Manager, Cooperative Education

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 the normal course employees will be hired transferred or promoted between the minimum and midpoint of the salary range for a job.

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

Job End Date

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

This position provides leadership strategic direction and operational oversight for the co-op team. This role manages the delivery of high-quality co-op programming and works cross functionally with the manager of career development and the manager of business development to provide efficient services for undergraduate students.

This position supervises the Interdisciplinary Co-op team and leads program planning accreditation compliance curriculum oversight and outcome reporting. The role ensures alignment with Faculty partners and institutional priorities CEWIL accreditation requirements and evolving labour market trends. The Manager represents multiple Faculties in campus-wide Co-op & WIL committees and contributes to strategic initiatives that enhance student employability and experiential learning outcomes.

Organizational Status

Reports to: Director Academic Career and Experiential education

Supervises: Co-op coordinators administrative staff student staff and temporary or contract support staff.

Collaboration: Works closely with the provost office Faculty leadership faculty members Business Development Manager Career Development Manager. Collaborates with campus partners external employers alumni and professional associations (CEWIL ACE-WIL BC BC WIL Council). Member of the UBC Co-op Council.

Work Performed

Leadership & Team Management

• Provides leadership coaching and performance management for Co-op team and student/temporary staff.

• Sets team priorities allocates workloads and ensures consistent high-quality student support.

• Oversees training onboarding and ongoing professional development for team members.

• Implements service standards and ensures a consistent student experience across departments within ACD.

• Leads operational planning and resource allocation to support program scaling and continuous improvement.

Strategic Planning & Program Oversight

• Leads the planning development and evaluation of the Co-op portfolio.

• Ensures alignment with UBC strategic priorities academic program development and accreditation requirements.

• Oversees the development and continual improvement of co-op pre-employment and career curriculum.

• Monitors labour market trends to inform program direction and respond to emerging employer needs.

• Leads data-informed decision-making through analysis of student outcomes employer engagement data and evaluation metrics.

Accreditation Risk Management & Quality Assurance

• Ensures all co-op programming complies with CEWIL Canada accreditation requirements.

• Develops updates and enforces co-op program policies procedures and standards.

• Oversees student eligibility progression and work term adjudication processes.

• Provides guidance on escalated workplace concerns risk issues and conflict resolution; liaises with Faculty leadership HR and Risk Management as needed.

• Supports quality assurance through documentation monitoring and reporting.

Employer & Industry Relations

• Provides leadership in collaboration with the Manger of Business Development to support developing and stewarding employer relationships to expand co-op positions and career opportunities.

• Works closely with the Manager of Business Development to coordinate outreach job development and partnership strategies.

• Ensure employers understand program requirements recruitment timelines and student competencies through activities such as Employer Orientation sessions.

• Oversees review and approval of job postings to ensure academic relevance and alignment with accreditation standards.

Curriculum Teaching & Student Learning

• Oversees the design delivery and evaluation of co-op pre-employment training and career curriculum across courses and workshops.

• Ensures curriculum and teaching practices reflect current research industry expectations and learner needs.

• Leads development and integration of digital and AI-enabled career tools.

Administration Reporting & Budget

• Leads data management reporting and analysis related to co-op accreditation student outcomes and employer engagement.

• Oversees budgets for career/co-op initiatives events and programming; contributes to annual budgeting processes.

• Ensures administrative systems (e.g. co-op databases career platforms) are optimized and effectively used by staff and students.

• Prepares reports for accreditation.

• Represents the Faculty on University-wide committees related to WIL.

• Collaborates with campus units to align programming and enhance cross-faculty student support.

• Cultivates connections with CEWIL ACE-WIL BC and BC WIL Council to ensure best practices and sector alignment.

Consequence of Error/Judgement

Decisions made by the Manager have a significant impact on program reputation employer relationships student outcomes accreditation standing and Faculty partners with strategic goals. Errors in judgment policy interpretation or workplace issue management can result in reputational harm loss of employer partnerships student academic consequences or accreditation risk.

Supervision Received

Works independently within broadly defined directions from the Director Academic Career and Experiential Education. Evaluated based on program outcomes operational effectiveness quality of employer partnerships accreditation status and contributions to faculty strategy.

Supervision Given

Directly supervises professional staff and student/temporary staff. Provides leadership coaching hiring input performance feedback and training.

Minimum Qualifications

Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline. Minimum of five years of related experience or the equivalent combination of education and experience.

- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives including perspectives in conflict with ones own.

- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing ones own awareness knowledge and skills related to equity diversity and inclusion.

Preferred Qualifications

• Masters degree preferred.

• Supervisory experience is required.

• Experience managing career services or co-op/WIL programs.

• Experience supervising professional staff.

• Strong knowledge of accreditation standards labour markets and student development theory.

• Experience working with employers and developing industry partnerships.

• Demonstrated ability in conflict resolution risk management and program evaluation.

• Strong data analysis communication presentation and project management skills.