Summer Peer Support

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Faculty/Service - Department:

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

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Department: Residence Life (Student Health Wellness and Support; Student Affairs)

Term of Position: May 4 2026 August 13 2026

Remuneration: $437/month paid in equal installments bi-monthly plus $85.68 per semester for general expenses plus a room in residence as a taxable benefit.

Job Reports to: Lead Coordinator Residence Life

Purpose of a Summer Peer Support (SPS)

This is a live-in position and requires the individual to be on campus to attend on-site training meetings and provide in-person support to students living in a University Residence environment. All live-in members of the Residence Life team are leaders in their communities maintain an important presence in residence and are available to support and engage with students in residence at all hours of the day. Therefore individuals should have strong organizational interpersonal and problem-solving skills as well as integrity and flexibility.

The role of a Summer Peer Support (SPS) is to create the best student experience for members of the University of Ottawa community living in Residence. This is completed through various strategies to build community and uphold safety in residence. SPSs support mixed communities in residence consisting of students in all years of study including graduate students with the goal of fostering a strong sense of community and engaging students. These communities may be distributed throughout multiple floors and/or residence buildings.

A SPS is an individual who is well equipped to create a safe community in which residents of all origins and orientations may thrive while they embark on their academic and personal development. SPSs support the wellness and safety of students with conflict resolution report facilities-related issues and emergency management with the support of a peer-team and Lead Coordinators Residence Life. They may respond to highly sensitive situations therefore a respect for confidentiality and good stress management skills are essential.

For a more detailed and specific description of the responsibilities of the SPSs role please consult the Residence Life Student Staff Manual which all staff are expected to know and respect. As a unionized position all SPSs are expected to be familiar with their Collective Agreement (CUPE).

Time Commitment and Training

• Total of 240 hours to be worked based on the 16-week Summer semester (May to mid-August inclusively). SPS are expected to work an average of 15 hours/week including early mornings evenings weekends and holiday periods.
• Mandatory training sessions in-person and online offered throughout employment:
  • Mandatory Online Training as determined by Residence Life and the University
  • Start of Contract Training: Period in May preceding the start of the Summer semester.
  • Ongoing Training: One (1) five-hour ongoing training commitment once a semester includes a lunch break.

Student Interactions

• SPSs develop communities and interact with residents by becoming acquainted with every individual resident in their designated community. They should foster an inclusive and cohesive residence environment by taking a proactive approach in helping to resolve any conflicts. SPSs must be available to residents for formal and informal support including the facilitation of mediations when necessary. They should document and inform their supervisor of any situations or conflicts they are aware of and when appropriate work in collaboration to address them.
• SPSs are expected to support community members in completing Roommate Agreements with help from tools like the Shared Living Guide.
• SPSs are responsible for individual in-person interactions with students living in residence including upper-year students as well as regular in-person programming for medium to large sized group events (residence-wide events) to foster a strong sense of community and to engage students.
• SPSs contribute to efforts for campus-wide knowledge sharing.
• SPSs are expected to contribute to Residence Life Education Training and Hiring projects. This may include but is not limited to attending meetings with designated Lead Coordinators facilitating and/or assisting with the development of training opportunities for other staff etc.
• SPSs are expected to collaborate with various campus partners (ex. Campus Events) to organize and offer opportunities for engagement and community building within the numerous communities in residence.

Resident Conduct and Care Support

• SPSs are expected to support students with conduct and care peer conversations and follow-up in residence as informed by their training. Although they will be primarily responsible for peer conversations and follow-up concerning residents in their designated communities SPSs may be called to support these needs throughout the entire residence community.
• Conduct support may include roommate mediations and upholding the Residence Agreement Code of Conduct and Disciplinary Procedure. This includes having proactive and preventative conversations with students about the rules in residence.
• Care support involves the ability to recognize respond and refer students in distress to the appropriate resources.

