Administrative Coordinator, Office of the Dean

Duties:

The Administrative Coordinator, Office of the Dean reports directly to the Dean, Faculty of Science and Technology and manages the daily operations of the Dean’s office ensuring that work is handled in a confidential manner, effectively and efficiently. The incumbent provides direct support to the Dean including managing the Dean’s office support staff, supporting strategic planning, human resources, financial planning, administrative duties, and related confidential matters of the office.

Specific Duties

Support for the Dean – the Administrative Coordinator is expected to independently work with discretion providing senior-level confidential support and advice to the Dean, Faculty of Science and Technology, and Associate Dean, as needed. This position works closely with the Dean, providing advice and responding to a wide array of questions, concerns, and requests from faculty, staff and students. This position also acts as primary point of contact within the faculty providing advice and guidance on a variety of issues that may arise, some of which are ambiguous and require business acumen and sensitivity in decision making.

Office Management – responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Dean’s Office:

• Screen guests and calls on behalf of the Office with tact, diplomacy, and sensitivity; determining the urgency of the matter, if the call/meeting should be addressed by the Dean or delegated elsewhere, and whether an issue needs further investigation. Inquiries may come from a range of stakeholders that include students and parents, faculty, management, and the executive.
• Manage the support staff in the Faculty. This includes departmental workforce planning, assigning work priorities, overseeing, and finding improvements to office administrative functions, workflow, hiring, training, and performance management of support staff. This includes managing the workloads for the following:
• coordinating meetings, planning and drafting agendas, taking minutes; and providing follow-up on matters arising from meetings
• gathers, enters, and/or updates data to maintain departmental records and databases, as appropriate; establishes and maintains files and records for the office
• Liaise with internal stakeholders such as VIU employees (senior management, faculty, staff and administrators), students, internal committee and societies of VIU, as well as with external partners such as government agencies, other post-secondary institutions, community leaders, Indigenous groups, business, and industry.

Human Resources – responsible for providing Human Resources related support to the Dean and for the faculty including:

• Participating in development of the Faculty’s Labour Plan, ensuring labour budgets are up-to-date and covered through internal transfers or requests for enhancements, in consultation with the Dean.
• Preparing and managing correspondence and records, which will include HR related issues (absenteeism, complaints, hiring and discipline) and confidential labour relations files (grievances, collective bargaining).
• Monitoring absenteeism and participating in discussions with employees concerning absences from work and planning coverage in relation to employee leaves.
• Providing the Dean with relevant information regarding absences, staffing issues and complaints.
• Responsible for creating contracts and appointments for all regular, temporary, and casual employees within the Faculty, including appointment change forms for any seasonal breaks in employment, all part-time and full-time leaves, resignations, and retirements. Calculating sick leave coverage appointments and other tasks relating to employment contracts.
• Advise the Chairs of any seniority rights related to hiring as well as ensuring these rights are adhered to.
• Support the Dean and faculty in hiring processes to ensure accuracy and adherence to VIU’s recruitment guidelines and processes as well as its obligations under VIU’s three collective agreements. Assists the Selection Committee Chairs through the entire recruitment process including approvals, postings, references and hirings.
• Support the Dean in the management of the faculty and staff, which can include workload planning, scheduling and collection of faculty/staff evaluations, and vacation scheduling.
• Coordinate the onboarding of new employees. This could include administrators, faculty, and staff.

Financial – responsible for:

• Actively participate in budget planning and monitoring process.
• Review work orders monthly and highlight concerns for budget holders.
• Assists the Finance Assistant roles in the Faculty.
• Supports departmental finance functions such as the preparation of purchase orders, cheque requisitions, purchase card reconciliation and expense claims.

Required Qualifications:

A bachelor degree in a related field from an appropriately accredited institution. Minimum five years' recent related administrative experience. A combination of education and progressively responsible experience may be considered.

• Highly collaborative with demonstrated leadership and management skills.
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail and ability to take initiative.
• Strong commitment to excellent customer service exhibiting tact, diplomacy, judgment and discretion.
• Familiarity with unionized environments and ability to review and apply collective agreement language, and policies and procedures related to collective agreements and labour practices.
• Must thrive in fast-paced, ever-changing environment.
• Demonstrated skills in developing and maintaining systems and procedures and in effectively managing multiple, complex, and detailed tasks.
• Sound analytical thinking, planning, prioritizing, and execution skills.
• Demonstrated ability to maintain the highest levels of confidentiality as this role works with sensitive human resources, financial, and labour relations issues.
• Ability to competently prioritize workload requests, and complete tasks independently while maintaining positive, proactive, and effective communication with managers and coworkers.
• Ability to take and transcribe accurate minutes.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Superior skills in the application of Microsoft Office programs and the capacity to learn and apply new technology (e.g. survey software, online collaboration platforms, video-conferencing).
• Demonstrated commitment to ongoing professional development.

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.

Note: 

• Short-listed candidates must provide original transcripts, or applicable original certifications at time of interview.
• All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.
• Vancouver Island University (VIU) is collectively committed to building and sustaining a diverse and inclusive working and learning environment for faculty, staff, and students.  In our journey towards greater diversity, we invite applications from members of equity-seeking communities including women, racialized and Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, persons of all gender identities and sexual orientations who bring value to the VIU community through their lived experiences.  We encourage members of all equity-seeking groups to self-identify within their application cover letter.  When a candidate voluntarily discloses this information in their cover letter, the information will be used only for the fulfillment of the career opportunity.  Disclosure and/or self-identification with an equity-seeking group will not lead to advantageous treatment of a candidate who is not qualified.