Academic Advising Operations Lead (Temporary)

Ready to start your next chapter with NAIT? At NAIT, we're passionate about building a team of talented, dedicated professionals who share our commitment to excellence and innovation. Your skills and experience can shape the future of education and make a real impact in our community.

Important Application Deadline Notice Please note that Workday closes job postings at 11:59pm MST on the day before the posting end date listed above. To ensure your application is received, submit no later than 11:59pm MST the day prior to the posting end date.

Please Note: This is a one-year temporary position with the possibility of extension.

NAIT is seeking a collaborative and student-centered Academic Advising Operations Lead to support the delivery of academic advising services across all seven schools. As part of NAIT's newly implemented academic advising model, this newly established role will help ensure a consistent, coordinated, and student-centered approach to advising across the institution. The position will enhance the quality, effectiveness, and sustainability of advising practices while advancing initiatives that promote student engagement, retention, progression, and success. Reporting to the Director, Academic Advising & Program Support, the Academic Advising Operations Lead oversees a team of Academic Liaisons (team leads) and works collaboratively with the director, school leadership, and institutional partners to strengthen advising operations, optimize systems and processes, and support staff development. This role combines strategic leadership with operational oversight, using data-informed insights to drive continuous improvement, service excellence, and operational consistency across the advising ecosystem. The successful candidate will demonstrate strong leadership, change management expertise, and a commitment to delivering exceptional student experiences in a complex and evolving post-secondary environment.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead Advising Operations: Provide operational leadership for academic advising across all seven schools, ensuring consistent service delivery, advising practices, and a high-quality student experience.
• Lead, coach, and support Academic Liaisons (team leads) in achieving team and institutional goals.
• Drive Strategy & Continuous Improvement: Work with director, school leadership and institutional partners to advance the advising model, align operations with student success priorities, establish service standards, and lead continuous improvement initiatives.
• Optimize Systems & Processes: Oversee advising technologies, workflows, and operational processes to improve efficiency, accessibility, and service effectiveness. Support the development of self-service resources and technology-enabled solutions.
• Manage Complex Student Situations: Serve as the senior escalation point for complex and sensitive student matters, providing guidance, risk assessment, and student-centered resolutions aligned with institutional policies.
• Leverage Data for Decision-Making: Analyze advising and student success data to identify trends, measure outcomes, support reporting, and inform strategic and operational decisions.
• Lead Projects & Collaboration: Lead strategic initiatives that support advising operations and student success while fostering collaboration across academic schools and key service areas to achieve shared objectives.

Skills & Abilities:

• Demonstrated leadership experience in a complex, service-oriented environment.
• Strong knowledge of student success frameworks, developmental advising principles, and post-secondary operations.
• Proven ability to lead organizational change, continuous improvement, and operational excellence initiatives.
• Exceptional relationship-building and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Advanced problem-solving, analytical thinking, and decision-making abilities.
• Ability to manage complex and sensitive situations with professionalism, discretion, and emotional intelligence.
• Strong project management and process improvement expertise.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including facilitation, presentation, and report-writing abilities.
• Experience using data and performance metrics to drive strategic and operational decisions.
• Commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and student-centered service delivery.

Qualifications:

• Undergraduate degree in Business, Education, Social Sciences, or a related field.
• Graduate degree is an asset.
• 5+ years of progressive leadership experience in post-secondary education, student services, advising, or a related environment.
• Minimum 3 years of experience leading, coaching, and developing a professional team.
• Experience leading teams, managing operations, and implementing organizational change.
• Demonstrated experience with strategic planning, project management, process improvement, and performance management.
• Experience working with advising technologies, case management systems, reporting tools, and student information systems is an asset.
• Applicants with education credentials earned outside of Canada should have their credentials evaluated by World Education Services or the International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS).

Remuneration:

Refer to salary range noted on this posting, plus a comprehensive benefits package. The compensation range for this job posting is : $95,256.68 - $126,203.35 NAIT is committed to a transparent, fair, and human-centered hiring experience. All candidates are assessed directly by our recruitment and hiring teams.

About NAIT

We are known as one of Alberta’s top employers. Being part of a community that makes a difference in the lives of students, staff, industry clients and partners, NAIT's culture reflects our shared values of respect, collaboration, celebration, creativity, and accountability. People are what make NAIT great, and we prioritize the employee experience.

For eligible positions, we offer benefits and unique perks focusing on health and wellness, work-life balance, recognition, and professional and personal growth. In addition to excellent vacation time, eligible employees receive paid time off between Christmas and New Year's.

NAIT supports a flexible work environment, enabling staff to request approval for on-campus, off-site, or hybrid work arrangements based on the nature of the role. Please note that remote positions require employees to reside within Canada.

NAIT is committed to fostering a safe environment that supports equity and cultivates inclusion through our Centre for Community and Belonging (CCB) and our Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategy. We are a proud partner of the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion.

While we encourage all qualified applicants to apply, only those being considered will be contacted. If you require any assistance or accommodations, please connect with us at careers@nait.ca.

People make NAIT Great - and at NAIT, people truly matter. We’re committed to creating a workplace that fuels passion, values inclusion, supports wellbeing, and encourages continuous growth. Our culture is grounded in respect, collaboration, creativity, celebration, and accountability. When you join NAIT, you become part of a community dedicated to making a meaningful difference for students, colleagues, industry partners, and the broader community.

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