Administrative Assistant, Undergraduate Program in Neuroscience

Job Summary

The Administrative Assistant provides advanced, senior-level administrative support to the Director of the UBC Undergraduate Program in Neuroscience (UPN). The incumbent independently manages the Director’s executive calendar, prioritizes meeting requests and appointments, and triages or responds to complex inquiries with sound judgement and professionalism.

Working closely with the UPN Director and Program Manager, the role ensures the efficient operation of the UPN by coordinating administrative processes, organizing reviews and committee activities, and maintaining and improving unit procedures. The position also manages internal and external events and communications for the UPN and supports human resources and appointment processes.

The incumbent works with initiative and minimal supervision, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and attention to detail in all tasks, and applies a thorough understanding of University policies, procedures, and academic programs.

Organizational Status
Reporting to the UPN Program Manager, the incumbent works closely with other staff as a member of the UPN administration team. Most tasks are undertaken independently, seeking guidance from the UPN Director or Program Manager with new or complex issues. The incumbent works with faculty, staff, and students and liaises with numerous University offices including the Dean of Arts Office, Dean of Science Office, Dean of Medicine office, Payroll, Science Skylight, and UBC Communications and Marketing.

Work Performed

• Provides day-to-day senior level administrative support to the UPN Director, which includes responding to and/or triaging complex inquiries and providing information of a complex nature on behalf of the UPN Director; composes complex correspondence.

• Provides complex calendar management to the UPN Director's schedule by strategically prioritizing meeting requests and appointments, and ensures all materials are prepared in advance of meetings, maintaining bring-forward items for the UPN Director. Attends meetings and takes notes as appropriate.

• Drafts and edits reports, compiling data and conducting routine research on various academic and education related topics for the UPN Director.

• Coordinates the processes for internal and external Unit Reviews by collecting and assembling data such as teaching evaluations, compiling reports, scheduling visits with internal and external reviewers, arranging meetings as directed by the UPN Director and/or UPN Program Manager.

• Organizes UPN administrative meetings including initiating calls for and gathering agenda items, preparing agendas, taking and distributing meeting minutes, and tracking follow-up items.

• Maintains various UPN committee assignments and organizes UPN committee meetings.

• Updates UPN program website and social media accounts regularly to both ensure accuracy of content and maintain social media presence.

• Develops and maintains UPN intranet and relevant resources for faculty, staff, and students.

• Handles mass communications on behalf of the Director or UPN Program Manager and maintains email lists for different audience groups and purposes.

• Organizes UPN special events, such as graduation receptions, academic launches, end-of-term celebrations, etc. as requested by the UPN Director or Program Manager and communicates event requirements to appropriate staff for implementation.

• Handles financial activities such as making office supplies purchases, retaining the Program credit card, and providing monthly reports to the UPN Program Manager for review and approval.

• Organizes awards processes for the UPN, such as Leadership, Research and EDI-D awards.

• Compiles and tracks faculty, staff and student award nominations and successful awards.

• Coordinates and works with the UPN Director and Program Manager to develop administrative policies and procedures for the UPN.

• Supports the UPN Program Manager to prepare information for faculty and staff appointments and coordinates with Science Dean’s Office Human Resources in a timely manner.

• Prepares and posts recruiting advertisements for Sessional Instructors and Teaching Assistants on the UPN website.

• Prepares and submits Work Learn proposals for UPN student positions.

• Processes Teaching Assistant and other student appointments on Workday.

• Ensures orientation processes for new faculty and staff are up-to-date as per University and Program’s requirements and provides relevant materials to new faculty and staff.

• Coordinates workplace training for UPN staff and faculty.

• Initiates or leads special projects on behalf of the Director or Program Manager.

• Performs any other duties related to the requirements of position.

Consequence of Error/Judgement
The nature of the work demands planning the sequence of duties, the work methods to be employed, and the action to be taken, often on unusual problems. The incumbent requires independent judgment, tact, discretion and initiative, based upon a thorough knowledge of procedures, guidelines and regulations. Errant decisions or communications could have a serious impact on operations and the reputation of the UPN, partner faculties, and University.

Supervision Received
This position works independently under the general direction of the UPN Program Manager. It is expected that the incumbent will work within broad objectives and exercise considerable initiative in carrying out the responsibilities of the position. The UPN Director or Program Manager may provide direction when assigning new duties, facing an unusual or unique situation, or establishing procedures that might be controversial or have wide-range effects.

Supervision Given
The incumbent is responsible for supervising and participating in the evaluation of one or more Work Learn students.

Minimum Qualifications
High School graduation, plus a two year post-secondary diploma, 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

• Relevant experience supporting UBC senior executives is preferred.

• Experience with and knowledge of UBC Policies and Procedures preferred.

• Proven ability to effectively navigate within UBC systems including Workday, Wordpress CMS, Canvas LMS, and MS Teams. Knowledge of advanced functions in Microsoft Office.

• Skilled at managing complex scheduling and calendars for executives, resolving meeting conflicts, and organizing day-to-day activities.

• Ability to determine the nature and urgency of inquiries and issues and triage or direct appropriately.

• Excellent organizational skills including the ability to prioritize work, multi-task, work under pressure, adapt to change, and meet deadlines.

• Ability to be thorough and maintain a high level of accuracy and attention to detail.

• Ability to exercise tact and discretion when dealing with sensitive and confidential information.

• Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing – Able to compose and edit sensitive correspondence, reports, and presentations using clear, professional language.

• Ability to exercise sound judgement and work independently with initiative and minimal supervision as well as in a team environment.

• Ability to deal with a diversity of people in a calm, courteous and effective manner while adhering to established requirements.

• Knowledge of UBC communication procedures, and strong commitment to keep up with best practices.

• Ability to assist with physical meeting setup, including catering, table arrangements, and A/V equipment.