FACULTY OF MEDICINE AND HEALTH SCIENCES
DEPARTMENT OF SPORTS SCIENCE, PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND COACHING
VACANCY NO: IRC 3561
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/Lecturer in Sports Science (Sports Psychology) in the Department of Sports Science, Physical Education and Coaching under the School of Allied Health Sciences.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
The Associate Professor in Sports Science (Sports Psychology) is responsible for making original contributions to the Sports Science (Sports Psychology) discipline, research and scholarship. The incumbent plays a critical role and provide leadership in scholarship and research regionally and makes significant contribution in the governance of the institution.
Duties: The successful candidate will be expected to (i) Teach undergraduate, postgraduate, and practical courses in Sports Science (Sports Psychology) or related areas; (ii) Supervise undergraduate and postgraduate research projects; (iii) Examine postgraduate theses; (iv) undertake scholarly research; (v) have an impactful engagement with the industry; (vi) Contribute to the development of and implementation of university, faculty and school level strategies, policies, plans, and procedures; (vii) Guide and support students as they acquire learning practices appropriate to the discipline; (viii). Guide and support a range of students to produce rigorous research or sound professional practice; (ix) 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; (x) Ensure alignment between programmes/ courses and respective outcomes, teaching and learning activities, and assessment methods and criteria; (xi) Publish findings in reputable journals and present at conferences for wider dissemination; (xii) Secure external funding to support research and elevate the university's reputation; (xiii) Cultivate interdisciplinary collaborations, fostering innovation and problem-solving; (xiv) Drive grant proposal development to sustain research momentum; (xv) Proactively engage in consultancy services in line area of expertise; (xvi) Manage a Faculty/unit or department in the university as assigned/ appointed; (xvii) Contribute to programme development and quality assurance internally and externally, including short executive development courses; (xviii) 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); (xix) Make high level impact in institutional and national policy review; (xx). Keep abreast of developments within own field of study and its implications for teaching and learning, community engagement, research, etc.; (xxi) Participate in the identification and mitigation of operational risks; (xxii) Comply with relevant regulations and legislation and (xxiii) Perform any other duties and responsibilities as may be assigned by the Head of School/Departmental Chairperson required by the University in line with the role.
Requirements: Applicants should have: (i) PhD/Doctorate in Sports Science, Physical Education or related field; (ii) Master’s Degree in Sports Science, Physical Education or a related field; (iii) Bachelor’s Degree in Sports Science, Physical Education or a related field with at least a 2(i) pass (CGPA of at least 3.6) or equivalent. (iv) at least 6 years’ relevant teaching experience at a university or comparable institution; a minimum of Twelve (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 referred/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 two (2) peer reviewed publications every three (3) years; (vi) sustained research activity; ongoing externally supported research; (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 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 two (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 two (2) of the these); (xii) evidence of governance and social engagement; (xiii) research collaborations with other institutions or organizations; (xiv) research collaboration with cognate disciplines in the University; (xv) external examiner for Masters and/or PhD thesis nationally and/or internationally; (xvi) Research collaborations with cognate disciplines; (xvii) Successful supervision of 2 Masters students or co-supervision of 4 Masters students or supervision of 1 PhD student or co-supervision of 2 PhD students/Post-Doc research fellows (required where appropriate, otherwise a candidate should provide evidence that they could not find supervisees); (xviii) External examiner for Masters students.
The following will be added advantages: (i) research awards and other forms of research recognition, where appropriate; (ii) and multi- disciplinary experience in teaching, research, administration, or consultancy work.
Other Requirements: i. Registered or eligible for registration with the Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA);
SENIOR LECTURER
The Senior Lecturer in Sports Science (Sports Psychology) is responsible for advancing the Sports Science (Sports Psychology) discipline, make significant contribution to research and/or scholarship and teaching, as well as administrative activities of the University. The incumbent will also provide significant leadership in scholarly research and/or professional activities relevant to the profession, discipline, or community.
Duties: The successful candidate will be expected to (i) Teach undergraduate, postgraduate, and practical courses in Sports Science, Physical Education or related areas; (ii) Supervise undergraduate and postgraduate research projects; (iii) Examine postgraduate theses; (iv) Undertake scholarly research; (v) have an impactful engagement with the industry; (v) Provide good disciplinary knowledge and ensure that use a range of learning practices; (vi) Demonstrate coherence between philosophy and practice; (vii) Use programme/course design principles and institutional guidelines to ensure effective curriculum development; (viii) 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; (ix) Secure external funding to support research and elevate the university's reputation; (x) Drive grant proposal development to sustain research momentum; (xi) Advocate for cross-disciplinary research to tackle societal challenges effectively; (xii) Collaborate with other institutions, organisations or cognitive disciplines in the university to drive the research standing of the university; (xiii) Examine, moderate or assess undergraduate and/or postgraduate students; (xiv) Participate and serve as a Board Secretary in departmental committees; (xv) Conduct and participate in community extension work to include the promotion of locally relevant cultural attributes/ values that benefit the community, serving as an advisor/ resource to a community organisation and/ or applying professional expertise to solve community problems; (xvi) Engage in continuous professional development to stay current in both academic and professional realms locally; (xvii) Participate in the identification and mitigation of operational risks and (xviii) Perform any other duties and responsibilities as may be assigned by the Head of School/Departmental Chairperson required by the University in line with the role.
