience in working with diverse staff
· Experience in managing teams
Key Competencies:
· Excellent leadership and planning skills
· Ability to work collaboratively
· Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills
· Excellent problem-solving skills.
· Respect to diversity and experience in working in multi-cultural environments
· English proficiency is a must. Additional language is an advantage (Arabic and/or French).
If you are interested, kindly send an email with your CV and a Cover Letter to the following email: applications@theafricainstitute.org
Please mention the position you are applying for in the subject line.
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Job Title: Archivist
Reporting Relationship: Librarian
Location: The Africa Institute (AI), Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Expected Starting Date: Spring 2020
Job Status: Full time
Role Purpose:
Reporting to the Librarian, the Archivist provides reference services, and performs organization and processing of rare documents and books including special collections, rare manuscript and photographic collections that would enhance the library collection of the AI for the purpose of research and teaching.
About The Africa Institute:
The AI is a newly-established, research-focused graduate studies institute and think tank.
AI is established as a cultural and academic unique addition to the study of Africa and its diaspora, in addition to its unique emphasis on Afro-Arab historical relations and linkages. AI will contribute to advancing knowledge production about Africa and its people, their social, cultural and intellectual heritage and contributions to human civilization at large. This will be accomplished through research, teaching, and contribution to the development of related academic disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. The institute is working to develop degree programs at the Masters and Ph.D. levels, in relation to Africa and the emerging studies of the global African diaspora, in addition to special diploma in African languages. For more information about AI check: www.theafricainstitute.org
Key Responsibilities:
· Prepare, organize and process archives, manuscripts, photographic and other collections.
· Serve as primary contact for reference in the archives, including establishing and implementing necessary policies.
· Promote use of collections to different user groups
· Create finding guides and records using archival software and provides training to others in doing so.
· Work with the Librarian, to identify and prioritize projects and materials for digitization.
· Work on creating special climates for preservation and conservation of special archival material.
Required Education:
Master of Library and Information Sciences, Master in Information Management or a related field with a focus on archiving. Focus on and reasonable knowledge of African and African Diaspora studies in relation to information sciences will be preferred.
Required Work Experience:
· A minimum 5 years of experience in an academic institution.
· Experience in developing innovative research services to enhance research and teaching
· Knowledge of applicable domain knowledge areas, e.g. African history, diaspora, ethnicities in African and African Diaspora studies
· Experience in working in a diverse environment.
Key Competencies:
· Ability to work collaboratively
· Innovative and initiative-taking
· Respect to diversity and experience in working in multi-cultural environments
· English proficiency is a must. Additional language is an advantage (Arabic and/or French).
If you are interested, kindly send an email with your CV and a Cover Letter to the following email: applications@theafricainstitute.org , hr@theafricainstitute.org
Please mention the position you are applying for in the subject line.
"Salary and further compensation commensurate with degree and experience. Benefits package includes health insurance, housing and transportation, children school fees allowances subject to coordination of benefits."
“The Africa Institute is committed to fair employment practices and encourages women and men of all national, ethnic and religious backgrounds to apply and join our expanding team. UAE nationals are encouraged to apply.”