Manager, Strategic Awards Initiatives

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Posting End Date

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

Job End Date

This position is expected to be filled by promotion/reassignment and is included here to inform you of its vacancy at the University.

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 role of the Manager Strategic Awards Initiatives is to ideate manage and implement strategic scholarship and awards programs that support UBCs international undergraduate recruitment marketing goals across both campuses. Specifically this role will work to advance key initiatives identified in the Strategic Taskforce on Admissions and Recruitment (STAR) report. The key STAR initiatives advanced by this position are:

• Expand International Student Recruitment
• Increase Funding Allocations to Student Financial Support for International Awards
• Strengthen International Recruitment Strategies for UBCO
• Expand UBCOs Scholarship and Financial Aid Offerings

To advance these initiatives the Manager Strategic Awards Initiatives will work to ensure alignment and coordination between the Scholarships and Awards team the International Student Initiative (ISI) Enrolment Services (ES) teams and UBC faculties across both campuses.

This position will focus on working closely with all stakeholders including members of the recruitment teams to ideate and develop new scholarships and awards that support recruitment efforts to meet and exceed faculty enrolment targets. The new awards will be unique in that they will target programs and regions in a way that the existing awards suite does not as well as supporting newly engaged third-party-provider recruitment. These new awards will sit alongside the existing ISI Student Financial Assistance suite and require specialized attention to ensure they are aligned with the STAR recommendations.

In addition this position will be responsible for working with the Manager Awards Processing and the Senior Data Analyst to optimize the adjudication and delivery of the existing merit-based awards to ensure higher yield efficiencies and international undergraduate enrolments. This position will also be responsible for auditing all current processing documentation; ensuring the relevancy accuracy and currency of the ISI Student Financial Assistance portfolio is meeting auditing and regulatory requirements.

Organizational Status
The role will report to the Director International Recruitment Scholarships and Awards and will collaborate closely with faculties. This role works closely and collaboratively with the Director and Manager Awards Processing as well as members of ISI staff at both the UBC V as well as the UBC O campuses. The incumbent will work with International Student Recruiters and Advisors as well as collaboratively with units in Enrolment Services such as Admissions Enrolment Service Advisors Student Financial Support and Systems.

Work Performed

STAR initiative: Expand International Student Recruitment

STAR initiative: Increase Funding Allocations to Student Financial Support for International Awards

• In conjunction with faculties and the Global Recruitment teams lead the ongoing evaluation of existing international undergraduate student scholarship and awards programs to determine effectiveness through the establishment of clear goals and priorities needed to assess performance.
• Conduct market research and collaborate with key stakeholders to identify key regions and programs to support the regional recruitment strategy with entrance scholarships and awards.
• Leverage existing and additional Student Financial Assistance funding to research ideate create implement and manage new strategic recruitment scholarships and awards to encourage applications and support yield of new international students. This includes determining criteria for assessing opportunities.
• In conjunction with the Director and relevant stakeholders compose award descriptions and manage their process through Senate Awards Committee and Student Financial Systems for approval.
• Build a coalition with Recruitment Marketing and Communications the Global Recruitment teams as well as relevant stakeholders to manage promotion of these new scholarships and awards.

STAR initiative: Strengthen International Recruitment Strategies for UBCO

STAR initiative: Expand UBCOs Scholarship and Financial Aid Offerings

• In conjunction with the ISI Faculties and relevant stakeholders at the UBCO campus focus on establishing competitive awards programs intended to lower financial costs for international students in meaningful ways.
• Support the implementation of a focused international recruitment strategy that strengthens the Okanagan campus brand position
• In conjunction with the Global Recruitment teams identify and deepen partnerships with international high schools to secure reliable pipelines of new students and thoughtfully engage with third-party recruitment companies to complement the UBC recruitment efforts.
• Research ideate create implement and manage new student financial assistance packages to support students enrolling at the UBC Okanagan campus.
• Develop financial aid initiatives targeted at high-achieving students from underrepresented communities.
• Develop a partial tuition award to offset costs particularly for international undergraduate students to optimize enrolment.
  

Endowment of ISI Student Financial Assistance Portfolio

• In conjunction with the Director work with UBC Development and Alumni Engagement UBC Legal Counsel and relevant stakeholders in the Office of the Provost to establish endowment accounts and funds for each of the major ISI Student Financial Assistance scholarship and award programs.
• Research and implement best practice investment and dividend spend policies and create and manage process implementation for future Fiscal Year reviews.

Merit-Based Entrance Award Portfolio

• In conjunction with the Senior Data Analyst manage the development of measures for ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness of the Merit-Based Entrance Award portfolio.
• Reports to the Director on the spend within designated pools of funding yield rates and establishing award offer values adjudication processes and terms of reference.
• Researches ideates and implements new adjudication criteria including region and degree specific criteria in alignment with STAR recommendations to expand international student recruitment initiatives understanding the broader international education landscape opportunities and challenges.

