PALAMA, the Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy, was officially launched by the President in August 2008. It has the statutory mandate for training in the public service, and is the outcome of a far-reaching reconstitution of the former South African Management Development Institute (SAMDI), in accordance with a Cabinet mandate.

PALAMA's new strategy aims to improve the reach and quality of senior management development, and achieve a five-fold increase in training opportunities for middle and junior management, at national, provincial and local levels. This will involve energising the entire public-sector training landscape, and fostering collaborations among public administration training institutions – provincial academies, higher and further education institutions and the private sector – in respect of training provision, as well as needs analysis, curriculum and materials development, modes of learning, assessment, certification, accreditation and evaluation.

A new and expanded organisational structure has been implemented, innovative work- processes are being developed, and the organization has moved to a new office building just off Mandela Drive in Pretoria. The new strategy and organogram may be seen on our website at www.palama.gov.za.

An extensive recruitment campaign was launched during 2008 to fill the vacancies in the Academy. Some thirty appointments at the senior management service (SMS) level have been made. Applications are now invited for the SMS positions below that are still vacant. For each vacancy, identified by its job reference number, www.palama.gov.za has the full job profile, showing the key performance areas and job requirements.

In addition to the specific competencies, qualifications and experience indicated below for each position, the culture of the new organisation calls for applicants who have:  Intellectual and personal integrity, with the imagination and drive to advance the transformation agenda in the Academy and the public service;  A strong user orientation, based on a commitment to effective service delivery that responds to various departmental and other users' needs;  A flexible, open mindset that is innovative, creative at problem-solving and lateral in its thinking and approach;  An enthusiasm for applying technology and re-engineered work processes;  Personal commitment to hard work, performance orientation and meeting deadlines;  Strong interpersonal skills to engage in a collaborative work environment, and handle the demands of rapid and far-reaching change.

Applicants for the Deputy Directors General and Chief Director posts are likely to have a relevant Masters or more senior qualification and extensive experience; for Directors, an Honours degree and substantial experience are expected. Achievements in management and/or management-development will be valued, from within the public service or beyond – in HEIs or FETs, NGOs, or the private sector.

The vacancies are as follows. They are grouped by Branch.

1 Branch 1: Governance and Strategic Support (GS) This Branch supports the DG and top management with the strategic and allied support functions required to position the Academy and drive through its transformation and development. Its divisions cover the planning and reporting involved in the strategic cycle; intergovernmental and parliamentary relations; knowledge management; internal and external communication; legal and contractual issues and an project-management capacity to consult internally to projects.

1.1 Deputy Director General: Governance and Strategic Support (Ref:GS1) The Deputy Director-General will provide strategic leadership to the overall planning, reporting and presentation processes and give direction at a strategic level to the abovementioned support activities that cut across line functions. He/she will provide support and assistance to the DG in consolidating the transformation; in delivering the Academy’s governance obligations; and in facilitating its relationship with the Minister and other Government departments. Candidates must have the capacity to function as a general manager, ideally including knowledge and experience of Government or the wider public sector.

1.2 Chief Director: Strategic Cycle (Ref:GS2) This person will drive the strategic planning and reporting cycle and associated reports, presentations, and follow-through; schedule and convene meetings and forums for collaborative input among Branch heads and the wider SMS; as well as facilitate processes pertaining to the governance and due process of the Academy. Requirements include an in-depth knowledge of how Government or the wider public sector functions; good interpersonal and project management skills to elicit collaboration and support from colleagues and stakeholders; excellent report-writing skills; and high MS Office literacy, including spreadsheets and presentations.

Branch 2: Executive Development (ED) This Branch co-ordinates the provision of executive development programmes for the Senior Management Service (SMS), from Directors all the way up to DGs. It delivers its mandate in collaboration with HEIs, regional and international partners. Programmes and interventions focus on contextual leadership, strategy and planning, effective management, interpersonal competencies, and ethos for a responsive Public Service, and are aligned to DPSA's leadership competencies. SMS offerings are being grounded in rigorous research, widespread benchmarking and global best practice.

