Administrative Assistant

Staff - Union

Job Category
CUPE 2950

Job Profile
CUPE 2950 Salaried - Administrative Support 3 (Gr7)

Job Title
Administrative Assistant

Department
Revenue and Administrative Support | Conference and Accommodation

Compensation Range
$4,594.00 - $4,827.00 CAD Monthly

Posting End Date
April 19, 2024

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

Job End Date

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 Summary

The Administrative Assistant performs a variety of admin duties requiring knowledge of UBC accommodation and group invoicing procedures. Provides general secretarial support for the Conferences and Accommodation Sales and Admin office. Coordinates billing, payment and refund processes for approximately 500 group bookings each year. Communicates with UBC faculty and staff and the general public regarding Conferences and Accommodation payment and billing procedures. Coordinates with suppliers in regards to AP invoices. Supervises and trains clerical staff. Coordinates and assigns work to clerical staff.

 

Works in a very service oriented industry that requires tact and discretion in all forms of communication. Primarily works at an office workstation with computer and telephone but occasionally required to stand for long periods at a reception desk. Workload can be heavy and working environment stressful May through September. Required to work weekends and holidays during peak operational times and during training. Cannot take vacations June through August, inclusive.

Organizational Status
Reports to the Administration Manager. Takes direction from the Director, Revenue and Administration, Rooms Manager, General Manager and liaises with all Conferences & Accommodation staff; interacts with various university departments, clients and guests of Conferences & Accommodation.
Work Performed

Coordinates guest reservation and billing data reconciliation processes. Works with various departments to investigate and correct inaccuracies. Prepares reports on inaccuracies for management as needed.

Liaises with departmental customers to verify guest stay information and resolves outstanding billing issues. Checks accuracy of revenue and tax postings and prepares invoices for interdepartmental billing.

Verifies accuracy of group accommodation and event revenue by reconciling property management and event management systems data, making adjustments as needed based on contractual requirements. Prepares invoices and statements based on reconciliation. Processes payment of room and miscellaneous charges from groups and updates event management systems with verified information.

Responds to complex questions from guests and troubleshoots customer issues with tact and discretion. Addresses guest complaints on billing and payment matters, consulting with and forwarding on any extraordinary problems to management. This position will act as the expert in payment or billing, rate packages, rate splitting, and proper transferring of group charges and help the Customer Service Representatives with difficulties in these areas.

Coordinates payment processes for accounts payable invoices by liaising with UBC staff and external vendors, verifying charges, preparing invoices for processing in Workday and manages system for tracking overdue and missed payments. Follows up on overdue vendor payments as needed.

Monitors the AR accounts module in the property management system. Ensures proper internal control is adhered to in access to this module. Settles group accounts. Prepares regular reports on aging of these accounts and takes action on outstanding accounts.

Accesses and manipulates multiple complex data sets in financial management systems and property management systems and generates various reports from this data for senior management. Uses data from various systems to reconcile payment and revenue records between systems.

Coordinates central cash management procedures. Maintains accurate and detailed records for a central cash float, balances cash and receipts from guest payments, and coordinates disbursements of smaller floats for Customer Service Representatives and Customer Service Representative Supervisors. Determines seasonal increase of cash float needs based on expected operational plans.

Manages a key inventory system for safety deposit boxes and implements strict control procedures on this inventory for other staff.

Delegates work to clerical staff, determining priorities and managing work load. Trains clerical staff and monitors their performance to ensure that procedures and policy are properly adhered to. Participates in staff evaluations.

Provides administrative support to General Manager and Director, Revenue and Administration; including submitting expense reports on their behalf, coordinating meetings, and preparing statistical reports.

Participates in the development and implementation of administrative policies, processes and procedures within the Conferences and Accommodations Sales and Admin offices.

Coordinates details for various Conferences and Accommodation Sales and Admin initiatives and projects, as assigned by senior management.

Performs general office duties such as: ordering office supplies for all work areas in C&A, processing mail, creating and maintaining and file and storage systems.

Adheres to UBC and Departmental policies and procedures.

Carries out any other related duties as necessary in keeping with the qualifications and requirements of the job.

Consequence of Error/Judgement
Poor communication, inadequate training of lower level classifications, inattention to detail, and/or poor performance of tasks can negatively impact revenue, jeopardize record keeping, damage the reputation of Conferences and Accommodation, reduce service levels, reduce guest satisfaction, and/or require intervention by managers.
Supervision Received
Works under the general direction of the Administration Manager with input from the Director, Revenue and Administration. Expected to work with minimal supervision on routine tasks or guest problems and to consult with Administration Manager and/or Director, Revenue and Administration and other management staff as needed on any extraordinary problems, technical difficulties or policy concerns which might occur.
Supervision Given
Supervises a team of sessional Customer Service Representatives and may supervise ongoing employees at lower classifications. Supervisor is responsible for the accuracy, production, and control of the work unit. Orients and trains new Customer Service Representatives in policies and procedures. Checks work of Seasonal Customer Service Representative Supervisors in regards to guest payments.
Minimum Qualifications
High School graduation, plus one year of post-secondary education, 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

• Working knowledge of Conferences and Accommodations operations. 
• Experience with basic bookkeeping, payments, and financial processes.
• Excellent interpersonal, communications and organizational skills.
• Supervisory experience including the ability to supervise staff and co-ordinate work assignments without on-going direction.
• Excellent customer services skills. Positive attitude is a must and the ability to effectively deal with customer complaints.
• Proficiency with spreadsheets and reconciling data.
• Ability to maintain accuracy and attention to detail. 
• Ability to operate computerized systems, including familiarity with property management, event management programs and financial management systems. 
• Ability to use word processing and email at an intermediate level MS office preferred.
• Ability to type 50 w.p.m. 
• Ability to operate the normal range of office equipment
• Excellent telephone manner.