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Job Type:

Employee

Duration in Months (for fixed-term jobs):

24

Job Family:

Academic Advising

# of Open Positions:

1

Faculty/Service - Department:

Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Academic Services

Campus:

Roger Guindon Hall

Union Affiliation:

SSUO

Date Posted:

August 26, 2024

Closing Date:

September 06, 2024

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the day prior to the Posting End Date above

Hours per week:

35

Salary Grade:

SSUO Grade 10

Salary Range:

$77,637.00 - $98,070.00

About the Faculty of Medicine
Welcome to the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine, the first and largest bilingual medical faculty in Canada. Our learners have access to state-of-the art facilities and specialized institutions as they learn alongside world-class physicians and scientists. Consistently ranked among the top 10 medical schools in Canada, our faculty is among the top faculties of medicine in the world for research impact in biomedical and health sciences.

Position Purpose:

To create an outstanding student experience by providing guidance and advice on academic development, such as course and program of study selection, to students to ensure an exceptional student experience and student satisfaction. Plan and execute student interventions as well as give advice to students experiencing difficulties to increase student success and retention rates. Build strategies and programs to increase enrolment and retention rates as well as increasing visibility by promoting the University, programs and the Faculty’s services at various on- and off- campus events.

Typical Accountabilities:

Academic Development and Student Retention

• Assess student needs: Review student files to ensure that identification, interpretation, analysis, and assessment of student needs support the students’ goals and respect the Faculty’s processes. May consult with colleagues and/or meet with students to further explore their needs.

• Establish study plans: In consultation with students experiencing academic difficulties, develop a study plan which enables the student to improve his/her academic performance, reach his/her academic goals and promotes student retention.

• Plan interventions: Ascertain the accuracy of the diagnostic outcomes and considerations to ensure the quality of the intervention and review and revise the intervention plan to make sure that it will address the student’s needs.

• Execute interventions: Meet with students experiencing academic difficulties to provide guidance by informing them and giving them advice on programs of study, program and course prerequisites, graduation requirements, departments, agencies, institutions and other on- and off campus services. When necessary, will refer students to the appropriate services (ex. tutoring services), departments or support tools.

• Give advice to national and international students, student mobility, and experiential learning: Counsel national and international students to ensure full integration to their program of study as well as student life on campus. Provide guidance to students participating or interested in participating in the student mobility program by providing information on the program, course selection and equivalences, etc.

• Follow-ups: Meet with students, when necessary, to monitor their progress and take appropriate corrective measures as necessary to address student concerns and student retention risks.

• Direct students to the appropriate authority: Audit to ascertain that students are in fact referred to the appropriate service or resource person (ex. program supervisors, services, tutoring Academic Development and Student Retention Specialist Page 2 services, etc.), based on their needs, either self-identified or through University assessment processes.

Operations Management

• Admission: Follow-up with students when there is a modification in course selection to ensure it meets the requirements of the identified program.

• Modification to the program of study: Review student requests relating to modifications to their selected program of study in order to explore with them possible options as well as to provide guidance and advice on the selection of their academic options. Ensure that student files are analyzed according to the Faculty’s processes and that eligibility to the program of study is validated and, when eligible, finalized.

• Course selection and registration application process: Give advice to students on course selection and the registration process, so students can make informed decisions. Support the student’s course selection, when reasonable, by proceeding with the registration process and making sure it is completed.

• Retention: Review the student list to identify students experiencing academic difficulties and/or other issues and meet with these students to determine the cause of their difficulties. Provide guidance and advice to these students based on the nature of their identified needs and difficulties and track progress with them to ensure that they persevere and achieve their educational goals. In cooperation with colleagues, proactively develop and participate in the ongoing development of guideline initiatives for student retention. Identify factors and recommend initiatives to improve student retention rate.

• Scholarships and awards: Follow-up with the Financial Aid and Awards Service to provide them the list of recipients. Follow-up with students by sending letters and organizing a reception to congratulate them.

• Graduation: Participate to graduation ceremonies to demonstrate the Faculty’s support.

Communication and liaison

• Recruitment activities: Establish trust between the University and the target population by participating in recruitment activities as well as maintaining relationships with other associations. As an ambassador for the University, promote the University of Ottawa as well as its programs and services during commercial fairs and recruitment events.

• Public relations: Represent the faculty and the University of Ottawa during events and receptions.

• Communication with university community: Act as an expert-advisor to the university community and external partners by providing information on academic development.

• Communication with student population: Participate to mass communication initiatives aimed at the student population to ensure the quality and accuracy of the information provided.

Knowledge, Experience and Skills

Essential Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in education or a related field

• Experience in the education field or academic advising or a combination of both

Key Competencies:

• Planning

• Initiative

• Teamwork and cooperation

• Service Excellence

Other Qualifications:

• Knowledge of academic programs (ex. regulations, degree requirements, prerequisites and course descriptions) at the high school, college, undergraduate and postgraduate levels

• Strong knowledge of and experience revising, interpreting, communicating and applying processes, policies and methods to individual cases varying in complexity

• Experience providing client service

• Experience elaborating strategies and activity plans for students

• Experience with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access), word processing, Windows and Internet

• Experience in mentoring and/or coaching an asset • Strong communication skills

• Ability to solve problems, make fast decisions and negotiate with students

• Organizational and analytical skills attention to detail and ability to work within tight deadlines

• Listening skills and strong work ethics • Judgment, independence, diplomacy and discretion

• Bilingual – French and English (spoken and written)

#LIhybrid

Key Competencies at uOttawa:
Here are the required competencies for all or our employees at uOttawa: 

Planning: Organize in time a series of actions or events in order to realize an objective or a project. Plan and organize own work and priorities in regular daily activities.
Initiative: Demonstrate creativity and initiative to suggest improvements and encourage positive results. Is proactive and self-starting. Show availability and willingness to go above and beyond whenever it is possible.
Client Service Orientation: Help or serve others to meet their needs. This implies anticipating and identifying the needs of internal and external clients and finding solutions on how to meet them.
Teamwork and Cooperation: Cooperate and work well with other members of the team to reach common goal(s). Accept and give constructive feedback. Able to adjust own behaviour to reach the goals of the team.

The University of Ottawa embraces diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We are passionate about our people and committed to employment equity. We foster a culture of respect, teamwork and inclusion, where collaboration, innovation, and creativity fuel our quest for 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 and maintaining an accessible, barrier-free work environment. The University is also committed to working with applicants with disabilities requesting accommodation during the recruitment, assessment and selection processes. Applicants with disabilities may contact [email protected] to communicate the accommodation need. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Note: if this is a union position: The hiring process will be governed by the current collective agreement related to the union affiliation noted above; you can click here to find out more.

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. The rating is 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 (including contractors) to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 as defined in Policy 129 – Covid-19 Vaccination. This policy was suspended effective May 1, 2022 but may be reinstated at any point in the future depending on public health guidelines and the recommendations of experts.