Assessment of Needs and Capacity of District Office Professional Staff

d) Capacity in Budget & Finance
Managing budget and finance is both a critical responsibility and an area where
there are significant needs, both from operations and perspectives of school
personnel and from the roles and responsibilities to be undertaken in the
respective District Offices. This sub-section of the report discusses staff capacity
and the related training needs and options.
e) Capacity in Self Management & Professional Discipline
This section of the report examines the ability of staff to take personal
responsibility for organizing and scheduling their job tasks so that they will be
effective and efficient in providing services and support to schools, and in meeting
the policy and management obligations of the District Office. Again the needs,
issues and circumstances are examined in light of staff capacity and training
needs
f) Capacity in Policy Management
One of the critical areas of responsibilities in the District Office is policy
management. Here, policy management refers not only to compliance, but to a
wide range of responsibilities which are associated with ensuring that policies are
properly understood, implemented, identified and revised, and monitored and
evaluated as necessary. This sub-section examines self-assessed capacity as
provided by staff, it assesses training needs and possibilities. The sub-section
also explores, in some detail, responsibility structures and the constraints and
issues which arise.
g) Capacity in Programme & Project Management
As the Department seeks to projectize more of its work, and as it seeks to ensure
more accountability for the responsibility assigned to its managers, programme
and project management assumes greater importance in the capacity and
performance of staff. This section of the report examines the capacity, needs and
issues, and it presents the training options that are identified.
h) Capacity in Strategic Management & Leadership
Strategic management and leadership is one of the core expectations of SMS in
Government as determined by the DPSA. It is also a critical expectation of District
Office professional staff who must undertake responsibilities for the strategic
guidance of schools as they seek to transform, develop and manage the many
issues with which they are confronted. Increasingly, staff in the District Office will
be expected to serve in a role of strategic managers of the operational activities of
the Department. This section examines responsibilities, capacity, training needs
and training options in this light.
i) Capacity in Client Orientation and Customer Focus
Batho Pele is one of the critical golden threads in policy that outline expectations
about the manner in which government will serve its public. Government is
expected to be customer and client oriented. What this means in terms of the
responsibilities of District Office professional staff is clear. It seeks to define the
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