Senior Specialist, Academic Administration

Senior Specialist, Academic Administration at University of Ottawa

The Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa, located in the heart of Ottawa, is the academic home to some 4,300 students, 200 faculty members, over 100 staff members, and over 30,000 alumni. At Telfer, our mission is to align teaching, research, and policy advice with helping Canada reach its potential, believing that better business practice contributes to a better Canada and a better world.

This is a temporary replacement of a regular position with an anticipated duration of 7 months, offering 35 hours per week.

Position Purpose

The Senior Specialist, Academic Administration is responsible for developing faculty-level programs and services aimed at maintaining high student satisfaction and fostering student retention. This role involves planning benchmarking activities to evaluate the student experience, integrating findings into program and service improvements, and providing integrated leadership for the planning, coordination, and monitoring of the Mentoring Centre and the broader student experience office.

In this role, you will:

• Academic Success: Oversee the analysis of academic performance, determine appropriate actions based on academic regulations, and lead the deployment of academic success support services to increase retention. Provide holistic advice, make referrals to the Mentoring Centre and other expert services, and proactively reach out to at-risk students in collaboration with the Registrar’s Office. Ensure effective information sharing to provide accurate and appealing information to students.
• Student Outreach Programs and Services: Develop strategies and tools to facilitate successful integration into university life and ensure a positive student experience. Oversee the Student Mentoring Centre, promote program and service offerings to increase awareness and engagement among students, professors, and faculty members, and develop learning resources to meet student needs for academic success.
• Evaluation and Analysis: Develop metrics and establish a plan for gathering information on program and service impact on retention rates. Share results with upper management, integrate feedback for continuous improvements, and act as a subject matter expert on academic success monitoring and retention factors to sensitize the faculty community about student experience challenges. Research industry trends and develop innovative solutions for student experience and retention.
• Human Resources Management: Oversee the activities of Academic Development and Student Retention Specialists and the Mentoring Centre Coordinator. Ensure equitable workload division, promote teamwork through expertise sharing, establish individual and team objectives, and actively manage performance. Foster continuous learning through individual and group opportunities and plan resource requirements to meet objectives, identifying new work methods and tools for operational efficiencies.

What you will bring:

• Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Three (3) years of demonstrated experience in a similar role.
• Knowledge of quantitative and qualitative methods (an asset).
• Knowledge of postsecondary programs and academic regulations.
• Experience in pedagogical methodology.
• Experience in working with academic files (e.g., academic performance, eligibility to graduate, admissions, international exchanges).
• Experience in interpreting and applying rules and regulations, ideally in an academic environment.
• Experience in project planning and coordination.
• Experience in supervision and performance management.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Knowledge of computer systems and software, including spreadsheets, databases, Internet, and e-mail.
• Bilingualism – French and English (spoken and written).

Key Competencies at uOttawa:

• Planning: Organize a series of actions or events to realize an objective or project. Plan and organize own work and priorities in daily activities.
• Initiative: Demonstrate creativity and initiative to suggest improvements and encourage positive results. Be proactive and self-starting, showing availability and willingness to go above and beyond.
• Client Service Orientation: Help or serve others to meet their needs, anticipating and identifying internal and external client needs and finding solutions.
• Teamwork and Cooperation: Cooperate and work well with other team members to reach common goals. Accept and give constructive feedback, adjusting behavior to reach team goals.

The University of Ottawa embraces diversity and inclusion, is passionate about its people, and committed to employment equity. We foster a culture of respect, teamwork, and inclusion, where collaboration, innovation, and creativity fuel research and teaching excellence. While all qualified persons are invited to apply, we welcome applications from qualified Indigenous persons, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, women, and LGBTQIA2S+ persons. The University is committed to creating an accessible, barrier-free work environment and will work with applicants with disabilities requesting accommodation during recruitment processes. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Note: If this is a front-line position with responsibilities to interact with students, selected candidates must be rated at the Low Advanced proficiency level or higher for both oral comprehension and reading comprehension in their second official language, as determined by a proficiency test designed by the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute.

Prior to May 1, 2022, the University required all students, faculty, staff, and visitors to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19. This policy was suspended but may be reinstated at any point in the future depending on public health guidelines.

Key skills/competency

• Student Retention Strategies
• Program Development
• Student Experience Enhancement
• Academic Performance Analysis
• Leadership and Supervision
• Project Planning
• Regulatory Compliance
• Bilingual Communication
• Data Analysis
• Mentoring Program Management