Administrative Coordinator, Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (REDI) Office

Staff – Union

Job Category
CUPE 2950

Job Profile
CUPE 2950 Salaried – Administrative Support 4 (Gr8)

Job Title
Administrative Coordinator, Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (REDI) Office

Department
Administration and Operations Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Faculty of Medicine

Compensation Range
$4,601.00 – $4,953.00 CAD Monthly

Posting End Date
March 19, 2024

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

Job End Date

This position is located within a health-care facility, therefore, the successful candidate will be required to provide verification of full vaccination against Covid-19 provided prior to the start date, as required by a provincial health mandate.

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 office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (REDI) provides leadership and support across the Faculty of Medicine to promote culture change through our learning and work environments. The Faculty goal is to create and sustain respectful environments that reflect our values, embody principles of equity, diversity and inclusion, are anti-racist, and are safe spaces for the exercise of human rights for all members of our community. The work of REDI spans several cross-cutting themes that affect our environments: Learner Mistreatment, Professionalism, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, and Indigenous Initiatives. 

The Administrative Coordinator, Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (REDI) Office provides administrative support for the Executive Director, Associate Director, and other REDI team members.  They will be responsible for managing all aspects of the Executive Director and Associate Directors’ intensive and demanding calendars, including the scheduling of large group and committee meetings, booking of travel arrangements, and organizing catering arrangements. They will be expected to accommodate requests to meet with the Executive and Associate Directors, identify urgent matters of high importance and independently redirect and/or resolve inquiries and issues as appropriate based on the understanding of the Executive and Associate Directors’ roles and priorities and decide which inquiries, requests and problems to handle on own initiative.  In addition they will be preparing documents, formatting presentations and reports quickly for the Associate/Executive Director.

In addition to supporting the associate and executive directors, the Administrative Coordinator is responsible for coordinating and carrying out a wide range of operational administrative tasks for the REDI Office.  They will work independently to coordinate  the tracking, triaging, prioritization and allocation of incoming requests to the REDI Office and ensuring that each of these requests are responded to in a timely fashion, coordinating and prioritising the schedule and topics for team meetings, coordinating key processes such as on-boarding and recruitment for new staff within the team. In addition, they will be leading the logistics for major virtual or in-person educational events of the REDI Office.

They will be required to handle confidential material with tact, critical thinking, discretion and sensitivity.

The incumbent must be comfortable working in a high-paced environment and in areas of change and ambiguity, and is expected to independently problem-solve daily operational challenges, work collaboratively and engage effectively and inclusively with diverse groups of people.  The incumbent will apply an extensive understanding of the procedures, policies and organizational protocols and policy at the university and within the Faculty of Medicine to provide day-to-day operational support for the REDI Office. The incumbent will apply extensive experience working to support members of historically marginalized groups to providing inclusive and effective administrative and logistical support.

Organizational Status

The University of British Columbia is a global centre for research and teaching, consistently ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world. Since 1915, UBC’s entrepreneurial spirit has embraced innovation and challenged the status quo. UBC encourages its students, staff and faculty to challenge convention, lead discovery and explore new ways of learning. At UBC, bold thinking is given a place to develop into ideas that can change the world.

Our Vision: To Transform Health for Everyone

Ranked among the world’s top medical schools with the fifth-largest MD enrollment in North America, the UBC Faculty of Medicine is a leader in both the science and the practice of medicine. Across British Columbia, more than 12,000 faculty and staff are training the next generation of doctors and health care professionals, making remarkable discoveries, and helping to create the pathways to better health for our communities at home and around the world.

The Faculty—comprised of approximately 2,200 administrative support, technical/research and management and professional staff, as well approximately 650 full-time academic and over 10,000 clinical faculty members—is composed of 19 academic basic science and/or clinical departments, 3 schools, and 25 research centres and institutes. Together with its University and Health Authority partners, the Faculty delivers innovative programs and conducts research in the areas of health and life sciences. Faculty, staff and trainees are located at university campuses, clinical academic campuses in hospital settings and other regionally based centres across the province.

The UBC Vancouver Campus is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people. The City of Vancouver is located on Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations territory.
Work Performed

1. Associate Director / Executive Director Administrative Coordination

Scheduling

• Acts as personal and confidential secretary to the REDI Executive/Associate Directors
• Manages the electronic calendar and screens requests for appointments for the Executive Director and Associate Director.  Identifies urgent matters of high importance and independently redirects and/or resolves inquires and issues as appropriate. Deals with a high volume of requests, exercises tact and discretion in prioritizing requests for appointments. Required to decline or redirect requests diplomatically and persuasively in complex and sensitive situations.
• Schedules numerous appointments and coordinates meetings and events for the Associate and Executive Director; books rooms and arranges catering as required.
• Trouble-shoots and adapts appropriately to changing requirements and needs in regard to scheduling details.
• Coordinates travel arrangements, including airline, hotel, visas, and ground transportation; these arrangements are often of a complex nature and require a high level of coordination. Prepares complex reimbursement of travel expenses and other financial reimbursements over Workday.

