Staff - Union

Job Category

BCGEU Okanagan Support Staff

Job Profile

BCGEU OK Salaried - Support Services Assistant II

Job Title

Bachelor of Sustainability and EESC Graduate Programs Assistant

Department

UBCO | Administrative Support | Dean's Office | Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science

Compensation Range

$4,695.00 - $5,385.00 CAD Monthly

Posting End Date

February 22, 2026

Note:Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.

Job End Date

August 31, 2026This is a leave replacement for a fixed term duration.

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.

Job Summary
The position will provide student, faculty and financial related administrative support to the Department Head, faculty and staff in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (EESC). Key duties for this position are to provide administrative support for the Bachelor of Sustainability degree program and the Earth and Environmental Sciences MSc and PhD graduate programs. The position holder also will assist with other EEGS programs as required and work closely with a second Senior Departmental Administrative Assistant with whom there will be overlap in some duties, including assisting with managing and coordinating student hires, assisting the recruitment and onboarding of new faculty, staff and sessional instructors, assisting with departmental financial processes and organization of department seminars, workshops, conferences and other events. The position holder will work closely with the Director and Steering Committee of the B.SUST degree program and the Chair and members of the EESC Graduate Program Committee. The position requires initiative and judgment to assess and respond to issues and to resolve administrative problems, effective use of database and web-based programs and performance of general routine office procedures.

Organizational Status
The Dean of the Faculty is the primary administrator. The Dean's Office includes several Associate Deans and various staff members. The Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science (FoS) is divided into a number of Administrative Units, each with a Department Head, that house the many disciplinary and interdisciplinary degree programs. This position works under the Department Head for day-to-day department administrative support tasks, and receives supervision and guidance from the Department Manager with regards to conditions of employment and University, Faculty and Departmental policies and procedures. This position interacts with students, staff, faculty members, Enrolment Services, Student Development and Advising, Human Resources, Finance Operations Okanagan, Facilities Management and other faculties and schools administration.

Work Performed

1. Provides administrative support by:

Assist with the Education Plan management for the B.SUST degree program in accordance with established guidelines and in consultation with the B.SUST Steering Committee and relevant departments.
Manages and updates required information into spreadsheets for the Dean's Office.
Arranges and prepares minutes for B.SUST Steering Committee and EESC Graduate Program Committee meetings.
Prepares registration reports for review by the Head, B.SUST Program Director and the Graduate Program Committee Chair.
Works with the EESC Department Laboratory Manager to coordinate TA hires, allocations and assignments in accordance with established guidelines. This requires liaising about advertising of positions, working with departments to determine allocations of marking and laboratory demonstration hours for SUST courses, and communicating details of TA contracts and job offers to departments and Faculties.
Monitors enrolment and waitlists of SUST courses; arranges for movement of classes into appropriate classrooms if necessary (due to size and facilities).
Assists with student registration; records appropriate changes to student records in Workday, manages waitlists and pre-requisite requirements, course conflicts and various registration requests from students.
Prepares and distributes SUST field school course/s requirements, advertisements, waivers and restricted registration. Accounting of field school budget for Sessional/s, TA/s, travel and supplies.
Assists with the recruitment of new SUST faculty, sessional and staff hires. Creates adverts for internal and external advertising; makes travel arrangements and schedules interviews as appropriate; coordinates onboarding by setting up offices and enters appropriate IT and Facilities requests; liaises with new hires to meet their specific needs. Ensures access to Canvas and Workday.
Adds SUST instructors and TA's to Student Evaluation of Teaching (SEOT) for evaluation purposes.
Prepares and distributes agendas, documentation and minutes for EESC department and committee meetings. Attends meetings; takes minutes.
Coordinates and schedules appointments with department members, University members, students and general public.
Responds to inquiries from students, faculty members, staff, other UBC departments and the general public.
Processes, tracks and updates Salto (security) access.
Monitors office equipment: fax, copier, printer, etc. Arranges service maintenance and repair calls for office equipment. Instructs faculty on proper equipment use.
Receives and distributes mail.
Distributes general and departmental announcements.
Photocopies and collates materials, including mid-terms and final exams as required.
Files and retrieves documents. When directed, reviews existing files and renames, culls, archives, and/or disposes of material.
Prepares and submits Facilities work orders to address routine facility, building, and maintenance issues.
Collects and organizes electronic copies of course outlines; provides electronic copies for public inquiries.
Assists with final exam supplies and sign-up sheets; organizes storage for final exams for large classes.
Orders and maintains office supplies.
Maintains various departments' bulletin boards - removing old signs, posting new information.
Facilitates courier and shipping as needed.
Collaborates with the Dean's Office to provide directory updates.
Creates print materials for promotion of courses and degree programs.
Monitors and responds to the EESC Department, B.SUST and EESC Graduate Program generic email accounts.
Supports operations of the department student course unions.
Receives and assists official visitors.