2.1 2XChief Directors: Executive Development (Ref:ED 2/3) 2.2 2XDirectors: Executive Development (Ref:ED 6/7) These components attend to executive development interventions for the SMS, differentiated by level or programmes. The Chief Directors lead teams of professionals who engage with HEIs and other external service providers to specify requirements aligned to client needs and manage quality and service delivery of SMS programmes. The Directors provide leadership to a team that manages the design and implementation of a specific programme for the SMS. Both levels call for innovativeness in management development, superior project management skills, and ability to interface with key stakeholders, service providers and clients at executive levels.

Branch 3: Curriculum and Materials Design (CM)

2 This Branch provides leadership for the design, quality assurance and accreditation of learning programmes within a national learning framework. The external providers using the curricula and materials in the framework will be aiming at some 250 000 junior and middle managers in the Public Service, across the full spectrum of practical management training needs, including developmental skills and ethos.

3.1 Chief Director: Curriculum Design (Ref:CM2) This Component attends to the curriculum and materials design process for Academy programmes, aligned to curriculum frameworks for Public Service capacity development needs. The Chief Director will provide direction and guidance to a number of teams comprising a mix of Director(s) and Deputy and/or Assistant Directors with specific expertise in curriculum and/or materials design and will co-ordinate their activities – including extensive collaborations with service providers, reviewers etc. The successful candidate will be a respected and well-networked professional in the field, with exceptional interpersonal skills to engage vigorously with professional colleagues both within and beyond the Academy

Branch 4: Provider and Partner Mobilisation (JP) This Branch mobilises, co-ordinates, monitors and quality-assures the range of organisations and individuals that provide training at the levels of the Junior and Middle Management Service (JMMS) on behalf of the Academy and its provincial counterparts. These include HEIs, FET colleges, provincial academies and units, the colleges run by sectoral departments, private sector organisations, NGO’s and individual contractors.

4.1 Director: Provider and Partner Mobilisation (Ref: JP5) This Component attends to the sourcing, mobilisation, professional development and management of outsourced service providers to deliver training and development programmes at national, provincial and local level on behalf of the Academy, to ensure that the greatly increased targets for Public Service training are achieved. The Director will assume responsibility for aspects of planning and delivering this process. Candidates must have good organisational and project and process management abilities to manage and co-ordinate the outsourced delivery component, which is integral to the success of the Academy.

4.2 Chief Director: Monitoring and Evaluation (Ref: JP2) 4.3 Director: Monitoring & Evaluation (Ref: JP 6) The M&E component helps to ensure that training takes place to the required standards of quality and quantity, through providing ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the wide range of outsourced provision envisaged in the new strategy. Both qualitative and quantitative aspects will be addressed, using up-to- date methodologies and techniques. Activities will include comprehensive evaluation of feedback from trainees; on-site monitoring on a sample basis; and impact evaluation studies. The Chief Director provides the overall strategic direction and co-ordination to the component, and enables the necessary partnerships for service provision and high-quality M&E processes. The Directors focus on planning and executing the roll out of either qualitative or quantitative monitoring and evaluation processes.

4.4 Director: Sectoral and OD Consulting (Ref:JP4) The Director will lead this component in providing consulting-type support to government departments that request assistance in planning and prepare to outsource capacity-building and training initiatives that are specific to their

3 organizational development or service-delivery improvement. S/he will bring in other PALAMA components or outside specialists to assist, e.g. with development of special curricula, quality assurance, sourcing of providers, training needs analysis etc. The successful candidate will be a self-starter and effective networker, able to assemble and steer teams from various components and organizations to help departments to strategise and design their specific training needs.

Branch 5: Business Development (BD) Working collaboratively with user departments and a range of providers, this Branch drives the identification of training needs within the public service at national, provincial and local levels, as well as the marketing of suitable programmes to address these needs. By these means it fosters the take-up of opportunities for training on a greatly increased scale. It closely interfaces within the Academy with the Provider Mobilisation and Training Co-ordination Branches.

