Student Community and Engagement Lead

This position is a part of the Non-Academic Staff Association (NASA).

This position offers a comprehensive benefits package which can be viewed at: Faculty & Staff Benefits .

Location –  This role is hybrid with a mix of remote and in-person. Work primarily takes place at North Campus, Edmonton.

Working for the University of Alberta

The University of Alberta acknowledges that we are located on Treaty 6 territory, and respects the histories, languages and cultures of First Nations, Métis, Inuit and all First Peoples of Canada, whose presence continues to enrich our vibrant community.

The University of Alberta is teeming with change makers, community builders, and world shapers who lead with purpose each and every day. We are home to more than 40,000 students in 200+ undergraduate and 500+ graduate programs, over 13,000 faculty and staff, 260,000 alumni worldwide and have been recognized as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for over a decade.

Your work will have a meaningful influence on a fascinating cross section of people—from our students and stakeholders, to our renowned researchers and innovators who are quite literally curing diseases, making discoveries and generating solutions that make the world healthier, safer, stronger, and more just.

Working for the Department

The Alberta School of Business is one of the world’s leading institutions in business education and research and is the first and longest continually accredited business school in Canada. We’re positioned to help shape the future of business with over 140 tenured, tenure track faculty and full and part-time academic teaching staff members who are at the forefront of cutting-edge research and innovative teaching. With 3400 students in our undergraduate program and 950 students in our graduate programs (including 58 PhD students), we are dedicated to fostering a welcome and supportive environment where every student has the opportunity to thrive and reach their full potential. We equip our faculty and students with the latest insights and tools to ensure students receive a transformative learning experience that prepares them for success in a rapidly evolving business landscape.

Since 1916, the innovative ideas, entrepreneurial spirit and leadership of the school’s more than 33,000 alumni have strengthened businesses and communities worldwide. We actively foster partnerships with local businesses, organizations and government agencies, allowing our students and faculty to address real-world challenges and contribute directly to the local and global economy. Our outreach programs extend beyond the classroom, empowering students to use their skills for the betterment of society.

At the Alberta School of Business, you’ll be part of a dynamic and forward-thinking community that values collaboration, inclusivity and continuous growth, making it an exceptional place to contribute your talents and expertise.

For more information about the school, please visit our website at: https://www.ualberta.ca/business.

Position 

The Student Community & Engagement Lead (SCE Lead) is the lead hand in planning and executing engagement, outreach and volunteer management strategies in the Business Undergraduate Office (UG Office). This role is an expert in understanding the UG Office value proposition to students and communicating this value to students. In addition to participating in all SCE-type responsibilities, the SCE Lead provides functional supervision, leadership and training for staff in the UG Office. This role also plays a substantial role in managing various risks, due to the public-facing nature of the portfolio, alongside the need to manage contracts and events.

The UG Office sees itself as the “Educational Home” for bachelor of commerce students. Key goals of the office are supporting student academic success, engagement and wellness. The purpose of our engagement activities is to help create an affinity between the students and the UG Office, and by extension the School. We hope that after they graduate, they look back at their time in the bcom program with fondness and positivity. Part of this positive experience is also having clear and proactive academic and programmatic communications, so that students understand degree expectations and how to navigate university processes. To that end, ensuring our website, digital and other communications are clear and effective are of the utmost importance.

The SCE Lead ensures effective day-to-day operations of the SCE team and takes a continuous improvement approach to the team’s work, utilizing stakeholder feedback to refine strategies and execution. The SCE Lead also works with campus counterparts on broader initiatives and represents the faculty in the University’s Orientation Network.