Communications

• Responds to e-mail, telephone and in-person inquiries from internal Dean’s Office, Faculty of Medicine, other UBC units and the general public on behalf of the Associate/Executive Directors.
• Uses diplomacy, persuasiveness and tact in dealing with members of the senior government and University, Health Authority officials, departments, university leaders and the general public.
• Prepares correspondence, forms, and other documents in either draft or final format, much of which is sensitive and confidential, from handwritten materials, brief oral instructions or notes, tapes, and/or e-mails.
• Works independently and researches, prioritizes, and determines appropriate course of action, referral or response on matters identified by the Associate/Executive Director to enhance the efficiency of the work of the Office.
• Prepares and distributes agendas and other meeting materials; uses good judgement to make appropriate arrangements for room bookings, travel, catering, videoconferencing connection; takes minutes and meeting notes as required.
• Creates slide decks or templates for presentations about REDI work or adapts an existing presentation to different style formats for different audiences.
• Provides formatting and basic typesetting and formatting for posters or reports (eg. REDI Annual Report) for a range of different audiences.

2. REDI Team Administrative Coordination

Coordinating the request tracking and archiving

• Independently coordinates the speedy response to consultation requests for team members. Through their deep understanding of the structure of the Faculty of Medicine, UBC as well as the respective portfolios of REDI team members, ensures that consultation requests are allocated to the appropriate team member or referred to another unit (if not within our mandate), ensures that information requests are responded to and that resulting meetings are tracked and followed-up.
• Independently coordinates and manages the REDI Team’s records management system including filing, creating/maintaining files, culling existing files and packaging files for archiving.
• Independently coordinates and organizes record-keeping of requests for the purposes of program evaluation for the REDI Office. Enters data and maintains tracking documents for REDI’s educational programming, consultations and other services provided to Departments, Schools, and Administrative Units.
• Provides leadership in identifying changes in administrative/logistical process that could improve effectiveness of the team and efficient service delivery.
• Screens, tracks, redirects and triages a high volume of incoming telephone calls and requests for meetings sent to the general office in-box related to the services provided by the REDI team; determines which matters require urgent attention and responds appropriately or refers to others as appropriate.

General Office Administrative Coordination

• Coordinates recruitment and hiring processes by scheduling interviews, organizing documents and spreadsheets,  and participating in interview panels as required.
• Coordinates onboarding new staff by coordinating desk and IT setup, provides support and training for new staff to use various platforms,  scheduling introductory meetings with the team, providing a tour of the office, etc. Technological support lead within team – Trouble-shoots and provides technological support to the team with respect to Zoom, Sharepoint, Teams, physical equipment, Workday and liases with MED-IT, Finances, HR or other support units when necessary to resolve more complex challenges. Provides training for various platforms to team members as needed.

• Works collegially and contributes to team discussions to optimize/improve the team’s workflow to enhance efficiency on transforming the culture of the Faculty of Medicine
• Submits complex Workday submissions (eg. Professional development, Travel expenses) and engages with Finance team to trouble-shoot if necessary
• Prepares and verifies a variety of forms which require the signature of the Executive Director or REDI Advisors as required.
• Handles requests for information and data for specific projects, and tracks through to completion.
• Creates and maintains databases and directories.
• Maintains accounts and passwords.
• Reception relief as required at the IRC.
• Creates minor changes/edits to the website as needed and provides coverage  (posts links or edits to websites) during absence of the Digital Strategist or to support the Digital Strategist at times of high workload. .
• Performs other related tasks as required.

Event Management

• Lead the logistics and project management of a faculty-wide EDI community of practices
• Coordinates various other in-person and virtual group events, including scheduling, communications, Zoom support, preparing materials, room bookings, catering, contacting vendors, submitting payments, equipment set-up, troubleshooting issues, and following up on action items.
• Liases with external providers or guest speakers to ensure that accessibility and other needs are met in a timely fashion.
• On the day of events provides technological support for large online events such as polling, trouble-shooting, breakout groups, spotlighting (in Zoom) and note-takings.

