Office Administration Coordinator (Religion and Culture)

Position Summary

At Laurier, we are a community. It’s what brings our students here and what keeps our people here. As an educational institution, we inspire lives of leadership and purpose in our student community. As an employer, we seek, foster and value the same qualities of leadership and purpose in our employee community. We currently have an opportunity for you to join the Laurier community as an Office Administration Coordinator within the Department of Religion and Culture.

This position has a university-wide mandate and is based at the Waterloo Campus. The incumbent provides subject matter expertise to all campuses, requiring regular interpersonal interactions and collaboration with departments at the Waterloo Campus, the Brantford Campus, locations in Kitchener and Milton, and external partners. Special attention is given to ensure equitable service delivery across all locations.

Reporting to the Administrative Manager, Faculty of Arts and with daily direction and oversight from the Department Chair(s), the Office Administration Coordinator is accountable for the overall efficient administrative functioning of the Department. They provide comprehensive administrative support to the Department Chair, the Undergraduate and Graduate Officers, full-time faculty members and contract teaching faculty (CTF), and staff, working with a high degree of independence. The Office Administration Coordinator ensures that the department meets key deadlines throughout the year and provides organizational leadership and support for departmental events. The incumbent routinely acts as the Department’s contact on administrative policy and organizational matters and must be an informed and professional representative of the Departments.

The incumbent works regularly with confidential information therefore the position requires discretion and good judgment. The incumbent works both independently and co-operatively with other staff both in the department and in the Faculty of Arts.

Accountabilities

Chair Support

• Advises the Chair on administrative needs and processes; organizes and prioritizes work to ensure meeting institutional deadlines, requiring sound knowledge of WLUFA Full-and Part-time Collective Agreements, institutional governance timelines and academic calendars;
• Provides information and assists Chair with coordination of annual course build, liaising with Enrolment Services to ensure program, scheduling and enrolment needs are met;
• Monitors course registrations, updates filters, and enrollment limits as required for registration purposes;
• Monitors and accesses enrolment data for classes, tutorials and labs, providing value added updates to the Department Chair;
• Conducts overrides as instructed by the Chair and/or Undergraduate Officer;
• Assists the Chair in preparation of curriculum change proposals;
• Assists with departmental cyclical reviews, gathers and collates data;
• Assists with coordination of key deliverables including faculty workload and CTF contracts, requiring knowledge of Banner, Loris and Career Portal;
• Assists Faculty Search Committees, which oversee Full-time Faculty hiring; receives applications, requests letters of reference where required, compiles application materials, arranges interviews, including travel and accommodation arrangements for candidates, and files detailed minutes;
• Supports Tenure and Promotion Committee (TPC); arranges room bookings, requests Official Files, and provides other support as needed;
• Coordinates the CTF hiring process in consultation with the Chair; includes posting of CTF positions, scheduling Part-Time Appointment Committee (PTAC) meetings, supplying committee with Official Files and seniority information, and generating contracts while ensuring timelines and policies set out in WLUFA Part-time Collective Agreement are met; coordinates submission to Dean’s Office;
• Coordinates the scheduling of Department-in-Council meetings, generates and circulates agendas, records and archives minutes and policies and procedures and coordinates the election of CTF and student representatives (on a yearly basis);
• Assists Chair with departmental budget including reconciliation, purchases, deposits, cheque requisitions/honorarium payments, expense claims and transfers;

Graduate Officer Support

• Directs students and faculty to relevant resources regarding academic matters, student appeals, financial assistance, selection of courses and programs, and meeting degree requirements (e.g. research proposals, comprehensive exams, committee meetings, annual reports);
• Coordinates the graduate student office space, equipment and maintenance needs and room access in coordination with the Dean’s Office.
• Works closely with Department Chair and Graduate Officer to identify CTF posting-exempt courses available;
• Coordinates administrative requirements for all Graduate Academic Calendar changes; works closely with the Graduate Officer to submit curriculum and administrative changes to the Graduate Calendar as approved through Graduate Faculty Council and Senate Academic Planning Committee;
• Assists Graduate Officer with preparation and submission to FGPS of nominations for and renewals of Graduate Faculty Status.
• Assists the Graduate Officer to fill available Graduate Teaching Assistantships, including assigning, posting, preparing the notice of assignment, facilitating GTA Job Responsibility Forms and tracking required training.
• Liaises with Tri‐University Graduate Program representatives, including graduate officers, administrators and chairs for the University of Guelph and the University of Waterloo, the Tri‐ University Director and its administrator;
• Assists with arranging student committee meetings, Master’s and PhD proposal defences and defences, PhD qualifying/comprehensive examinations; assists with room bookings, provides appropriate forms, circulates department announcements.
• Coordinates TA evaluations and Supervisors’ end‐of‐term TA Reports.

Graduate Program Applications and Admissions

• Creates applicant files and maintains database for tracking applications;
• Liaises with FGPS to ensure that admission files are complete, calculating GPAs of applicants, and submitting files to potential supervisors;
• Prepares and submits admissions recommendations (ASRs) to FGPS Office.

