Administrative Coordinator

Staff – Non Union

Job Category
M&P – AAPS

Job Profile
AAPS Salaried – Administration, Level A

Job Title
Administrative Coordinator

Department
Research Group jobsincanada.one Merida Labs jobsincanada.one Department Mechanical Engineering jobsincanada.one Faculty of Applied Science

Compensation Range
$5,063.67 – $7,294.50 CAD Monthly

The Compensation Range is the span between the minimum and maximum base salary for a position. The midpoint of the range is approximately halfway between the minimum and the maximum and represents an employee that possesses full job knowledge, qualifications and experience for the position. In the normal course, employees will be hired, transferred or promoted between the minimum and midpoint of the salary range for a job.

Posting End Date
March 31, 2023

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

Job End Date

Apr 30, 2024

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
Provides complex support for MéridaLabs group operations and administration. Maintains, updates and manages organizational data. Performs scheduling, communications, event planning, HR and financial duties. Acts as first point of contact for MéridaLabs by welcoming visitors and answering questions in person, by email and/or telephone.
Organizational Status

The MéridaLabs group led by Dr. Walter Mérida is a research lab where energy systems that simultaneously minimize environmental impact, promote geopolitical stability, and enable economic diversification are designed.

Reports to the group Director, Dr. Walter Mérida and the Senior Program Manager, Dr. Omar E Herrera. Communicates and coordinates on a daily basis with UBC staff, academic members and researchers from multiple UBC units, graduate students, vendors, external stakeholders/research partners, and national and international academic members and staff.

Work Performed

Administrative functions

• Manages overall administration, communications and day to day operations.

• Promotes teamwork, aligns with departmental goals while prioritizing group strategic goals. 

• Manages and develops administrative and operational policies and procedures to meet evolving operating needs. 

• Oversees the research, creation, and implementation of plans to advance the communication goals of the group, and of home department more broadly. 

• Keeps abreast of and develops full fluency in UBC Finance policies and processes. 

• Develops and implements financial tracking and monitoring system for all group operational financial activities. 

• Liaises with University/Industry partners to monitor existing and pending contracts and agreements.

• Establishes and maintains liaisons with other university departments and faculties for operation efficiency.

• Responsible for prioritizing, developing, and assessing administrative needs, determining workflow, and setting priorities and goals.

• Arranges travel and prepares expense and travel claims as needed.

• Oversees on- and off-boarding of group members (students, postdoctoral fellows, visiting scientists) ensuring compliance with UBC requirements and procedures

• Maintains and keeps group file repositories organized and up to date

Leads and coordinates strategic projects, including services and initiatives

• Maintains a calendar of events for Director and Managers in the group.

• Participates in and records minutes of team meetings.

• Establishes project objectives, deliverables, budget, work plans and timelines.

• Analyzes the development of projects throughout the project life cycle, anticipating & mitigating potential risks and providing tactical advice on the resolution of issues as they arise, and taking the necessary steps to ensure project targets are met.

• Develops, facilitates and maintains positive and productive working relationships with project stakeholders (local, regional, international) to ensure strategic aims and objectives of the project, and stakeholder expectations, are continuously managed.

Implements projects

• Oversees logistics of the project administration processes, ensuring all policies and procedures are met.

• Develops and refines project requirements and project plans.

• Investigates and participates in developing procedures, system requirements, space requirements, and operational methods to meet project objectives.

• Develops and implements internal and external communication tools. Oversees and communicates project progress, identifying high risk areas. Takes corrective action when needed to ensure desired project performance and outcomes are achieved.

• Liaises with stakeholders on relevant developments, requirements and actions of the project.

• Ensures objectives, decisions, action, schedules and budget are recorded, completed on time and budget, and communicated appropriately.

• Coordinates, organizes and executes sponsored, co-sponsored and internal workshops and event (e.g. seminars, conferences, symposiums, etc.).

• Provides logistical coordination of events: preparing and distributing announcements/notices;  responding to inquiries on events, arranging venues and catering, arranging IT/technicians support to facilitate teleconferences/webcasts, assembling and distributing workshop/conference materials, preparing and managing budgets for events, providing on-site event coordination, arranging volunteer coordination as necessary and providing post-event follow-up and preparing brief reports of the event.

• Prepares financial/activity reporting documentation for special projects and events.

• Manages project budgets.

• Works with the team to develop and implement operational strategies.

• Prepares monthly financial reports of expenses for the different funding received.

• Establishes and maintains liaisons with other university departments and faculties for operation efficiency.

• Oversees the design and production of communications materials, for departmental events, recruitment and outreach activities.

• Develops and recommends policies and process to improve efficiencies in the management and coordination of special projects.

• Performing other duties related to the qualifications and requirements of the job.

Consequence of Error/Judgement

MéridaLabs is an interdisciplinary research group whose success depends on fruitful collaboration between diverse groups. Provides excellent service to all MéridaLabs group members and external stakeholders in order to foster collaboration and ensure progress of joint initiatives. Initiative, tact and advanced problem-solving skills will be required in order to maintain good relations with all members. Delayed service or payments results in poor public relations and potential loss of credit with vendors. Failure to make reasonable decisions and to apply policy and procedures at all levels could cause serious problems for faculty and department administration.

Supervision Received
Works independently under broad direction and minimal supervision. Work is performed in accordance within authorized prescribed limits. Work requires ongoing prioritization. Independent judgement must be exercised in selecting or interpreting information, and reconciling deviations from standard methods. Jobs are governed generally by broad instructions, objectives, and policies. Work pressures, peak periods, multiple demands, deadlines or interruptions frequently impact task completion ability.
Reports to the Program Manager and Director.

Supervision Given
The Administrative and Special Projects Coordinator will be in charge of supervising and managing junior staff as the cluster grows.
Minimum Qualifications
Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline. Minimum of two years of related experience, or the 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

• Minimum 4 years related experience or the equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Excellent interpersonal skills are required: ability to build rapport and defuse tense situations with people who may be difficult or challenging; ability to actively listen, and probe for information to clarify requests; ability to exercise tact and discretion when discussing problems and eliciting sensitive or confidential information; ability to interpret content of a relatively complex nature.

• Ability to effectively manage multiple tasks and priorities.

• Ability to prioritize and work effectively under pressure to meet deadlines.

• Ability to create and accurately maintain record and filing systems.

• Ability to identify and correct missing and incomplete data.

• Ability to accurately create and maintain records.

• Ability to grasp and execute complex instructions.

• Ability to use MS Word and Excel at an advanced level.

• Excellent written English skills required, with firm grasp of business writing, excellent spelling and grammar.

• Experience creating content and editing in WordPress a strong asset.

• Ability to use Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop) a strong asset.

• Ability to produce professional-quality audio-video content a strong asset.

• Working knowledge of scientific and engineering terminology an asset.