Duties 

• In collaboration with the Manager, Undergraduate Office and Associate Dean, ensures effective operation of Undergraduate Office team.
• Develops a comprehensive engagement strategy that serves to help create an affinity between Bcom students and the Undergraduate Office, and by extension the Faculty of Business.
• Develops a clear cross-platform communication plan that includes promotion of Bcom Student Life content, but also clearly communicates relevant detailed academic and policy content and helps students navigate academic services. Develops an annual content creation and update schedule to ensure content is current and relevant.
• Works with Advising Lead and Program Support & Service Innovation Lead to develop comprehensive communications plans for programmatic updates and new office initiatives impacting students.
• Ensures engagement and outreach strategies effectively promote the Undergraduate Office, increase awareness of services and promotes approachability of its Student Services team.
• Provides clear and timely direction to staff, including performance expectation, policy and process changes.
• Monitors Student Community & Engagement team’s workload and tasks to ensure deadlines are met.
• Provides feedback and evaluation of support staff to the Manager for consideration in performance/probationary reviews and addresses volunteer performance concerns, when needed.
• Engages staff and fosters a collaborative approach based on trust and open communication.
• Develops a risk management plan and updates processes and internal policies for all engagement and outreach strategies to ensure consistent, proactive and policy-compliant approach is taken for issue escalation and mediates issues and/or conflicts with the team as needed.
• Provides leadership, guidance and direction for situations and issues which require investigation or response.
• Organize and implement plans and activities for new student Orientation, provide oversight and overarching coordination/direction to the various cross-divisional components of Orientation execution.
• Prepares and monitors event budgets and has input into overall consolidated engagement and outreach budget.
• Manages inventory of swag, including proper storage, count and replenishment.
• Works with Manager to develop key metrics and dashboards to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of the Office’s engagement and outreach model and supporting team.
• Provides statistical and qualitative reporting and insights for the Manager regarding workflow, event engagement and digital outreach strategies.
• Assists in creating unique advising opportunities and develops overarching strategic student communication plans that ensure appropriate and consistent messaging is shared to students across mediums and platforms.
• Develops programs and events that promote student success, retention and wellness, and cultivates a strong sense of community and promotes student involvement within Business and the broader campus community.
• Creates unique and specialized programs and activities to develop strong partnerships with Business departments, students, faculty, and other university units and build trusting relationships, collaboration and to promote participation, engagement and wellness opportunities.
• Collaborates with advisors and the rest of the Student Services teams to identify areas of need where students may benefit from support in their academic success and wellness.
• Upholds and advances principles of EDI and Indigenous perspectives and experiences.
• Works closely with colleagues who focus in the areas of Indigenous and international engagement, supporting their activities and developing events and activities.
• Works collaboratively with the Manager as well as leadership and staff in the CWIL Office to support Undergraduate Office-led initiatives that would benefit from the collaboration of the faculty’s student groups.
• Develops a proposal to create, implement, and maintain a student mentorship program and will be responsible for implementing the mentorship program, the content, logistics, hiring, training and running of the student mentors and the program.
• Contributes to the creation of social media/digital marketing targeted for current Business students, working collaboratively with the Communications & Marketing Service Partner.
• Responsible for sending out a weekly student e-newsletter to current students, which serves as the main form of communication between the faculty and the ongoing students.
• Provides content and updates to the Business website, specifically related to Student Services and academic program areas.
• Develops and oversees a Bcom student life calendar (and process) that allows better visibility and coordination between the many units and events in which students can participate.
• Responsible for volunteer appreciation and recognition events and event planning.
• Participates in the support staff recruitment process for undergraduate positions and develops/ implements a strategic plan to recruit, train/onboard/manage volunteers.
• Acts in absence of Manager during absences with respect to engagement and outreach oversight duties as outlined by the Manager.

Qualifications

• An undergraduate degree, degree focusing on marketing, communications or public relations preferred.
• Two to three years’ experience in post-secondary student engagement/student services preferred. Experience supervising others is an asset.
• Computer proficiency in a Windows using MS Office applications, social media and Google applications; experience with website Content Management Systems (CMS) is an asset.
• Strong written communication and creative writing skills.
• Exceptional interpersonal, consultation, and communication skills; experience with public speaking and working with individuals from different cultures, linguistic groups, religions, sexualities and genders.
• Experience with project and event management; the ability to work on multiple projects at once.
• Demonstrated policy navigation and risk-mitigation skills.
• Effective budget management skills.
• Knowledge and familiarity with the Alberta School of Business and excitement towards business education, leadership and entrepreneurial spirit.
• Must demonstrate a strong desire to work in a team-based environment; including the ability to work with little direct supervision.
• Outcome-oriented and high attention to detail and student experience.
• Ability to exercise independent judgment and proven problem-solving abilities.
• Exceptional attention to detail, organizational and time management skills with the ability to work under tight deadlines under pressure with a demanding workload.

At the University of Alberta, we are committed to creating an inclusive and accessible hiring process for all candidates. If you require accommodations to participate in the interview process, please let us know at the time of booking your interview and we will make every effort to accommodate your needs.

Note: Online applications are accepted until midnight Mountain Standard Time of the closing date.

We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those individuals selected for an interview will be contacted.