FACULTY OF HUMANITIES, EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
VACANCY: IRC 3498
The University of Botswana (UB), a premier state-owned tertiary institution dedicated to shaping the future through excellence, research, innovation and meaningful societal impact, invites applications from accomplished and suitably qualified professionals for the position of Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer in Psychology (Research) in the Department of Psychology.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
The Associate Professor in Psychology (Research) is responsible for making original contributions to the Psychology discipline, research and scholarship. The incumbent plays a critical role and provides leadership in scholarship and research regionally and makes significant contribution in the governance of the University.
Duties: The successful candidates will be expected to: i. Teach Psychology courses; ii. Raise/solicit research funds from funding agencies within and outside the country; iii. Act as a mentor to junior academic staff; iv. Organise Departmental seminars and conferences; v. Supervise students’ research projects vi. Participate in all academic and professional activities of the department; vii Supervise post graduate and undergraduate student’s projects; viii. Participate in the academic, governance and social engagement in Management or related field; ix. Guide and support students as they acquire learning practices appropriate to the discipline; x. Guide and support a range of students to produce rigorous research or sound professional practice; xi. Review programmes/ courses to ensure they are relevant to and up to date with local, international, global and disciplinary contexts, as well as engagement with students, stakeholders and peers; xii. Ensure alignment between programmes/ courses and respective outcomes, teaching and learning activities, and assessment methods and criteria; ix. Publish findings in reputable journals and present at conferences for wider dissemination; xiii. Secure external funding to support research and elevate the university's reputation; xiv. Cultivate interdisciplinary collaborations, fostering innovation and problem-solving; xv. Drive grant proposal development to sustain research momentum; xvi. Proactively engage in consultancy services in line area of expertise; xviii. Manage a Faculty/unit or department in the university as assigned/ appointed; xix. Contribute to programme development and quality assurance internally and externally, including short executive development courses; xx. Engage in activities to enhance the university's profile and foster community development (e.g., leadership in professional committees, service in regional/ international bodies/ expert panels, or leadership in public and/or private organisations); xxi. Make high level impact in institutional and national policy review; xxii. Keep abreast of developments within own field of study and its implications for teaching and learning, community engagement, research, etc.; xxiii. Participate in the identification and mitigation of operational risks; xxiv. Comply with relevant regulations and legislation
Carry out any other responsibilities assigned by the Head of School/Departmental Chairperson required by the University in line with the role.
Requirements for Associate Professor: (i) a PhD/Doctorate in Research Psychology or any relevant and related field; (ii) if the PhD/Doctorate is not in Psychology the Master’s degree and registration to practice should be in Research or General Psychology; (iii) at least six (6) years relevant teaching experience at university or comparable institution; (iv) a minimum of 12 pieces of research products (e.g. articles, book chapters, peer reviewed conference proceedings, etc.) published by recognized publishers. Eight (8) of these must be articles in refereed/accredited journals in internationally recognized indexing databases. The remaining four (4) publications could be journal articles, book chapters, peer reviewed conference proceedings, etc. published by recognized publishers. An academic book may be equivalent to a maximum of four (4) articles in refereed/accredited journals, depending on the quality and standing of the publisher; (v) sustained research output: a minimum of 2 peer reviewed publications every 3 years; (vi) sustained research activity; on-going externally supported research (e.g. funded or commissioned); (vii) regular paper/poster presentations at national but also increasingly at international conferences; (viii) be lead and/or single author in at least one-third of the required journal publications. There should also be evidence of mentorship of early career scholars/graduate students; (ix) publications should be spread nationally and/or internationally and across journals; (x) recognizable research impact, including but not limited to citations, the h-index, patents, policy applications, peer reviews, publications that are prescribed texts in other institutions etc. (required in at least 2 of the these); (xi) recognized as being of national but increasingly international research standing (e.g. peer reviewing of new research proposals; reference in research committees; editor/guest editor/reviewer of refereed/accredited national and international publishers; editorial board member of an international publisher in a relevant field; invitations as keynote speaker at national and international conferences (required in at least 2 of the these); (xii) evidence of governance and social engagement; (xiii) research collaborations with other institutions or organisations; (xiv) research collaboration with cognate disciplines in the University; (xv) external examiner for Masters and/or PhD theses nationally and/or internationally.
The following will be added advantages: (i) sustained research activity: on-going internally and/or externally supported research; (ii) research awards and other forms of research recognition, where appropriate; (iii) examiner/moderator/assessor for undergraduate and/or postgraduate projects nationally; (iv) effective and experience in running a programme/course, etc. and (v) ability to teach statistics using SPSS.
Other Requirements; (i) Registered or be registrable with the Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA); (ii) Demonstration and evidence of academic leadership in a University environment; (iii) Evidence of ability to secure high value research grants and funding; (iv) Evidence of externally funded/supported/resourced sustained research activity or creative professional work as determined by the University; (v) Significant research impact and quality of research; (vi) Written evidence of recognition/acknowledgement as research or professional standing by international and national peers; (vii) Evidence of research collaboration with industry or other institutions, and cognate disciplines.
