Manager, Student Writing, Communication and Learning Support

Manager, Student Writing, Communication and Learning Support Job Code 3209 Department Writing & Learning Centre Employment Type Permanent Apply Now

OCAD University acknowledges the ancestral territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Haudenosaunee, the Anishinaabeg and the Huron-Wendat, who are the original owners and custodians of the land on which we work, stand and create.

OCAD University, Canada’s largest and oldest art and design university, is a vibrant community of bold, curious and compassionate artists, designers and scholars who are imagining and creating a joyful, equitable and sustainable world. The University is an internationally renowned hub for art, design, digital media, research, innovation and creativity, and arts administration. It embraces collaborative and interdisciplinary approaches to change-making through art, design-thinking curriculum and research, making OCAD U a local, regional, national and global leader in art and design.

It is an exciting time to join the OCAD U community. The University is at a key stage in its institutional transformation, with the implementation of its Academic and Strategic Plan and guiding principles—driving positive impact, decolonization, indigenization, and equity, environmental sustainability, emerging as a vibrant hub, student-centered approaches, innovation in learning, teaching, and research, and financial stewardship.

Reporting to the Director, Teaching & Learning, the Manager, Student Writing, Communication and Learning Support leads a diverse portfolio of student-facing programs and initiatives that support undergraduate and graduate student writing, communication and language skills development in studio-based art and design education. The Manager provides university-wide leadership and advocates for promising pedagogical practices across curricular and co-curricular contexts to facilitate the creation of equitable, accessible student learning experiences and oversees the planning, development and implementation of all Writing & Learning Centre (WLC) programs and services for OCAD University (OCAD U) students. Working closely with academic leadership, academic support units and key partners internally and across the sector, the Manager builds relationships and collaborations to enable the development and delivery of responsive student programming that is grounded in OCAD U’s curricular context and aligned with our Academic and Strategic Plan. A community builder and change leader, the Manager is knowledgeable about the evolving needs of our diverse student body and fosters dynamic student programs that facilitate their connection with peer networks and supports their engagement with scholarly, creative and disciplinary communities.

The Manager advises the Director, Teaching & Learning on the strategic direction of the WLC portfolio and its operational needs and collaborates with the teaching and learning management team to facilitate alignment and communication across portfolio areas. Through collaborative leadership approaches, community engagement, and scholarly, evidence-informed practice, the Manager promotes student-driven and peer learning approaches across all program areas, grounded in a knowledge of and commitment to decolonizing, anti-racist, accessible and translingual pedagogies and approaches in art and design education.

The WLC is part of the Teaching and Learning portfolio at OCAD University and is co-located with faculty-facing staff and programs. Together, we collaborate with the university community and provide leadership and support to create and sustain equitable and engaging teaching and learning environments for all OCAD University students.

Summary of Responsibilities :

Strategic Leadership, Operations and Administration

• Building on the vision, mission and mandate of the teaching and learning portfolio, and in close alignment with the OCAD U Academic and Strategic Plan, lead the development of a vision and multi-year plan across all student-facing program areas (i.e. writing, language, academic communication and learning programs and initiatives)
• Share scholarly and community-based research and promising practices across the university to advance evidence-based decision-making and practice to enhance the student learning experience
• Conduct needs assessments and develop and oversee the implementation of WLC program monitoring and evaluation processes to track, assess and report on WLC co-curricular program activities; facilitate the regular review of evaluation data to inform program development and delivery and quality assurance processes
• Develop collaborations and partnerships with stakeholders across the university community to inform the creation of responsive, well-integrated programs and services for undergraduate and graduate students; support staff relationship-building with other academic support units to promote knowledge sharing, collaboration and capacity building
• Hire, train and supervise WLC staff, including setting goals and objectives, monitoring progress, evaluating employee performance, coaching and fostering professional development
• In consultation with the Office of Diversity, Equity & Sustainability Initiatives, work with the Director and management team to develop, implement and maintain a departmental equity plan that ensures anti-racist and decolonizing approaches to policies, procedures and practices that remove barriers in employment and service delivery and that advance equity and sustainability principles
• Facilitate ongoing critical reflection and lead the development and integration of decolonizing, anti-racist, accessible and translingual approaches and pedagogies across all student-facing program areas
• Manage the WLC budget, participate in annual budget planning processes and work with relevant staff to fulfill budget reporting requirements
• Work collaboratively with members of the teaching and learning management team to facilitate strong working relationships and consistency in pedagogical approaches across program areas; ensure that emerging curricular directions are informing student program directions, approaches and priorities

Program Development and Implementation

Scholarly and Professional Engagement

Qualifications :

Compensation : Commensuratewith experience, plus benefits.

Hours of Work : Total of 35 hours per week.The incumbent in this role will be expected to report to work on campus.

What We Offer :

Application Deadline :