The Faculty of Health Sciences and Human Services includes the Departments of Child and Youth Care, Dental Assistant, Dental Hygiene, Early Childhood Education and Care, Health Care Assistant, Nursing, Practical Nursing, Social Work, Education Assistant and Community Support, and a Professional Development and Training department. The mission of the Faculty is to foster student success and develop and maintain relevant, responsive, and stimulating learning opportunities that are community-based, globally and locally, and offered in a visionary, interprofessional environment that is conducive to learning and promotes health and wellness for all. The Dean and the Dean's Office lead, manage, administer and support the instructional, scholarly and outreach activities of the Faculty on four campuses with this mission in mind.

Duties :

This receptionist role reports to the Associate Dean of Health Sciences and Human Services. The receptionist is the first point of contact receiving inquiries from clients and / or personnel from community medical and dental offices that are seeking the services offered in the dental clinic. This role also supports students in meeting the client requirements in the dental hygiene and dental assisting program. Excellent customer service skills combined with a calm, helpful and informative nature are important requirements for this role. This is a face-to-face front-facing receptionist role requiring the incumbent to work on campus.

If you enjoy working in a fast-paced, student-centered environment supporting a wide range of inquiries we encourage you to apply. Familiarity with privacy legislation and policy is critical to this role when managing sensitive health information for dental clinic clients. Important skills and experience to be successful in this role include receiving, reviewing, and referring inquiries from clients, medical / dental offices, faculty, and students either through face to face or via virtual options including telephone, email, and MS Teams. Professional communication, prioritizing, organizational, technical, interpersonal, problem-solving abilities, and dependability are an asset to succeed in this role. Additional skills needed include the ability to update website content, create brochures, newsletters, rack cards, and other forms of communication templates, and additional clerical support as required.

• Provide sensitive and inclusive support to a wide range of diverse populations seeking dental care and to students requiring clients.
• Demonstrated ability to work and make decisions independently with little or no supervision in an environment of high traffic within a busy reception space.
• Ongoing communication with clients, community dental and health clinics, faculty, and students to facilitate access to the dental services offered and ensure referrals are supported.
• Manage sending and receiving of documents including medical / dental referrals and x-rays where applicable and refer time sensitive requests to designated service area(s).
• With the approval of the area manager, order required supplies for designated client service areas.
• Maintain updated information on website and communication materials including brochures, newsletters, posters, and rack cards.

Required Qualifications :

Office Administration program or Certified Dental Assistant certificate from an appropriately accredited institution, or equivalent. Minimum of one year required experience working in a directly related position.

Experience with electronic dental charting systems (DENTRIX, preferably), MS Teams, MS Word, MS Publisher, MS Outlook, MS Excel, Canva, and Internet browsers. Demonstrated ability to maintain confidentiality. Ability to work in a collaborative team environment. Ability to deal with high volume and stressful situations. Ability to be flexible and handle multiple work demands and shifting priorities. Positive attitude, exceptional interpersonal skills, and the ability to communicate clearly, courteously, tactfully, and patiently with a wide range of diverse needs.

Preferred Qualifications :

Experience working as front desk reception in a dental clinic and familiarity working with students.

VIU is pleased to offer eligible employees a comprehensive benefit plan; ample paid holiday time; professional development opportunities and a desirable pension plan. As part of the VIU campus community, our employees work with supportive colleagues within an encouraging environment and are provided with the tools and training that promote learning and development. The perks of VIU employment are multiple, and include well-being initiatives and services, strategic discounts, and flexible work opportunities.