Date: |
March, 2015 |
Reports to (Job Title): |
Director, Student & Faculty Relations, Co-operative Education & Career Action
|
Jobs Reporting (Job Titles): |
uWaterloo Co-op Student Advisors |
Department: |
Cooperative Education & Career Action |
Location: |
Waterloo Campus |
Grade: |
USG 12
35 hr/wk
|
Primary Purpose
The University Employment Manager (UEM) leads, manages and coaches all student advisors for the uWaterloo team. The UEM is responsible for building productive relationships with employers and students at the University of Waterloo that lead to retention of jobs and increased job opportunities for creditable work terms and an overall positive work experience for students and employers. The (UEM) ensures efficient and effective team work and consistency of process and service that is adaptable to the uWaterloo hiring process. The (UEM) is the primary face and liaison to the academic support units (ASU) which include all non-faculty units on campus (e.g. Office of the Vice President, Registrar, Secretariat, IST, Advancement, etc.). The role ensures that appropriate support is provided to the ASUs in all CECA interactions. The role encompasses an account management function with an emphasis on the co-op employment aspects of ASU relationships with CECA, and facilitates broader and more strategic relations with CECA and the delivery of more value-added support in terms of co-op employment strategies, internal consistency of policies and practices, and a senior single point-of-contact integrating liaison and employer relations, and facilitates agreed upon strategies and initiatives to support uWaterloo as a both a “virtual single” and model co-op employer.
Key Accountabilities:
Lead and manage direct reports and ensure the delivery of results in support of CECA mission, vision and guiding principles.
- Ensure appropriate application of processes by Student Advisors on all aspects of student interaction, working with the Co-op Student Experience Manager on developing and utilizing mechanisms for student feedback.
- Hiring the best people available from inside or outside CECA
- Providing information and context needed for the employee to be effective
- Setting goals and expectations and helping employees create clear paths to success
- Developing effective work team dynamics
- Holding employees accountable for performance including consistent application of CECA business processes
- Managing performance through both formal (performance appraisal) and informal methods such as regular feedback, coaching and 1:1 meetings
- Identify development opportunities in others and co-creating with the employee a development plan; regularly following up on the progress of development
- Promote and ensure focus on Hire Waterloo (hiring for co-op, graduate and summer jobs)
Provide leadership to the organization
- Personally champion mission, vision and guiding principles and play a leadership role in bringing them to life
- Provide input to leadership, direction and strategic planning for CECA
- Develop productive, collaborative working relationships across CECA and uWaterloo team
- Lead the identification, development and implementation of projects to improve service quality, relationships, stakeholder satisfaction, timeliness, staff capability and performance
- Develop customer service standards, monitor satisfaction with service delivered and take action to restore and enhance service quality
Be the primary “face” and liaison to each Academic Support Unit (ASU)
- With the Director and Faculty Relations Managers, create and execute the uWaterloo account management plan, leveraging opportunities to develop employment synergies across ASU and new employers outside uWaterloo and overseeing co-workers assisting with aspects of execution (e.g. Faculty Support Administrator, CECA Operations)
- Nurture opportunities to explore best practices & innovations in co-op and career services
- Optimize ASU strategies to effectively manage co-op work terms
- Ensure appropriate support to ASUs in all CECA interactions
- Advise and support ASUs in effectively managing co-op work terms
- Fulfill the role of Account Manager and own the experience of all ASU employers
Develop and manage a uWaterloo employment strategy
- With Employment Relations & Integrated Accounts, develop and advance CECA strategy to evolve uWaterloo as “model” employer. Identify key practices and partners where student and supervisors demonstrate best practices for on-campus co-op employers
- Ensure CECA engagement in optimizing co-op and graduate hiring in line with ASU resourcing needs, and graduate employment in line with uW HR management strategies and needs
- With Director, Communications & Marketing and Marketing Program Manager, Marketing, develop and execute an “employer “ recognition framework strategy for uWaterloo units
Ensure co-op success within uWaterloo
- Work with the Regional Managers in ensuring consistent application of processes.
