Control Technical Assistant - Department of Zoology and Entomology

Control Technical Assistant - Department of Zoology and Entomology

FACULTY OF NATURAL AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY AND ENTOMOLOGY

CONTROL TECHNICAL ASSISTANT (ENTOMOLOGY)

PEROMNES POST LEVEL 8

The incumbent will be responsible for:

Presenting, allocated undergraduate Invertebrate Biology practicals;
Setting up and marking of practical tests and practical exams;
Assisting lecturers to integrate theory and practicals;
Planning and setting up allocated practicals for lecturers and obtaining live specimens, slides, alcohol material, notes, and posters;
Curating an Entomological reference collection to aid in Entomological practicals;
Collaborating with other institutions (e.g., ARC and Ditsong museum)





to obtain practical material as well as supplying them with rare student collection material;
Demonstrating and training students in the use of Entomological techniques and equipment;
Helping students with the identification of Insect specimens;
Supplying entomological equipment (e.g., pinning material etc.) to students;
Sorting out and packing away third year students Insect collections (Send material to collections like the National collection, Ditsong museum, and other collectors of specific material);
Sorting out the old and new alcohol material, insect specimens, Entomological equipment, and see that all the alcohol is topped up in the collections;
Ensuring safe storage of chemicals used for practicals in Entomological lab;
Upkeeping of three Entomological store rooms;
Assisting new Entomology lecturers beginning with their research and starting with materials (mostly live and alcohol and pinned materials) needed for their practicals;
Helping with Entomological queries;
Supervising the Entomological work of the lab assistant;






Supervising the laboratory assistant that helps packing out of microscopes, etc. and sticking down provided notes;
Allocating students to practical groups and managing the groups for the first-year module;
Assisting the first-year lecturer and converse with the students and put them in the correct practicals group if they have clashes;
General assistance with student administration;
Coordinating the departmental roster of lectures and practicals with the “senior academic scheduling specialist” at administration for the following year;
Setup for each course and ensuring that there are no clashes in the timetable (Same lecturers lecture in different courses and some students take many courses that might overlap);






Ordering the first and second semester “Prescribed and recommended” books for all the under graduate courses on Nevada (for all the undergraduate lecturer);
Helping with exhibitions and open day – supply material and specimens, microscopes posters and live material.

CLOSING DATE: 20 October 2024

No application will be considered after the closing date, or if it does not comply with at least the minimum requirements

Relevant Bachelors/BTech degree with at least three (3) years’ experience OR National Diploma with at least five (5) years’ experience;
Experience mentioned above should include the following:

tutoring or demonstrating;
basic administration, scheduling and organisation;

A valid driver’s license.

REQUIRED COMPETENCIES (SKILLS,





KNOWLEDGE AND BEHAVIOURAL ATTRIBUTES):

Knowledge on invertebrate and insect biology;
Basic knowledge of insect curation;
Ability to set up practicals;
Appropriate language and communication skills;
Able to work independently, in a group, and under pressure;
Have good interpersonal skills.

ADDED ADVANTAGES AND PREFERENCES:

MSc in Entomology;
Basic laboratory experience.

The annual remuneration package will be commensurate with the incumbent’s level of appointment, as determined by UP policy guidelines. UP subscribes to the BESTMED and UMVUZO medical aid schemes and contributes 50% of the applicable monthly premium.

No application will be considered after the closing date,





or if it does not comply with at least the minimum requirements.

ENQUIRIES:

Ms M Kana, Tel: (012) 460 6662 Email: [email protected] for application-related enquiries, and Prof Adrian M Shrader, Tel: (012) 420 3232 Email: [email protected], for enquiries relating to the post content.

Should you not hear from the University of Pretoria by 31 December 2024, please accept that your application has been unsuccessful.

The University of Pretoria is committed to equality, employment equity and diversity.

In accordance with the Employment Equity Plan of the University and its Employment Equity goals and targets, preference may be given, but is not limited to candidates from under-represented designated groups.







All candidates who comply with the requirements for appointment are invited to apply. All candidates agree to undergo verification of personal credentials.

By applying for this vacancy, the candidates consent to undergo verification of personal credentials and related information including, but not limited to, qualifications, criminal record, credit record, current and historic disciplinary proceedings as part of the selection process.

The University of Pretoria reserves the right to not fill the advertised positions.

▶️ Control Technical Assistant - Department of Zoology and Entomology
🖊️ University of Pretoria
📍 Newcastle