Executive Assistant, Office of Creative and Communications

Job Summary

Provides administrative and operational support to the Executive Director, Office of Creative and Communications (Office of C&C) , Faculty of Medicine and UBC Health, and the Office of C&C management team.

The Executive Assistant serves as a key point of coordination within the Office of C&C, supporting initiatives and programs that advance the Faculty’s brand, reputation and strategic objectives at a provincial, national and global level. This is a high-trust role requiring discretion, precision and the ability to manage key priorities in a detail-oriented, high-profile environment.

Organizational Status
The University of British Columbia is a global centre for research and teaching, consistently ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world. Since 1915, UBC’s entrepreneurial spirit has embraced innovation and challenged the status quo. UBC encourages its students, staff and faculty to challenge convention, lead discovery and explore new ways of learning. At UBC, bold thinking is given a place to develop into ideas that can change the world.

Our Vision: To Transform Health for Everyone

Ranked among the world’s top medical schools with the fifth-largest MD enrollment in North America, the UBC Faculty of Medicine is a leader in both the science and the practice of medicine. Across British Columbia, more than 12,000 faculty and staff are training the next generation of doctors and health care professionals, making remarkable discoveries, and helping to create the pathways to better health for our communities at home and around the world.

The Faculty of Medicine —comprised of approximately 2,600 administrative support, technical/research and management and professional staff, as well approximately 620 full-time academic and over 14,000 clinical faculty members—is composed of 19 academic basic science and/or clinical departments, 3 schools, and 26 research centres and institutes. Together with its University and Health Authority partners, the Faculty of Medicine delivers innovative programs and conducts research in the areas of health and life sciences. Faculty, staff and trainees are located at university campuses, clinical academic campuses in hospital settings and other regionally based centres across the province.

The UBC Vancouver Campus is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people. The City of Vancouver is located on Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations territory.

Work Performed

• Acts as personal and confidential secretary to the Executive Director, Office of Creative and Communications.
• Supports the efficient operations of the Office of C&C, including financial processing and event logistics. Assists with room bookings, catering, equipment and supplies.
• Coordinates end-to-end processing of invoices and payments, including verification, coding, submission and tracking to ensure timely and accurate disbursement of funds. Acts as a liaison between vendors, the Office of C&C, Dean’s office and central finance teams to resolve discrepancies and payment issues.
• Manages the calendar of the Executive Director and screens requests for appointments. Exercises tact and discretion in prioritizing requests for appointments.
• Acts as secretary to committees chaired by the Executive Director as required: schedules committee meetings, prepares room bookings, A/V and materials for distribution, takes minutes and prepares action tracking reports. Provides follow up for action items as required.
• Coordinates and assembles materials for projects and meetings from a variety of sources.
• Coordinates travel arrangements for the Executive Director and members of the Office of C&C team.
• Maintains an up to date directory of UBC, non-profit and industry organizations, government, academic and health partners, professional associations, and student leaders.
• Manages global distribution of correspondence, digital and print initiatives, including the Faculty’s Pathways magazine. Supports coordination of materials, manages package composition and final mail-out.
• Manages the onboarding of new suppliers, vendors and contractors into University financial systems, ensuring all required documentation, approvals and compliance requirements are complete.
• Prepares and submits travel and business expense claims for the Executive Director and Office of C&C team members in accordance with University policies, ensuring accuracy, completeness and timeliness. Provides guidance to staff on expense procedures as required.
• Supports procurement activities including the ordering of office supplies, services and equipment; monitors inventory levels and anticipates operational needs to ensure continuity of work.
• Maintains records of expenditures, commitments and outstanding payments; tracks financial transactions to support budget monitoring and flags discrepancies or emerging issues for follow up.
• Tracks cycles, timelines and expectations for the Office of C&C (i.e. graduation, announcements, fiscal year end), including ensuring that draft copies of all reports are received and reviewed by the Executive Director in advance of submission to the Dean for signature and then ensures that final reports are filed and timelines for ongoing communications related to key initiatives are tracked.
• Deals with faculty members, staff, students, and academic, health and industry partners, and others in a professional manner on behalf of the Executive Director and the Office of C&C leadership team by phone, email, and in person. Consistent with the Faculty's Professional Standards document, the Faculty is committed to the highest level of professionalism in all interactions.

Consequence of Error/Judgement
The Dean's Office and the Office of C&C deals with highly sensitive and confidential matters involving questions of ethics, appeals, conflict of interest, donors, standards, government relations, personnel questions, etc. This position has access to highly confidential information that requires handling with discretion. Errors could lead to very serious losses in reputation by the University, loss of revenue, legal proceedings, embarrassment to the Dean and other University officials.

Uses judgment and initiative in handling matters of a non-routine nature requiring the interpretation of University and Faculty guidelines, procedures and policies. Expected to exercise judgment in establishing priorities and carrying tasks through to completion in a timely way.

Supervision Received
Reports to the Executive Director, Office of C&C, receives direction and feedback from the managers in the Office of C&C. Must work independently under the direction of the Executive Director and as part of a team environment. Performance will be evaluated against set objectives.

Supervision Given
None.

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

• Administrative and management experience working at a senior executive level is preferred.
• Proven administrative experience in a large and complex organization.
• Knowledge of University policies, procedures, governance and administrative systems preferred.
• Pro-active and cognizant of conflicting priorities with the ability to advise and direct resolutions.
• Effective organizational, problem-solving, planning and analytical skills.
• Excellent command of the English language.
• Proficient in the use of English grammar, spelling and punctuation and professional terminology.
• Ability to effectively facilitate groups to achieve appropriate outcome.
• Proven ability to communicate professionally and tactfully, both orally and in writing.
• Ability to compose correspondence and other written materials using clear and concise business English.
• Ability to work independently and cooperatively both within the UBC community and with external stakeholders.
• Ability to effectively manage multiple tasks and priorities.
  Demonstrated ability and experience to work effectively with representatives from both the public and private sectors.
• Experience in managing projects that involve a variety of stakeholders.
• Ability to maintain accuracy and attention to detail.
• Ability to exercise judgment, tact, discretion and diplomacy.