Strategic initiatives coordination and alignment

• Facilitate collaboration between recruitment teams faculties and third-party-providers to build a strong coalition to enhance the effectiveness of recruitment award initiatives.

Administration

• Evaluate all existing Awards Processing team process manuals and documentation to ensure relevancy currency and accuracy according to existing and new policies and procedures.
• Accurately capture policies and procedures for new scholarship and awards packages.
• Review Awards Processing related electronic files to ensure security data integrity and ease of use.

Consequence of Error/Judgement
This position plays a critical role in supporting UBCs student recruitment efforts. This is a leadership position within the International Student Initiative. This position is responsible for managing effective recruitment and advising services and delivering accurate information about UBCs complex array of programs and admission requirements and support services available for international scholarship students within the Universitys undergraduate faculties. The dissemination of inaccurate information exercise of poor judgment without due tact and sensitivity would result in the loss of confidence in UBC by the student the students parents and school counselors and could jeopardize the students relationship with UBC. Poor performance in carrying out development and advising services would damage the Universitys reputation abroad and at home.

Improper oversight of the Merit-Based Entrance Awards portfolio could reduce the numbers of viable candidates and could result in lost opportunities for outstanding students as well as damage the universitys reputation with key stakeholders around the world. Inability to handle the process with fairness and integrity for the ISIs flagship awards programs would undermine the confidence students and schools have in the UBC International awards programs and could undermine the reputation of the ISI and UBC as a whole.

Poor performance would reflect negatively not only on the ISI and associated awards programs but on the University as a whole and would deter international students from choosing UBC thus jeopardizing the Universitys ability to meet its international student enrolment objectives.

Lack of cross-cultural sensitivity can also cause serious misunderstanding and/or hardship for students faculty and staff. Poor management of staff or volunteers may lead to inefficiency discontentment or grievances

The incumbent must ensure accuracy consistency and strategic awards efforts and STAR initiatives.

Supervision Received
Works independently within established guidelines strategic priorities and KPIs. Reports to the Director International Recruitment Scholarships and Awards and collaborates closely with other scholarship and awards professionals. Work is reviewed in terms of effectiveness and alignment with institutional goals.

Supervision Given
May supervise part-time student positions. May stand-in as Manager of Awards Processing where required and in times of absence.

Minimum Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline.
• Minimum of seven years of relevant 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

• In-depth experience with ideating creating implementing and managing scholarship and awards programs.
• An in-depth knowledge of University admission criteria services and resources for international students.
• In-depth knowledge of major international secondary educational systems including provinces in Canada British patterned US IB and other systems.
• Experience supporting and advising international students at the post-secondary level.
• Experience managing or adjudicating for selective awards programs preferred.
• Demonstrated experience using tact and judgement to solve problems and work collaboratively with key stakeholders on student/client cases.
• Broad experience with international student issues and concerns especially as related to students under need-based scholarship and merit-based award funding;
• Experience in program development delivery and assessment. Expertise in designing and delivering workshops information sessions and managing events.
• International experience preferred. Experience working studying or living abroad is desirable.

Performance Competencies and Criteria

• Knowledge of theories of intercultural communication international development and student development preferred.
• Knowledge of award persistence best-practices and associated complexities associated with international students in a post-secondary environment.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing in English. Ability to perform effectively in public-speaking roles including on camera (for the purposes of e-recruitment presentations)
• Excellent interpersonal and diplomacy skills as well as demonstrated ability to work effectively across cultures. Ability to work effectively in cross-functional teams and to develop positive and effective working relationships with students faculty staff and community members.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively communicate and interact with empathy understanding and respect of diverse and divergent perspectives and behaviors.
• Ability to collaborate across difference and work through conflict.
• Nuanced appreciation of how historic forms of prejudice and oppression (racism sexism colonialism etc.) shape the everyday experiences of people in workplaces.
• Actively seeks to understand the climate of reconciliation in Canada and at UBC and its relationship with UBCs commitment to inclusion.
• Ability to respect and advocate for diverse perspectives including perspectives in conflict with ones own.
• Excellent organizational and time-management skills especially as related to planning and managing concurrent events and processes from inception to follow-through.
• Demonstrated ability to engage positively and effectively as a member of a high-functioning team in a fast- paced and results-oriented office environment.
• Ability to take initiative work independently and exercise resourcefulness.
• Demonstrated ability and high level of proficiency using Excel. Strong computer skills and ability to use and manipulate data for analytical purposes.
• Proficiency in using Outlook and other standard office software required. Proficiency in using UBCs client relationship management system and Student Information System or experience using similar management systems.
• Ability to speak a second language is an asset. Ability to travel in BC the US or internationally if required. Must be a Canadian citizen or a landed immigrant in Canada.
• Must be able to work some weekends and evenings.