Consequence of Error/Judgement

The incumbent is responsible for ensuring the smooth operation of the Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. The position must exercise considerable judgment and initiative in decision making, including resolving issues not clearly covered by established guidelines. This position works within broad mandates, and work is reviewed in terms of fulfillment of mandates and achievement of executive goals.

Errors in judgement or failure to work cooperatively with stakeholders will impact project development, reputation, and quality. Lack of tact, diplomacy, or sensitivity when dealing with partners could potentially result in missed opportunities, damaged relationships, and loss of credibility for REDI and the Faculty. Poor planning could result in loss of time, productivity, and failure to operate the office sustainably or achieve long-term objectives. Inadequate consultation and planning could adversely affect the viability of the office or compromise project funding.
Supervision Received

Reports to and works under the direction of the Associate Director. Receives direction and feedback from the Executive Director. Works closely with all members of the REDI Team, the Office of the Dean and the Faculty Affairs team. Performs familiar duties independently and in accordance with established procedures.

All members of the Administrative team of the Dean’s Office support each other and on occasion will have tasks assigned and/or distributed as necessary  (for example vacation coverage) .
Supervision Given
Formally trains new staff on work procedures, and/or oversees work of students and/or temporary staff.
Minimum Qualifications
High School graduation, plus a two year post-secondary diploma, plus four years of related experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
– 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

Socio-institutional work context

• Extensive experience successfully supporting logistics and operations for events (eg. Meetings, workshops, lunches) that support the inclusion of members of historically, persistently, systemically marginalized groups  (eg. People with disabilities, 2SLGTBTQIA+, IBPOC and Indigenous Peoples)
• Proven intercultural competencies and superb interpersonal skills and ability to effectively communicate, build relationships, interact and collaborate with empathy, respect and understanding with diverse community members.
• Work experience in a complex environment such as health care or higher education. Extensive knowledge of university & Faculty of Medicine policies, procedures, governance and administrative systems preferred.
• Relevant experience working within units at UBC that engage with diverse groups of people, including HMGs is preferred
• Demonstrated experience working in high-paced environments with diverse groups in a calm, courteous and inclusive manner.
• Ability to forsee challenges in scheduling or group coordination processes and independently and proactively come up with solutions.

Technical skills

• Intermediate to advanced level computer experience required (Microsoft Office programs, including Outlook, Word, Excel, SharePoint, Teams, One Drive and PowerPoint).
• Experience successfully providing technological support for major events (100+ people events and meetings). For example, trouble-shooting videoconferencing, Zoom or other hybrid/virtual platforms. As someone with advanced skills in this space, on occasion, they may be asked to patiently support team members with these skills (eg. Teams, One Drive, Zoom).
• Intermediate skills at using collaborative software and platforms to help organize the work-flow of a team and ensure that we are responding effectively and quickly to requests
• Strong ability to accurately maintain electronic calendars, reconcile scheduling conflicts, coordinate meetings and schedule the day’s activities appropriately.
• Strong ability to write concise, respectful emails quickly
• Experience taking and transcribing minutes in a high-paced meeting environment
• Ability to create professional and basic Powerpoint slide decks, based on materials provided by the executive and associate director.
• Ability to compose professional and polite correspondence, reports, presentations and other written materials using clear, concise business English.
• Intermediate to advanced experience and skills for typesetting and ability to use Word or other software to format professional reports quickly.
• Basic graphic design would be an asset

General skills

• Proficient skills in embedding equity and inclusion into administrative operations
• Ability to work strategically and cooperatively in a team environment with all levels of professional, technical and administrative staff integrating resources in a timely and organized basis.
• Ability to independently take initiative – foresee and diagnose problems, identify underlying issues, exercise sound judgement and discretion and effectively resolve issues on a daily basis
• Ability to determine the nature and urgency of inquiries and issues and triage appropriately.
• Ability to prioritize work, multi-task, plan, schedule and organize a variety of projects and/or events, often concurrently under pressure and meet multiple deadlines.
• Ability to adapt to, and work effectively under pressure and meet deadlines in an environment that is fast paced, with high volume and critical deadlines.
• Ability to adapt to changing priorities, set work priorities, work under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Ability to exercise high level of diplomacy, tact and discretion when working with information of a confidential and/or sensitive nature and in dealing with various levels of leadership and external agencies.
• Strong organizational skills both in terms of organizing their own work, but also in terms of organizing processes for a busy team.
• Ability to maintain accuracy and exceptional attention to detail in high-paced work environments.
• High level of motivation and enthusiasm about contributing to REDI-related learning across the Faculty of Medicine.