Graduate Commons Clerical Assistant, College of Engineering na University of Saskatchewan

Nature of Work: The position is a member of the graduate commons team and reports directly to the Manager, Clerical Student Support in the College of Engineering. The position will receive direction from multiple stakeholders in the college; working closely with graduate chairs and faculty and is the primary contact for current and prospective students. The position works with general supervision but performs all aspects of assigned duties accurately with minimal direction.  The position is expected to coordinate their workflow within the graduate commons team and independently decide which processes to use to assist in achieving objectives.

This position will be responsible for working directly with the Manager, Clerical Student Support, or other key stakeholders (College Leadership Team, Engineering Student Centre, and External Relations) on special projects and college initiatives. This part of the position requires advanced technical skills and the ability to collaborate with other professional and administrative staff, and academic leaders internal and external to the college. This position is expected to maintain a productive and professional relationship with the College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. 

This position will operate in a diverse, complex, and often highly active office environment with multiple, competing demands and very strict deadlines. Continuous change, shifting priorities, and frequent interruptions are the norm. The volume of work will fluctuate through the year. The expectation is that work volume can be completed in a normal workday and the level of stress is moderate, with higher levels of activity anticipated during higher volume periods. The incumbent will be expected to proactively plan and execute workflow around these deadlines, peak periods, and unexpected situations.

Impact of error is high as the position is responsible to ensure day-to-day work is completed with the highest degree of accuracy. Prompt, complete and accurate work is extremely important to mitigate risks associated with supporting students through the life cycle of their degree, accreditation, safety, finance and overall reputation.

The incumbent is expected to operate independently, use sound judgment to make decisions, and provide accurate information to all relevant stakeholders. Decisions are made based on established policies and procedures, with assistance provided by professional staff or academics when interpretation is required or when complex issues arise. The incumbent is expected to remain current and well versed in policies and procedures related to their position.

This position is expected to adapt and modify known practices to solve problems and achieve goals. The incumbent is expected to make recommendations to the work or work environment and is expected to contribute to policy and process improvement.

Typical Duties or Accountabilities:

Provide administrative support for all aspects of the graduate programs in the College, from pre-application through to convocation including activities such as:

• Respond and manage inquiries from prospective and current students
• Receive and process applications to the graduate programs (logging material received, corresponding with applicants, rejections, etc. within the software);
• Flag high quality applicants to the Graduate Chairs;
• Process admission deferral requests for graduate students;
• Adjust graduate applicant information (start term, degree, referee information)
• Administer program transfers and Western Dean’s Agreement;
• Manage and facilitate the onboarding and exiting processes for graduate students (including orientation, desk space assignment, and safety training record keeping);
• Initiate, coordinate, and maintain records for programs of study for each individual graduate student (including personalized program of courses, advisory committee membership, committee mtg dates, minutes, reports);
• Process course registrations, run registration reports and follow up on students reaching inactive status;
• Coordinate and manage graduate program processes (i.e. pre-defense, thesis defense, qualifying exams, comprehensive exams, candidacy assessments, extensions);
• Meeting, seminar, course, advisory committee, defense, and/or orientation coordination and support;
• Manages correspondence and other documentation for the graduate programs;
• Provides information about the graduate programs to potential applicants and supports recruitment activities which may include independently providing representation at recruitment events;
• Assists with award applications such as 75th Anniversary Recruitment Scholarship, SSF, Thesis Award, etc.;
• Manages grade entry, class permissions, instructor entry and class lists;
• Ensuring data/content on website (USask and college) is current and inform changes to applicable parties or make changes directly;
• Updates the graduate handbook to align with institutional policy and academic process;
• Support student experience enhancement initiatives e.g. welcome events, Snacks for Students event, holiday activities, etc.;
• Engaging students and faculty to receive program and student experience feedback;
• Support processes at the program level for submission to CGPS e.g. academic misconduct, new and special topic course submissions, etc.
• Mentoring and training of new Graduate Clerical Assistants
• Act as a knowledge resource
• Manage additional special projects and responsibilities as assigned.
• Serve as the primary point of contact as a member of the graduate commons team for all graduate students in the college by providing effective and professional support including activities such as:
  • Ensures that all communication and interactions with students, faculty, staff, and the public are accurate, timely and courteous. Emphasizes customer service and the accurate exchange of technical and factual information;
  • Remains apprised of the resources and support programs available on campus for graduate students;
  • Remains apprised of current CGPS policies and procedures, updating the graduate chairs and other faculty as necessary;
  • Adapts established methods and practices to solve problems; discusses difficult or anomalous issues or problems with the Manager, Clerical Student Support to determine appropriate solutions;
  • Completes work within established deadlines, by advanced planning and ensuring a clear understanding of the required deadlines, effectively setting work priorities and collaborating with others when appropriate;
  • Works effectively and cooperatively with others and consciously applies team skills to support the goals of the team;
  • Documents and updates all policies, processes and procedures, and follows them according to established standards

Education:

Successful completion of grade 12 and an administrative assistant diploma from a recognized post-secondary education institution. A relevant post-secondary education will be considered.

Experience:

A minimum of five years of relevant experience in an office with complex policies and procedures with a minimum of three years of experience in a post-secondary educational institution is required. Experience in a University setting supporting administrative processes for graduate studies would be ideal.

Skills:

The following soft-skills are required for this position:

• Possesses high standards of professional integrity and proficiency in all aspects of operations;
• Maintains confidentiality and handles sensitive matters diplomatically while exercising sound judgement and discretion;
• Shares knowledge appropriately to allow fully informed decision making by colleagues and senior members of the unit and college;
• Works both independently with minimal supervision, and as an effective team member;
• Develops and maintains collaborative, professional working relationships with key stakeholders, both within and external to the college, to exchange accurate information, initiate planning, coordinate projects, and resolve crises with tact and diplomacy;
• Demonstrates an ability to deal effectively with multiple priorities that originate from a variety of sources with competing deadlines while maintaining attention to detail and ensuring accuracy;
• Possesses strong organizational and time management skills;
• Maintains the ability to learn new tasks in a fast-paced environment;
• Exercises sound independent judgement in decision-making and problem solving to ensure priorities and deadlines are met;
• Takes initiative to move beyond completion of assigned tasks to plan for future requirements;
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to communicate both in writing and verbally to a diverse population of faculty, staff, and students in a professional, responsive, pleasant, proactive and effective manner.
• Demonstrate a commitment to fostering an inclusive and supportive campus environment.

The following technical-skills are required for this position:

• Advanced proficiency using the most current Microsoft Office suite, particularly Word, Outlook, Excel, Teams and Channels, SharePoint and OneNote;
• Advanced proficiency using the most current PDF software;
• Proficiency working with marketing and design program such as Canva;
• Advanced proficiency inputting and retrieving data and reports from databases, experience using university specific databases will be considered an asset;
• Proficiency in inputting data and maintaining information on web pages.

Inquiries regarding this position can be directed to Candace Poon at [email protected]