- Work with the Faculty Relations Managers, Co-op Student Experience Manager and Student Advisors to develop internal/external customer service standards, monitor satisfaction with service delivered and take action to restore and enhance service quality to uWaterloo
- Work with the Faculty Relations Managers and Student Advisors to facilitate the identification, development and implementation of projects to improve service quality, relationships, stakeholder satisfaction, timeliness, staff capability and performance across uWaterloo
- With Centre for Career Action, engage Career Advisors to support students who are looking for on-campus employment
Position Requirements
Education:
University undergraduate degree
Experience:
- Experience working within a university environment; experience with co-op education preferred
- Experience in account management and client relationship experience management.
- Experience in leading and managing multiple, diverse teams.
- Demonstrated experience as a strong business and people leader, who has led a team of professionals charged with delivering business results, and successfully managed their team and individual performance against those results.
- 5 years’ experience in managing client accounts or direct experience with academic support units in order to understand the nature of the relationship between support and academic units
- Planning and program/project management experience; PMP certification an asset
Technical:
MS Word – Average, Excel – Average, PowerPoint- Average, Other
Technical:
MS Word |
Excel |
PowerPoint |
Other |
word |
excel |
powerpoint |
other |
Nature and Scope
Interpersonal Skills:
The (UEM) is politically astute and able to interact with variety of management types, diverse individuals and different levels of seniority within the ASU and across uWaterloo. A team player whose leadership motivates colleagues and subordinates. The (UEM) has a friendly, confident personality and strong relationship management ability. The (UEM) uses task and time/priority management skills and to balance a fluctuating and heavy work flow from multiple ASU accounts.
Level of Responsibility:
This role provides direct supervision of others. The (UEM) performs specialized work and provides guidance to others (e.g. on the hiring strategy or regarding managing account plans within the ASU’s). The (UEM) is responsible for managing accounts or relationships with all ASU’s across campus. The (UEM) provides support and coaching (e.g. to the Faculty Relations Manager and others in Student and Faculty Relations, and to their clients within their ASU accounts).
Financial Accountability
The (UEM) has signing authority to a pre-set limit to execute account plans, including meeting-related expenses.
Problem Solving
The (UEM) solves problems relating to the ongoing management of their direct reports – including recruitment, employee absence, managing performance and dealing with performance challenges, etc. The (UEM), with methods and strategies to optimize co-op hiring in line with ASU needs, guiding ASU's toward greater consistency of practice in hiring and student supervision, balancing the employment needs of multiple ASUs with the strategic and operational goals of CECA, and escalating upstream as conflicts emerge between individual ASU plans and those of uWaterloo executive management.
Internal and External Contact
Internal:
The (UEM) obtains, clarifies and discusses information with co-workers including Career Advisors, Account Co-ordinators, and Managers of the Operations team to support employers and students, with Faculty Relations Managers to attain updates on faculty programs and with the Assistant Director, Planning & Financial Management to discuss information on metrics, targets, reports and budgets. The (UEM) obtains, clarifies and discusses information with co-workers including the Faculty Relations Managers, Career Advisors, Account Co-ordinators, Co-op Student Experience Manager, and Managers of the Operations team to support employers and students, with Account Managers in peer and coaching relationships, and to facilitate external lead transfer; exchanges information with student advisement personal to facilitate proper student support as well as training of ASU supervisors in co-op best practices, and discusses information with the Operations team to ensure appropriate support and success of ASU’s throughout the core employment process.
External:
This role may exchange information with external research consultants and professional associations, and universities to develop partnerships, best practices.
Decision-Making Authority:
The (UEM) makes people decisions relating to recruitment and performance, and business decisions relating to resource allocation, job development focus, student support, budget management, priority management, and time management. The (UEM) makes decisions on behalf of CECA in the areas of co-op employment planning within ASU, policy and practice as it relates to student work experience, and special ASU accommodations to enhance relationships with CECA.
Physical and Sensory Demands:
This role requires exertion of physical or sensory effort resulting in slight fatigue, strain or risk of injury.
Working Environment:
This role deals with challenging and stressful people situations including managing team and individual performance, managing people through change, and resolving student or employer complaints. It involves moderate psychological risk resulting from unavoidable exposure to hazardous, disagreeable or uncomfortable environmental conditions. The role involves unusual hours or schedules, irregular and/or high volumes and multiple and/or tight deadlines beyond one's control (e.g. multiple clients across different ASU’s, requests for information and support from multiple accounts) and constant interruptions (e.g. phone, e-mail, requests for support, and unplanned issues that arise during the day).