Program officer Jobs in Saskatoon, SK

Graduate Program Services Officer

Primary Purpose

Graduate Program Services Officer (GPSO) is part of a team that provides expertise and support to the graduate community on campus, including faculty, staff, and students. This position assists graduate academic units in managing the full lifecycle of graduate student experience, ensuring students, staff, and faculty make informed decisions concerning graduate admission and program management. The GPSO executes critical pieces of the graduate student life cycle, including (but not limited to) issuing final admissions, and checking individual program requirement completion prior to graduation. GPSOs promote student success by advising faculty and staff about the policies and procedures governing graduate activity, and by assisting stakeholders in navigating concerns/complexities which may arise during a student’s program (ex: leaves of absence, program transfers, referral to other student supports and services on campus). This position leverages resources for the graduate community by fostering strong working relationships and collaboration with other academic and service offices on campus.

Nature of Work

Reporting to the Supervisor, Graduate Program Services, this position is part of a team that offer expertise and support for faculty, staff and students within the graduate community. This includes, but is not limited to, admissions, leaves of absence, extensions to time in program, thesis defence and program completion processes.

This role initiates and maintains a level of professional relationships that support exceptional collaboration and problem solving. The individual will have daily contact with faculty and staff within the graduate academic units, as well as many other on-campus supports/services, and will work in a team environment that involves a high degree of autonomy, initiative, and independence within the reporting structure. This is a high-volume position and requires the ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced and ever-changing environment, while balancing competing deadlines, and multiple highly detailed tasks.

Qualifications

Education: Post-secondary education in a relevant field as it pertains to this position is required. An undergraduate degree is strongly preferred.

Experience: Minimum of three years relevant experience required. University-level experience working in graduate programming strongly preferred. Experience with advising, admissions, program management, and/or graduate administration are considered strong assets.

A combination of education and applicable experience may be considered.

Skills: Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, both verbal and written; ability to exercise good judgment and demonstrate integrity in solving problems, managing conflict, making decisions and setting priorities; demonstrated commitment to enhancing student success and persistence with a positive attitude toward service delivery; ability to manage multiple tasks and maintain attention to detail; highly motivated and have the ability to work collaboratively as part of a team and collaborate with other services, resource units on campus and external parties to support student success; demonstrates diplomacy and tact; ability to work effectively with broad stakeholder groups, including students, staff and faculty; experience with Banner and Office Suite are a must. Experience with Banner Document Management, DegreeWorks, Cascade, SharePoint, and Crystal Reports are considered strong assets.

Accountabilities

Typical Duties:

• As a subject matter expert, this position is responsible for advising on policies, procedures, and recommended practices in graduate program management. Some examples of this can include interpretation and communication of graduate program requirements, academic regulations, admission standards and academic policies.
• As a critical component of program oversight, contribute to the maintenance of robust student records, including CGPS admission and program files, DegreeWorks programs of study, and Banner student records.
• Establish and maintain close working relationships with staff and faculty in graduate academic units, and in other service offices on campus to ensure coordination of services and a high level of student experience.
• Provides advice and support to academic units in client portfolio on CGPS policies and procedures, including graduate student admissions, registration, leaves, extensions, program of studies, thesis defence, and graduation. Assists in executing resulting processes.
• Responsible for ensuring campus-wide compliance to all policies and procedures by building positive relationships with stakeholder group, using proactive communication skills and educating stakeholders using coaching techniques.
• Participate in and support timely delivery and effective communications regarding changes to procedures, updates to systems, and other factors impacting the graduate community.
• Maintaining direct contact with stakeholders (students, faculty, and staff) who may require assistance in navigating challenges arising during the graduate student life cycle. Advise on options within scope of graduate policy, and refer to other CGPS or university service offices as appropriate.
• In consultation with appropriate stakeholders, collaborates and leads development and implementation of standard operating procedures as well as projects supporting the strategic direction of the College.
• Collaborates with team members to plan and deliver the “Graduate Administrators’ Forum” held three times per year. Responsible for developing content and delivering presentations to administrators and facilitating group discussion in the forum.
• Provide expertise, coaching, and mentorship to Graduate Administrators (graduate program assistants, secretaries, coordinators, etc.) within academic units.
• Provides support for unit events, including coordination of graduation and convocation processes.
• Coordinates key pieces of thesis defence - communicates with external examiners, recruits Dean’s Designates, and assists in scheduling examination and final paperwork for doctoral thesis defence.
• Contributes to building a positive culture in the CGPS team by providing support, sharing information and collaborating on group goals.
• Other related duties as assigned.