Assistant to the Head and Communications Assistant

Staff - Union

Job Category
CUPE 2950

Job Profile
CUPE 2950 Salaried - Administrative Support 4 (Gr8)

Job Title
Assistant to the Head and Communications Assistant

Department
Administrative Support | Department of Anthropology

Compensation Range
$4,601.00 - $4,953.00 CAD Monthly

Posting End Date
February 13, 2024

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the day prior to the Posting End Date above.

Job End Date

Aug 31, 2024

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career. 

Job Description Summary
Providing advanced senior level administrative assistance to the Head of the Anthropology Department, the incumbent organizes and completes the administrative tasks of the department, requiring a thorough knowledge of office routines, department functions and UBC policies and procedures. Responsible for maintaining and updating department procedures and processes under the guidance of the Department Head and Manager of Administration, this role alerts and advises the Department Head and Manager of Administration on routine procedures and complex or unique situations or problems. The incumbent oversees all human resources processes for faculty members, sessional, lecturers, researchers, associates and visitors/affiliates members including appointment, reappointment, promotion and tenure, merit/psa processes for tenure/tenure-track faculty members, and the recruitment of new faculty members or retirement of faculty, in addition to assisting the Manager of Administration with staff appointments where appropriate. This role is in charge and oversees communications and publicity activities for the department. The incumbent may also initiate or lead special projects on behalf of the Department Head or Manager of Administration.

Organizational Status
Reporting to the Manager of Administration and to the Department Head, the incumbent works independently on most tasks, seeking guidance from the Department Head or Manager of Administration with new or complex issues. The incumbent works with faculty, staff, students, and researchers and liaises with numerous University offices including the Dean of Arts Office, Faculty Relations, Human Resources, Payroll, Arts IT, UBC IT, Arts Communications and UBC Communications and Marketing. This role is responsible for providing orientation and initial training/materials to new faculty, staff and student employees on policies and procedures including safety and privacy matters and supervises at least one student throughout the year.

Work Performed

Administrative Support and Human Resources

• Provides day-to-day senior level administrative support to the Department Head which includes responding to complex inquiries and providing information of a complex nature on behalf of the Department Head, and composes complex correspondence
• Coordinates and works with the Department Head and Manager of Administration to develop administrative policies and procedures for the Department
• Acts as the ASC-HR Analyst Faculty Workday Support
• Maintains the Department Head's schedule; responsible for notifying faculty members, Dean of Arts, etc., when Head is off campus; ensures all materials are prepared in advance of meetings, maintaining bring forward items for the Head. Attends meetings and takes notes as appropriate
• Attends Department meetings, initiates call for agenda items, gathers information, prepares agenda, takes minutes, distributes minutes and tracks follow-up items
• Drafts and edits reports, compiling data and conducting routine research on various topics for the Department Head. Coordinates the process for Department Review - to collate data collected by the Review Committee, as directed by the Department Head and Manager of Administration
• Responsible for ensuring that the Teaching/Course Evaluations on file/online are updated and complete. Coordinates, handles, prepares, enters, compiles and submits needed and required documents and materials for Integrated Sessional Information System (ISIS), Promotion and Tenure (P&T) procedure. Responsible initiating the information into WORKDAY such as Position Management, eRecruit, ePAF.
• Organizes Department special events along with the designated staff and Faculty point person/Committee Members, such as Imagine Day, graduation receptions, Seminar Series (Colloquia and Hawthorn Lectures), orientation for new faculty members and sessional Instructors, end-of-term celebrations and various rites of passage etc. as requested by the Department Head or Manager of Administration and communicates event requirements to appropriate staff for implementation
• Oversees and coordinates all aspects of the faculty recruitment process (Tenure/tenure-track Professors, Sessionals, Instructors, Lecturers, Emeriti, Adjuncts, Postdocs, Visiting Professors, and Affiliates). Oversees and coordinates all job advertisement postings and distribution in accordance to Arts recruitment funding guidelines
• Ensures immigration record/work permits are up to date and needed renewal processes are underway in due time.
• Provides support to newly hired faculty including the faculty relocation process, working with the faculty member, moving company, Relocations Services, and Payment & Procurement Services
• Oversees and processes all faculty appointments and retirements, determines appointment type, prepares and tracks offer letters and all other tasks associated with the appointment. Appointment type should be in accordance with relevant Collective Agreements and in consultation with the Administrator and Faculty Relations as needed
• Provides advice and guidance to faculty members and resolves problems relating to Payroll, Human Resources, Faculty Relations, chairs of committees, candidates, department personnel, and the Dean's Office
• Coordinates faculty reappointment, promotion and tenure review process and handles the submission of faculty annual reports, and merit and PSA procedures. Keep track of faculty leaves
• Oversees and updates orientation processes and material for new faculty and staff
• Supervises, trains, and participates in the hiring and job performance evaluation of no less than one Work Learn student
• Compiles and tracks faculty award nominations and successful awards.
• Coordinates all logistics with the designated staff and Faculty point person/Committee Members for Department's Seminar Series: arranges visiting speakers' travel and accommodations, publicizes events, and co-ordinates visit/events
• Acts as a pro-active resource person for Committee Chairs and Committee members; and regularly informs them of upcoming deadlines and developments regarding policies.
• Responsible for keeping up-to-date CVs and confidential files for Faculty Members; responsible for setting up and maintaining office filing system for the Department Head; organizes, collects and archives administrative files; collects and collates various statistics of interest to the Head