SENIOR LECTURER
The Senior Lecturer in Psychology (Research) is responsible for advancing the Psychology discipline, make significant contribution to research and/ or scholarship and teaching, as well as administrative activities of the University. The successful candidate will also provide significant leadership in scholarly research and/or professional activities relevant to the profession, discipline or community.
Duties: The successful candidates will be expected to: (i) Teach Psychology courses; (ii) Supervise research projects; (iii) Initiate, promote and participate in research; (iv) Provide academic leadership through programme development, consultation, and research; (v) Act as a mentor to junior academic staff; (vi) Raise / solicit research funds from funding agencies within and outside the country; (vii) Participate in all academic and professional activities of the department; (viii) Provide good disciplinary knowledge and ensure that use a range of learning practices; (ix) Assist students to critically engage disciplinary knowledge presented to them; (x) Provide good teaching practice and supervision of research projects at undergraduate and post-graduate levels of study or sound clinical/ professional practice; (xi) Demonstrate coherence between philosophy and practice; (xii) Use programme/course design principles and institutional guidelines to ensure effective curriculum development; (xiii) Review programmes/ courses to ensure they are relevant to and up to date with local, international, global and disciplinary contexts, as well as engagement with students, stakeholders and peers; (xiv) Lead original research projects, addressing key questions in the discipline; (xv) Carry out any other responsibilities as and when assigned by the Head of School/Departmental Chairperson.
Requirements for Senior Lecturer: Applicants should have: (i) a PhD/Doctorate in Research Psychology or any closely related field; (ii) if the PhD/Doctorate is not in Psychology, the Master’s degree and registration to practice should be in Research or General Psychology; (iii) at least three (3) years relevant teaching experience at a university or comparable institution; (iv) an excellent cumulative and sustained record of research and publications with at least six (6 ) pieces of research products published by recognized publishers, four (4) of which must be articles in refereed/accredited journals in internationally recognized indexing databases. The remaining two (2) publications could be journal articles, book chapters, peer reviewed conference proceedings etc published by recognized publishers. An academic book may be equivalent to a maximum of four (4) articles in refereed/accredited journals, depending on the quality and standing of the publisher; (v) sustained research output: a minimum of one (1) peer reviewed publication every 2 years; (vi) scholarly presentations at national and/or international conferences; (vii) lead and/or single author in at least (2) refereed journal articles; (viii) publications should be spread nationally and/or internationally and across journals; (x) some research impact, including but not limited to citations, the h-index, patents, policy applications, peer reviews, publications that are prescribed texts in other institutions etc. (required in at least 1 of the these); (xi) recognized as being of at least national research standing (e.g. reviewer for refereed/accredited national and regional publishers; Editorial board member of at least a national publisher in a relevant field; invitation as key note speaker at national and/or international conferences (required in at least 1 of the these) and (xii) evidence of governance and social engagement.
The following will be added advantages: (i) sustained research activity: on-going internally and/or externally supported research; (ii) research awards and other forms of research recognition, where appropriate; (iii) examiner/ moderator/assessor for undergraduate and/or postgraduate projects nationally; (iv) effective and experience in running a programme/course, etc. and (v) ability to teach statistics using SPSS.
Other Requirements; (i) Registered or be registrable with the Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA); (ii) Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders; (iii) Academic leadership qualities, including the ability to inspire and motivate research teams towards achieving common goals; (iv) Demonstrated ability to secure high value research grants and funding; (v) Evidence of externally funded/supported/resourced sustained research activity or creative professional work as determined by the University; (vi) Evidence of successful graduate programme supervision.
The curriculum vitae should contain a detailed list of published works, clearly specifying titles of publications, ISBN numbers (for books, book chapters and conference proceedings), dates of publications, names of publishers, name/s of co-authors if any and number of pages. The works should be categorized into books, book chapters, refereed journals, non-refereed works, consultancies and practical media projects.
Remuneration: The University of Botswana offers a competitive salary and benefits commensurate with experience and qualifications. For more information on the University, please visit our website: www.ub.bw
How to Apply: Signed letters of applications are to address the stated qualifications and provide any other information to assist the University determine your suitability for the position. Applicants should indicate clearly the position applied for: quote the vacancy number, provide current CVs (including telephone, telefax and e-mail), certified copies of educational certificates and transcripts, samples of their publications, names and addresses of three referees, and send complete documentation to: The Faculty Manager, Faculty of Humanities, Education Social Sciences, Private Bag UB 00703, Gaborone Botswana; Telephone: (267) 355 2738/2231; E-mail: hessvacancies@ub.ac.bw Applicants should inform their referees to: i) Quote the Vacancy number and position applied for and ii) submit their references directly to the above address before the stipulated closing date.
Hand delivered applications should be submitted to the University of Botswana Gaborone campus, at the corner of Notwane and Mobuto roads, Block 240, Office No. 274: (240/274).
NB: Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.
Closing date: 19 November 2026