The South African Department of Defence (DoD), under the stewardship of Minister Angie Motshekga, is looking for people to fill what are termed “management echelon” vacancies.
Eleven posts including Chief Director: Budget Management; Chief Director: Administration; Chief Director: Internal Audit and Director: Corporate Audit would appear to be aimed at putting the brakes on – and hopefully ending – irregular expenditure. This, according to Auditor General Tsakani Maluleke, stood at close to R16 billion over the last five years, primarily due to overspending on the compensation of employees.
Other posts, with a closing date of 31 March, advertised in the management echelon of the Department of Defence are Chief of Defence Materiel; Chief Director: International Affairs; Director: Defence Industry Governance; Director: Defence Enterprise Information Systems; Director: Communications; Director: International Legal Instruments; and Director: Labour and Service Relations.
At the top of the remuneration and benefits list is the person who will be selected as responsible internally for defence materiel with an annual all-inclusive salary package of R1.74 million.
Responsibilities include: provide strategic direction, management and administrative support to Defence Science, Engineering and Technology Service in the DoD as well as manage internal and external stakeholder relations for these services. The position further calls for reporting on and ensuring compliance for these DoD services. They, when an appointment is finalised, will also be the “functional authority on behalf of the Secretary for Defence for all DoD supply chain management in the DoD as well as managing the Departmental service level agreement (SLA) with Armscor.
Number two on the remuneration scale is the Chief Director: Budget Management. The successful applicant will be in line for an all-inclusive salary package of R1.4 million a year.
The person who makes the grade as Chief Director: Administration (this is the second time this post is advertised) also puts themselves in line for a R1.4 million annual salary package, the same as what will be paid to the new directors heading International Affairs and Internal Audit at the DoD. When appointed the Director: Corporate Audit will earn R1.2 million a year, the same as the successful applicant for the posts of Director: Defence Industry Governance and Director: Defence Enterprise Information Systems Architecture.
The last of the “management echelon” posts the DoD currently seeks suitable people for is that of Director: Communications. As this is the second ask for candidates the inference is no-one either applied or those who did the first time around were not considered suitable. If a decision to employ is made by the DoD Chief Directorate Human Resources Management in the Human Resources Division, the appointee will earn R1.2 million a year.
All the “management echelon” positions have a closing date of end-March.