Faculty Support

• Oversees the collection of materials such as course syllabi and midterms, and completes final examination information forms each term and submits to the Examinations Office; ensures final exams are submitted for printing and delivery;
• Coordinates the scheduling and printing of midterm examinations, including room booking, proctor and marking support;
• Accesses confidential institutional data such as student records, course enrolment statistics, and class lists for the department using Banner, Cognos and other university systems;
• Supports the preparation of course outlines, examinations, curriculum changes, and other applicable materials, ensuring the department is in compliance with academic policies;
• Facilitates the archival, retention, and storage of departmental records including policies and procedures, governance, midterm and final exams, hiring recommendations and teaching materials as per FIPPA regulations;
• Supports the Undergraduate Officer with pre-registration workshops, and assists in monitoring the general advising inbox for the department(s) (if applicable) by triaging messages to the appropriate person.

General Departmental

• Provides first point of contact for all departmental inquiries; assessing the nature and complexity of inquiries and determines actions to be taken, referring queries as appropriate.
• Provides basic orientation and information to new faculty and CTF regarding university and department policies and administrative processes;
• Maintains office supplies and oversees photocopier maintenance;
• Liaises with other units for equipment maintenance, office repair, and general work orders;
• Receives and distributes mail and organizes assigned mailboxes; labels and forwards outgoing mail and packages;
• Monitors the departmental web pages for accuracy and revises/updates as necessary; assists the Undergraduate Officer monitoring the department’s portion of the undergraduate calendar for accuracy, and the Graduate Officer for the graduate calendar;
• Responsible for monitoring and maintaining the general departmental email account and Outlook calendars;
• Regularly assesses administrative processes within the department for efficiency and effectiveness and makes recommendations to the Chair for improvements.
• Supports the process of recruitment, assignment and administration of Instructional Assistants (IA’s) in consultation with the Dean’s Office, the Chair and relevant course instructors, including the submission of work assignment and payroll forms as required; prepare contracts for IA’s for approval with the Dean’s Office.
• Supports the department in strategic planning, program development and recruitment, including the preparation of promotional materials in consultation with the Chair and other faculty;
• Works closely with the administrative staff within the Faculty of Arts and Dean’s Office; providing back-up assistance to other departments in the Faculty of Arts, as directed by the Administrative Manager.

Event Coordination

• Assists with recruitment and coordination for outreach events such as Spring and Fall Open House and other functions such as faculty retreats and student orientation or information sessions and other gatherings for both the undergraduate and graduate level;
• Organizes various department functions, such as year‐end student gatherings, in cooperation with the Chair and/or other faculty members;
• Maintains network of alumni to support recruitment, special events and fund‐raising efforts;

Qualifications

• One (1) year post-secondary education;
• More than Two (2) years related administrative experience, preferably within a university environment; experience in an academic department or comparable environment is an asset;
• Experience and knowledge working with university policies related to student academics (graduate and undergraduate) is an asset;
• Experience with meeting procedures and minute taking is an asset;
• Experience in reconciling a budget is an asset;
• Strong service orientation and well‐developed written and oral communication skills;
• Excellent planning and organizational skills and the ability to meet demanding deadlines through multi‐tasking and prioritization of work;
• Ability to work independently and apply sound judgement in decision making;
• Excellent computer skills, including word processing, spreadsheets, databases and web pages; knowledge of Word, Excel, Outlook, Banner, Loris, MyLearningSpace (MLS), Cognos and Millennium is an asset;
• Excellent problem solving skills;
• Experience in organizing special events is an

This position has been deemed eligible for educational equivalencies.

Hours of Work: This position is part-time (20 hours per week), and continuing. The normal hours of work are between 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday. Flexibility in hours may be required, including evening and/or weekend work due to events. When possible, the manager will adjust the work schedule so that no more than 20 hours are worked in a week. This role offers limited flexibility regarding flexible work arrangements. Please see Policy 8.14 (Flexible Work Policy) for more information. All arrangement must be approved by the direct manager. On occasion, this schedule may need to be adjusted to meet operational requirements.

Compensation:

Level: D

Rate of Pay: $38.80 to $41.02 per hour with an annual step progression on anniversary date up to $44.35 per hour. Considerations for new hire step placements include, qualifications and length/depth of required experience, relevant market rates for similar jobs, internal equity, and estimated learning curve in starting the job.

Wilfrid Laurier University endeavors to fill positions with qualified candidates who have a combination of education, experience, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position while demonstrating Laurier's Employee Success Factors.

Equity, diversity and creating a culture of inclusion are part of Laurier’s core values and central to the Laurier Strategy. Laurier is committed to increasing the diversity of faculty and staff and welcomes applications from candidates who identify as Indigenous, racialized, having disabilities, and from persons of any minority sexual and gender identities. Indigenous candidates who would like to learn more about equity and inclusive programing at Laurier are welcomed to contact the Office of Indigenous Initiatives. Candidates from other equity deserving groups who would like to learn more about equity and inclusive programing at Laurier are welcomed to contact Equity & Accessibility. We have strived to make our application process accessible, however if you require any assistance applying for a position or would like this job posting in an alternative format, please contact Human Resources. Contact information can be found at

Should you be interested in learning more about this opportunity, please visit for additional information and the online application system. All applications must be submitted online. Please note, a resume and cover letter will be required in electronic form.

Please note, when pre-screening questions are used as part of the application process, AI is utilized to score responses. All other aspects of the hiring process are reviewed by our Talent Acquisition team.