5.1 Chief Director: Business Development (Ref: BD5) 5.2 Director: Business Development (Ref: BD2) The Chief Director will provide strategic leadership to the identification of training needs within a tier, or combination of tiers, of Government and to the marketing of suitable programmes to address these needs, as well as drive the liaison with top officials within the tier. S/he will set in place the necessary processes and resources to raise awareness of what is available, and to match human resource development needs to targeted interventions. The Director, alongside counterpart Directors, assumes responsibility for a particular portfolio of national departments, or regions of provincial departments. Candidates for either of these positions must have a sound understanding of human resource development processes as well as extensive knowledge of all tiers of Government and how they function. Personal presence and credibility to engage persuasively with stakeholders at the most senior levels, as well as in marketing the training and development opportunities offered by PALAMA, are essential.

Branch 6: Finance The Academy needs greatly expanded and modernized financial and supply chain services to cope with the demands created by facilitating massively extended training: notably a greatly increased number and variety of transactions, as well as new high-tech systems and their integration. One key challenge for this Branch will be to specify and implement an enterprise resource planning system for the Academy's growing trading account, to integrate other data from various Branches, and to interface reliably with Government's systems. Another will be the user-orientation required for bottom-up budgeting, and for providing managers with accessible online information to guide the exercise of their extensive delegations.

6.1 Director : Financial Accounts (Ref:CF3) The Director will drive the expansion of a modernised financial accounting section to handle the significantly increased volume of transactions, arising from ‘massified’ training activities on an outsourced delivery model. S/he will manage the financial reporting process to standard and deadline as well as specify and implement the integrated systems needed to achieve the above.

Packages for the positions, by level, extend from: Deputy Director General: R833,532 per annum; Chief Director: R675,276 per annum; Director: R557,133 per annum. 4 Packages are on a fully inclusive package basis comprising a basic salary, the employer contributions to the Government Employee Pension Fund and a flexible portion which may be structured in terms of the relevant regulations.

 Please indicate in your application, and on the envelope, the position for which you are applying and its reference number. Submit your application to Ms Elna van Niekerk, HR Department, PALAMA: by hand at ZK Matthews Building, 70 Meintje Street, Sunnyside, Pretoria; or by post to PALAMA, Private Bag X759, Pretoria, 0001; or by fax to PALAMA, fax 012 441 6030. If you wish to apply for more than one position, please submit separate, complete applications for each post for which you wish to apply. E-mailed applications will not be accepted.  Applications must consist of: a fully completed and signed Z83 form (please fill in all the boxes on the Z83 – it may be downloaded from the DPSA websiteat www.dpsa.gov.za); a recent comprehensive CV; telephone, fax and e-mail contacts for three referees; certified copies of ID document and educational qualifications; and a letter of motivation indicating why you are interested in the position and consider yourself suitably qualified.  The Z83 form requires an indication of race, gender. Please also indicate disability if applicable. The Academy seeks to promote equity as defined in its Employment Equity Plan when filling vacant posts. Its commitment to equity includes providing an enabling environment for all employees.  Foreign qualifications must be accompanied by an evaluation certificate from the South African Qualification Authority (SAQA). All non-SA citizens must attach a certified copy of proof of permanent residence in South Africa.  References will be taken for short-listed candidates, and they will be required to complete competence exercises in advance, in the competencies required for the position.  Successful candidates will be appointed on a probation period of 12 months.  In terms of a new Public Service Regulation, appointments will be subject to the verification of criminal records, citizenship, financial/asset records, and educational qualifications (for which a consent form needs to be completed).  Whilst it is envisaged that most appointees will work in the Pretoria head-office of the Academy, appointments may also be considered, depending on the pattern of applications, in Cape Town, and in Ethekweni (Durban) and Johannesburg where the Academy will have regional centers. Applicants who are only available to be appointed only in one of these three locations should indicate so.  PALAMA reserves the right not to appoint to a particular post.  Please note: The number of posts advertised and applications that will be received means that processing may take a considerable time. All applicants will be notified in due course of the outcome of their applications, but are requested not to make enquiries.

The closing date for applications for the two Governance and Strategic Support posts, i.e. GS1 and GS2, is 26 January 2009; and for all other posts is 9 February 2009.

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