Requirements: Applicants should have: (i) At least a relevant PhD/Doctorate in Sports Science, Physical Education or related field, Master’s Degree in Sports Science, Physical Education or a related field with a focus in Sport Psychology, Bachelor’s Degree in Sports Science, Physical Education or a related field with at least a 2(i) pass (CGPA of at least 3.6) or equivalent. (ii) At least 3 years relevant teaching experience at a university or comparable institution; (iii) An excellent cumulative and sustained record of research and publications with at least 6 pieces of research products published by recognised publishers, 4 of which must be articles in refereed/accredited journals in internationally recognised indexing databases. The remaining 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 4 articles in refereed/accredited journals, depending on the quality and standing of the publisher; (v) sustained research output: a minimum of 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) recognised 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 and (iv) effective and experience in running a programme/course, etc.
Other Requirements: i. Registered or eligible for registration with the Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA);
LECTURER
The Lecturer in Sports Science (Sports Psychology) is responsible for undertaking independent teaching and research in the Sports Science (Sports Psychology) discipline or related areas and make independent contributions to professional practice and/or expertise. The incumbent will also coordinate or lead the related activities as appropriate to the discipline and undertake administrative activities of the University.
Duties: The successful candidate will be expected to (i) Teach undergraduate, postgraduate, and executive courses; (ii) Supervise undergraduate and postgraduate research projects; (iii) teach at least most of the following courses: Sports Science (Sports Psychology) or related areas; (iv) Undertake scholarly research; (v) Have an impactful engagement with the industry; (v) Supervise undergraduate and postgraduate research projects; (vi) Undertake scholarly research either individually or in collaboration with others; (vii) Develop, update, and deliver undergraduate and possibly some graduate courses; (viii) Design and administer assessments that accurately measure student learning outcomes; (ix) Present scholarly articles at national and international seminars and conferences; (x) Develop portfolio of creative and professional work and participate in competitions to showcase contribution; (xi) Facilitate research capability development at community level; (xii) Contribute to the development of research proposals and implementation of projects; (xiii) Participate in external research in efforts to boost the standing of the university/ institute as required; (xiv) Participate in the identification and mitigation of operational risks; (xv) Collaborate with relevant internal and external stakeholders as needed to effectively deliver duties as defined; (xvi) Assist with organizing faculty/ university symposium and conferences of national importance and (xvii) Perform any other duties and responsibilities as may be assigned by the Head of School/Departmental Chairperson.
Requirements: The candidate should have: (i) A PhD/Doctorate in Sports Science, Physical Education or related field, Master’s Degree in Sports Science, Physical Education or a related field with a focus in Sport Psychology, Bachelor’s Degree in Sports Science, Physical Education or a related field with at least a 2(i) pass (CGPA of at least 3.6) or equivalent; (ii) Evidence of engagement in research.
Added advantages: i. experience in teaching in a university or comparable institution, governance and social engagement; ii. Practical experience in Sport Psychology Consulting
NB: A relevant Master’s degree in Sports Science, Physical Education with a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Science, Physical Education of at least second class, first division 2(i) pass or GPA of at least 3.6 or equivalent may be considered under special circumstances.
Other Requirements: Registered or eligible for registration with the Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA)
Remuneration: the University offers competitive salaries and benefits commensurate with experience and qualifications.
How to apply:
The curriculum vitae (CV) should contain a detailed list of publications; clearly specifying titles of publications, ISBN numbers, dates published, name of publishers, name of co-authors if any, and evidence of indexing in recognized databases for journal articles. Publications should be categorized into books, monographs, refereed journals, non-refereed journals, chapters in books, conference proceedings (specifying if peer-reviewed), etc. Candidates should also provide information on research grants, supervision, and other scholarly achievements.
Applicants should address the stated qualifications and provide any other information to assist the University to determine their suitability for the position. They should quote the vacancy number of the post applied for, provide current CVs (including telephone, skype and email address), certified true copies of educational certificates, transcripts, samples of the relevant publications, names, addresses and contact details of three referees. The application material should be addressed to: The Faculty Manager, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Corner of Notwane and Mabuto Roads, University of Botswana, Private Bag 00713 Gaborone, Botswana; or email to fmhsvacancies@ub.ac.bw
Applicants should inform their referees to: (i) quote the vacancy number; (ii) position applied for; (iii) submit the references directly to the address stated above before the stipulated closing date.
Hand delivered applications should be sent to: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences building, Block 246, 3rd Floor, Office No. A311
NB: Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Closing Date: 06 November 2026