2. Provides administrative support with respect to student hires by:

Oversight of student hires including Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTA), Undergraduate Teaching Assistants (UTA), Graduate Academic Assistants (GAA), Undergraduate Academic Assistants (UAA), Work Study and Work Learn students in the Bachelor of Sustainability program; coordinates hires with staff in EESC and other Departments and Faculties that contribute to the B.SUST program.
Collects, records, uploads, files and/or appropriately disposes of all confidential documents required for student hires (taxes, personal data, and direct deposit).
Provides set-up information to student employees (CWL, PIN and UBC email information).
Assigns student hires to appropriate courses in Workday and collecting and enters student hire duties into Workday in coordination with EESC department staff.
Coordinates onboarding by setting up office space (if required) and enters appropriate IT and Facilities requests; liaises with new hires to meet their specific needs.
Provides ongoing assistance to TA's, AA's, Markers and Work Study/Work Learn appointments with issues pertaining to payroll, facilities, equipment and supplies.
Prepares and posts Teaching Assistant positions for Head's review, and tracks appointments, including salary.

3. Provides administrative support for Graduate Students by:

Serves as the resource person for faculty, staff and students regarding policies and procedures surrounding admissions, programs of study, awards, research assistantships, graduation, and other related matters.
Coordinates and publicizes graduate student research seminars and workshops.
Coordinates graduate student office allocations, and onboarding.
Administers creation of Earth and Environmental Sciences (EESC) Special Topics 551 and Directed Readings 552 courses for graduate students, which includes forms, approvals, and registration.
Maintains graduate student information database to track applicant information, degree progression, grades, thesis, biographical, financial and award information.
Monitors student progress in consultation with faculty supervisors and the Graduate Program Coordinator; checks transcripts and filing prior to defense to ensure that all credit and special requirements have been met.
Announces thesis defenses and processes related tasks.
Ensures that all documents necessary for graduation have been received and processed, and forwards documentation confirming degree completion to the College of Graduate Studies, in collaboration with the Graduate Program Coordinator.

3. Assists with Department financial processes by:

Initiates and processes requisitions for payment/expenses.
Manages and reconciles a department VISA card.
Reconciles financial expenses for Department staff or faculty, if delegated by that individual and the delegation has been approved by the Department Head.
Creates Purchase Orders for Department expenses; follow up with payment procedures.
Collects and/or coordinates student software fees/purchases, cash deposits and accounting requirements for the B.SUST and EESC graduate programs.

4. Provides support to events by:

Assists with organizing seminars, workshops, conferences, guest speakers and other events including books facilities, arranges catering, arranges travel, organizes materials, expenditures and registration for such events.
Supports events such as collecting fees, ticket sales and attendance lists.
Creates print and advertising.

5. Performs other related duties as required, including covering for the other EESC Department Administrative Assistant during vacations and sick leave.

Consequence of Error/Judgement
This position is expected to perform professionally and make proper and sound decisions. Adherence to detail is critical. This position has access to confidential correspondence, student exams, financial records and personal information for staff and faculty. This position has access to sensitive student record information. Errors have a direct impact on student academic records. Poor judgment or errors in processing confidential materials and correspondence could have an adverse effect on the work of the Department Head and Program Directors and Chairs. Access to this wide range of information requires the employee to exercise judgment in maintaining the confidentiality of the information. A breach of privacy and policy may have financial, legal and reputational implications for the University. Must be able to exercise a great deal of judgment and initiative in dealing with administrative matters where there are no established policies, procedures or guidelines.

Supervision Received
This position works under the Department Head for day to day department support tasks, and receives supervision and guidance from the Department Manager with regards to conditions of employment and University, Faculty and Departmental policies and procedures. The position works directly with the Director of the B.SUST degree program and the Chair of the EESC Graduate Program Committee. This position carries out familiar phases of work independently and in accordance with established procedures; however, is expected to be able to take initiative, problem-solve, determine course of action and then follow through independently without supervision.

Supervision Given
This position is not responsible for the supervision of others.

Minimum Qualifications

Four years post secondary in a relevant discipline.
Over two years of related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Experience in a university setting providing administrative assistance to executives preferred.
Knowledge of University policies and procedures is an asset.
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

Intermediate proficiency in MS Office software which includes Word, Excel, Access, Publisher, Outlook and PowerPoint. Must have knowledge of Adobe PDF.
Experience with UBC Workday and/or UBC SISC systems is an asset.
Ability to effectively manage multiple tasks and priorities.
Demonstrated organizational skills are required.
Ability to ensure efficient records management procedures and practices required.
Demonstrated ability to work both independently and within a team environment.
Ability to take and transcribe accurate minutes and able to perform word processing at 60 words per minute.
Demonstrated oral and written communication using clear concise business language is required.
Ability to maintain accuracy and attention to detail.
Ability to exercise confidentiality, sensitivity, tact and discretion.
Ability to prioritize work, multi-task and work under pressure to meet deadlines in a hectic environment

University of British Columbia

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Bachelor of Sustainability and EESC Graduate Programs Assistant