Administrative Assistant

Job Summary

Responsible for providing general administrative and operational support, department committee support, HR process for the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy. Acts as the front-line staff member for the Department.

Organizational Status
Reports to the Administrative Manager. Interacts constantly with students, faculty members, and other staff members in EDCP and the Faculty of Education. Liaises with Building Operations, Dean’s Office, Teacher Education Office, Office of Professional Development and Community Engagement, UBC IT Services, Financial Services, Faculty Relations, Faculty of Graduate and Post-Doctoral Studies (G+PS), UBC Student Services as necessary. Works closely with the Financial Processing Specialist, the Head’s Assistant and the Graduate Program Assistant on shared administrative and support responsibilities.

Work Performed

Administrative Responsibilities

· Acts as the first point of contact and the reception desk for faculty, staff, students, instructors, service providers, and visitors, responding to all in-person, email, and phone inquiries; collects, distributes, and forwards department mail, updates department mailboxes and the faculty directory, and coordinates couriers as necessary.

· Orients new faculty, visitors, sessional instructors, staff, and students to University and Department policies and procedures, including practical settling-in support such as housing and daycare referrals; ensures public dissemination of information on department programs, services, and procedures; arranges administrative set-up for new arrivals to function effectively (keys, copy codes, mailboxes, CWL/FSC accounts, Scarfe Building card access, Canvas and Zoom access); maintains and updates Department onboarding guidelines.

· Updates unit policies and procedures and suggests new or revised policies and procedures for the unit to the Administrative Manager.

· Maintains department equipment and maintenance records, service contracts, and supply inventory, including laptop sign-out; serves as resource person for department photocopiers (training, troubleshooting, pass codes, paper replenishment); maintains the photocopy room, mailroom, and shared spaces (including kitchen/lounge upkeep and departmental committee initiatives such as soup day) in an orderly and secure manner, ensuring rooms are locked at day's end.

· Acts as departmental liaison with UBC IT and Building Operations: submits and follows up on IT troubleshooting requests for students, staff, and faculty, and enters Facilities work requests for repairs, office moves, and cleaning; oversees small to medium-sized facilities projects in the department.

· Collects course outlines for all courses in the unit; downloads the monthly class timetable from Workday and books classes into restricted classrooms via Outlook Calendar; books and rearranges ad hoc meetings and room bookings; updates the department website (courses, job postings, faculty profiles, and handbooks) as needed.

· Acts as department Voicemail Administrator (Pinnacle) and telephone system coordinator: orders, maintains, and troubleshoots phones and voicemail; downloads and reconciles monthly telephone billing via IT Management Suite, maintains telephone inventory, and processes new orders, transfers, and installations; updates the UBC Online Staff Directory and internal telephone listings.

· Develops and maintains departmental contact lists, listservs, and email distribution lists.

· Tracks and inputs Work Learn student hours in Workday.

· Works with other staff to organize internal and external meetings, events, and conferences as required, liaising with vendors including securing liquor licenses and catering; arranges and rearranges facilities before and after lectures, seminars, and other events.

· Coordinates the Undergraduate Advisory Committee meeting schedule: books meeting rooms, and takes, transcribes, and distributes meeting minutes, ensuring decisions and recommendations are accurately recorded.

· Creates business cards for faculty using department templates and places printing orders.

· Acts as backup to the Head's Assistant, Graduate Program Assistant, Financial Processing Specialist to cover leave duties as necessary.

· Performs other duties related to the qualifications and requirements of the job.

HR Responsibilities

· Supports recruitment for student appointments (including but not limited to GRA, GAA, GTA, WorkLearn): tracks advertised job postings and applications, informs potential candidates via UBC Mailing Lists, notifies selected candidates, and collects information needed for hiring.

· Processes student (including but not limited to GRA, GAA, GTA, WorkLearn) under the guidance of the Administrative Manager and maintains hiring checklists for summer and winter sessions.

· Troubleshoots, resolves, and follows up on hiring issues for student appointments the Dean's Office, Human Resources, and Payroll as needed.

· Processes other HR transactions in Workday for faculty positions when requested, providing additional Workday processing support to the Administrative Manager and other department staff as needed.

Graduate Program Support

· Assists the Graduate Program Assistant with processing graduate program applications: reviews each application for completeness and compliance with G+PS admission requirements, including required documents, transcripts, and English language proficiency test scores, and calculates GPA for each application; tracks application status and liaises with applicants regarding missing or incomplete documents.

· Compiles and distributes graduate course offerings, coordinating with faculty and staff.

· Assists with graduation processing duties, including creating checklists for student graduation and liaising with the Records department on routine matters.

· Responds to oral and written inquiries of a routine and moderately complex nature from current and prospective graduate students, advising on matters such as registration status and application deadlines; refers complex inquiries to the Graduate Program Assistant.

· Assists with award administration duties: distributing application materials, providing deadline information, and collecting completed packages for committee review.

· Assists in maintaining and updating the graduate student database with routine data entry, in collaboration with the Graduate Program Assistant.

· Supports planning and implementation of graduate student events (Graduate Seminars, Orientation, Graduation Reception).

Consequence of Error/Judgement
Exercises judgment and initiative in handling matters within well-defined policies and procedures. This position is a first point of contact with faculty, students, visitors and others, and it relies
heavily on the knowledge and judgment of the incumbent. Errors in judgment may lead to conflict, financial consequences, inefficiency of operations, delayed results, and could harm the
reputation of the Department and Faculty.

Supervision Received
This position reports to the Administrative Manager and works closely with the Graduate Program Assistant. Performs most duties independently and by the established procedures; but refers to Administrative Manager when work departs from established policies and guidelines.

Supervision Given

None required

Minimum Qualifications

• High School graduation, plus one year 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

Preference will be given to applicants who demonstrate:

• Training in office procedures, basic accounting and knowledge of the function of graduate education within a university is an asset.
• Experience at UBC, or with graduate programs is considered a definite asset.
• Ability to maintain accuracy and attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and priorities effectively.
• Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing.
• Ability to exercise tact and discretion.
• Ability to work effectively independently and in a team environment.
• Word processing/computer skills from an intermediate to advanced level using Microsoft Office experience required (Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint), AccessUBC, ACMS, Canvas, eVision, FSC, Pinnacle, SISC, and Workday preferred.