Communications and Special Projects

• Handles communications for Department, advancing strategies for promotion of the department and departmental accomplishments, within UBC, as well as nationally and internationally
• Oversees and updates all Department digital communications content including the department website homepage and carousel pages, social media accounts and UBC Digital Sign
• Acts as the content editor for the Department's internal monthly newsletter, and other department publications. Collects, sorts and compiles content including publications and awards, compiles articles, creates graphics and photos, and works with publishers and mail-out services
• Oversees and manages public displays for the Anthropology Department within the Anthropology and Sociology Building with guidance from the Manager of Administration
• Works with the Department Head and Manager of Administration and liaises with Arts Communications / UBC Communications and Marketing to oversee and implement the communications and marketing plan for the Anthropology Department; Engages with alumni outreach, including supporting various departmental initiatives; may involve coordinating with other staff and supervising student assistants
• Acts as the Voice Administrator for the department, handling phone service requests and billing
• Performs complex financial duties such as preparing, monitoring, reconciling, and reporting on budgets and/or PGs.  Assists faculty members with research grant application processes as directed by the Manager of Administration
• Makes travel and entertainment purchases on behalf of the department, seeks proper approvals, assigns expenses to correct PG and account code, provides monthly reports to the Manager of Administration for review and approval
• Provides mentoring to junior staff and trains them to resolve routine and unique/complex problems
• Works with the Manager of Administration to carry out strategic goals and initiatives to create an effective staff team
• Performs any other duties related to the requirements of position

Consequence of Error/Judgement
The nature of the work demands planning the sequence of duties, the work methods to be employed, and the action to be taken, often on unusual problems. The incumbent requires independent judgment, tact, discretion and initiative, based upon a thorough knowledge of procedures, guidelines and regulations. Errant decisions or communications could have a serious impact on operations and the reputation of the department and University.

Supervision Received
Reporting to the Manager of Administration, the individual works independently under broad direction. The Department Head or Manager of Administration may provide direction when assigning new duties, facing an unusual or unique situation, or establishing procedures that might be controversial or have wide-range effects.

Supervision Given
The incumbent is responsible for supervising and participating in evaluation of no less than one Work Learn student and mentoring staff. The incumbent also orients new faculty, staff or student employees into departmental routines and procedures.

Minimum Qualifications

High School graduation, plus a two-year post-secondary diploma, plus four years of related experience OR An equivalent combination of education and experience

- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own
- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion
Preferred Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline is especially desirable.
• Training in office procedures, basic accounting, communication practices. Experience in Arts Faculty Hiring Procedures is highly preferred.
• Thorough knowledge of UBC Human Resources and UBC BOG Policies and Procedures guidelines, and ability to navigate Canadian government websites re employment legislation.
• Effectively navigate within UBC Management Systems Portal WORKDAY as well as ISIS, SISC, FSC, SEOT/Tableau, CourseEval/TeachEval system, CMS Wordpress, Connect, and Workspace.
• Minimum of four years related experience including experience with UBC Finance, or the equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Competencies: Knowledge of advanced functions in Microsoft Office, Outlook, Adobe, Wordpress. Experience with UBC systems - WORKDAY, Arts Service Centre ASC online submission, DIDC, FSC, Canvas, Pinnacle, Arts Internal Resources AIR, Access Control Management System, Digital Signage Cool Sign.
• Facility with conducting and arranging virtual meetings and web conferencing Superior oral and written communication, interpersonal and organizational skills.
• Ability to deal with a diversity of people in a calm, courteous and effective manner while adhering to established requirements.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills; strong oral and written communication and organizational skills. Ability to exercise judgment, tact, discretion and diplomacy.
• Knowledge of UBC communication procedures, and strong commitment to keep up with best practices. Detail-oriented. Excellent composition, layout and design skills, as well as editing and proofreading skills. Digital editing skills Photoshop. Website design and maintenance skills Wordpress, HTML
• Preference given to those with experience and ability to initiate and support safety, health and sustainability. Experience with procedures of Risk Management and WorkSafe BC. Engagement with UBC and wider Sustainability issues and initiatives.
• Ability to work with tight deadlines in a calm, effective manner and maintain high standards of work. Ability to effectively manage multiple tasks and priorities. Ability to develop and maintain cooperative and productive workplace relationships. Ability to demonstrate initiative and good judgment.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision as well as in a team environment. Ability to maintain accuracy and attention to detail. Ability to create and accurately maintain record and filing systems. Ability to determine the nature and urgency of inquiries and issues, and triage appropriately. Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing.