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About the Department of Academic Advising

Academic Advising is a developmental process assisting students in the clarification of their educational goals and the implementation of an educational plan to realize these goals. Advisors play a key role in student retention advising new and continuing students throughout their tenure at Mount Royal University.

The Training Development and Continuous Improvement Specialist role requires a unique combination of technical expertise strategic thinking and collaborative leadership. The Specialist must be skilled at balancing longterm planning with timesensitive needs translating institutional complexity into accessible tools and training and earning trust across diverse partner groups. While not a formal people leader this role significantly influences advising practice across the university. Success depends on selfdirection exceptional judgment and a deep understanding of how to drive learning quality and change without formal authority.

About the Role

The Training Development and Continuous Improvement Specialist plays a critical role in enhancing the quality consistency and impact of academic advising at Mount Royal University. Reporting to the Associate Director Academic Advising this position is responsible for designing and delivering Advisor training programs developing accessible and effective studentfacing resources and leading evidenceinformed efforts to improve advising practices. Drawing on expertise in instructional design facilitation and data collection and assessment the Specialist ensures that advising programs meet professional standards align with student needs and evolve through continuous feedback and evaluation. This position serves as an internal consultant and change agent advancing the culture of learning and excellence across the advising community.

A note on centralized coordination decentralized delivery:
The incumbent is expected to work in collaboration with Faculties across campus to ensure advising practices align with both institutional standards and Facultyspecific needs. Advising is delivered in partnership with academic departments and success in this role requires strong trustbased relationships with Deans Associate Deans Chairs and other Faculty leaders. The Specialist must demonstrate respect for the values priorities and academic integrity of the Faculty and adapt training materials and resources to support shared goals for student success. This collaborative approach ensures consistency in advising quality while remaining responsive to the unique contexts of each academic area.

This is a term position endingMarch 31 2026.

Responsibilities

Advisor Training & Development (40%)
This role is responsible for leading the strategy design and delivery of all training initiatives for Academic Advisors across the institution. Highquality advising requires consistent intentional and ongoing professional development that aligns with evolving student needs institutional policies and professional advising standards such as the NACADA core competencies. The Specialist ensures that all training is grounded in sound instructional design principles delivers meaningful learning outcomes and includes mechanisms for feedback reflection and evaluation. Through collaboration and continuous improvement this role empowers Advisors to confidently and competently support students with clarity accuracy and care ultimately enhancing the student experience and the credibility of advising at MRU.

• Maintain an internal training hub with modular accessible and uptodate resources that serve as a central source of truth for new and experienced advisors supporting continuous learning and knowledge transfer.
  • Onboarding: Design deliver and evaluate a comprehensive onboarding experience grounded in instructional design best practices. Ensure onboarding includes sequenced learning objectives scaffolded knowledge development opportunities for reflection and clear alignment with NACADA core competencies and institutional advising goals. Lead the design of meaningful ongoing development opportunities that deepen advisor expertise foster curiosity and growth and respond to emerging student needs and institutional priorities.
  • Ongoing: Deliver highimpact training initiatives that build on foundational knowledge and reflect current advising challenges institutional shifts and student trends. Evaluate effectiveness through clear outcome measures feedback loops and datainformed adjustments.
• Collaborate with the advising leadership team to ensure training content is accurate relevant and aligned with institutional policies Facultyspecific needs and student feedback. Create a dynamic feedback loop between institutional strategy and frontline coaching to ensure training remains adaptive timely and impactful.
• Ensure a direct and intentional connection between learning objectives and outcomes in all training initiatives. Develop learning experiences with clear progression logical scaffolding and defined outcome measures to ensure advisors are acquiring the knowledge and skills required for excellence in practice. Assessment of training illustrates its impact on advising quality and informs targeted enhancements.

Student Resource Development (25%)
Design maintain and evaluate studentfacing advising resources that empower students to make informed decisions navigate institutional systems and engage meaningfully in their academic journey. These resources should reduce barriers foster autonomy and reflect the diversity of student needs and experiences.

• Lead the development of advising tools and resources that prioritize clarity accessibility and usefulness across diverse student populations.
• Apply usercentred and equityinformed design principles to ensure materials are inclusive easy to navigate and responsive to student feedback.
• Create multimodal learning assetssuch as videos interactive modules infographics and guidesthat promote student selfadvocacy and understanding of complex advising topics.
• Collaborate with Advisors and campus partners to surface common student challenges codesign resources and ensure alignment with the full student journey.
• Establish and maintain systems for reviewing and refining resources and incorporating feedback through usability testing analytics and student input.
• Ensure all materials align with institutional messaging advising best practices and accessibility standards.

Assessment Evaluation & Continuous Improvement (25%)

• Develop and implement systems to assess the impact of advising programs training initiatives and student resources. This includes the development of an intentional connection between objectives and outcomes; gathering relevant data; conducting detailed analysis; and presenting findings that illustrate the impact of advising practices on student outcomes and identify actionable opportunities for improvement.
• Conduct rigorous qualitative and quantitative analyses to evaluate the effectiveness of training programs student resources and advising strategies. Translate findings into clear meaningful insights that inform future improvements and strategic planning.
• Develop clear actionable reports and recommendations rooted in data advising trends and student feedback. Ensure outputs are designed to support decisionmaking and continuous improvement at both the team and institutional level.
• Partner with Institutional Research advising leadership and other campus partners to cocreate sustainable datainformed processes that support longterm advising effectiveness and innovation.
• Champion a culture of evidencebased practice critical reflection and shared accountability by modelling the use of data to inform decisions and highlighting the value of learning from both successes and challenges.

Collaboration & Institutional Support (10%)
Actively contribute to a collaborative highimpact advising ecosystem by engaging with colleagues across the institution in support of shared student success goals. This role operates as a connectorbringing together insight expertise and evidence to strengthen advising practices inform institutional decisions and advance a culture of learning and excellence.

• Serve as a trusted partner to advising managers and advisors offering guidance on training learning strategies and continuous improvement grounded in evidence and professional standards.
• Collaborate with crossfunctional teams committees and working groups to align advising initiatives with broader institutional strategies student supports and service delivery models.
• Maintain fluency in advising trends NACADA core competencies instructional design research and tools that support innovative studentcentred practices.
• Document organize and share training materials resources and evaluation data to promote continuity scalability and transparency across the advising community.

Qualifications

• Masters degree in education instructional design adult learning or a related field is required.
• Expertise in instructional design and adult learning theory.
• Strong facilitation and presentation skills.
• Experience using learning management systems and digital content development tools.
• Ability to analyze qualitative and quantitative data develop findings and translate findings into clear recommendations.
• Knowledge of academic advising models NACADA core competencies and student development theory.
• Exceptional writing and editing skills to produce highquality training and studentfacing materials.
• Ability to manage complex projects independently and collaboratively.
• Familiarity with Canadian postsecondary policy curriculum processes and academic structures.
• Demonstrated commitment to equity inclusion and universal design principles.
• This position is foundational to the success of Academic Advising Services. Its impact is reflected in the daily effectiveness of advising operations the quality of student experiences and the confidence of Advisors across campus.
• This position involves a high degree of complexity accountability and judgment requiring advanced skills in instructional design facilitation and evaluation.
• The incumbent must be adept at navigating ambiguity solving complex problems and making evidenceinformed decisions that directly influence institutional practices and student outcomes.

Salary: $65500 $82916 per annum

Closing Date: June 02 2025

A cover letter and resume should be submitted in one .pdf formatted document. Please title your .pdf document as follows: Last Name Requisition (ex. Smith Coordinator ).