Programming Requirements

• SPSs are expected to create a variety of passive programming at the start of each semester to contribute to the sense of community and belonging within their designated area of residence. This may include but is not limited to door tags welcome boards and staff information boards (as well as their related documentation).
• At the start of the summer SPSs are expected to update the passive programming boards in their designated community informed by observed trends and reflecting the learning outcomes of the residence curriculum.
• Once a month SPSs are expected to work with other SPSs to organize and facilitate/host a community event (residence-wide event). These events are to be informed by observed trends reflect one of the learning outcomes of the residence curriculum and respect the available and allocated budget.
• At the end of their employment contract period SPSs are expected to remove all posters and passive programming from their communities.

Administrative Duties

• Must use the software system eRezLife to document significant observations interactions with residents community development efforts walkthroughs (as needed) and all other required reports. The inbox associated with their eRezLife account must be checked regularly for bulletins and reports (unless on official time off).
• Monitor their work email inbox (Outlook) and messages (MS Teams) regularly to correspond with residents the Residence Life Team and the administrative staff in a timely manner (unless on official time off).
• Manage any work-related social media accounts (e.g. community Facebook or Instagram pages) on a regular basis (unless on official time off).
• Report the hours of work completed each week through the designated reporting form.
• SPSs are expected to regularly monitor their designated poster mailbox to ensure that posters (informational or other) are promptly distributed and displayed throughout the residence community.
• Monitor the posters displayed in their residence communities by removing and disposing of any posters that are out of date.

Meetings

• Required to attend and actively participate in all meetings deemed necessary for their role with Residence Life. This may include but is not limited to peer-led meetings group meetings as well as individual meetings with Lead Coordinators Residence Life.
• SPSs attend regular meetings with Residence Life team members to aid in meeting the needs of the communities of students living in residence.
  • Bi-weekly individual meetings with supervising Lead Coordinator Residence Life (30 minutes).
  • Weekly Peer Support Connection meetings facilitated by a Lead Coordinator Residence Life (1 hour).

Safety and Security

• SPSs must know and respect the Residence Life Code of Ethics for Student Staff Residence Life Confidentiality Agreement.
• SPSs assist with ensuring safety and security in the residence community through various strategies led by principles of harm reduction and informed by residence policies. Therefore SPSs must know follow and uphold the Residence Agreement Code of Conduct and Disciplinary Procedure in the University of Ottawas residences. SPSs should promote the respect of residence policies by helping residents understand the reason for regulations and encourage individual and community responsibility in maintaining them. SPSs must be consistent in upholding regulations throughout their employment with Residence Life.
• SPSs must maintain an awareness of routine and emergency procedures essential to the safety and security of residents (e.g. fire alarms medical emergencies fire evacuation procedures).
• SPSs are required to perform a walkthrough of their building at least once a week and complete any resulting documentation. Through this walkthrough SPSs are to check for possible safety and security concerns engage with residents and identify any physically or psychologically harmful situations in residence.
• SPSs will work with other campus partners such as the Residence Safety Team (RST) Protection Services Housing Reception etc. to ensure the safety and wellbeing of residents.

Walkthroughs

• SPSs may be scheduled to complete walkthroughs as required or at the discretion of the Lead Coordinator Residence Life in order to meet summer operational needs.
• Walkthroughs are scheduled check-ins conducted by SPSs during the summer term to support safety wellbeing and operational awareness in residence. Walkthroughs may be completed in the SPSs assigned residence or when needed in a neighbouring residence to meet operational needs.
• Walkthroughs may be completed at any time during the day at the SPSs discretion provided they are completed on the scheduled day. During walkthroughs SPSs are expected to conduct rounds engage appropriately with residents present inspect shared and community spaces for safety or wellbeing concerns and respond to or escalate issues as required. Any necessary documentation or reports must be completed following the walkthrough
• During key periods of the summer term additional staff may be called to complete walkthrough shifts to meet the needs of the service and community in residence as determined by the Lead Coordinator Residence Life and Management team. These periods may include but are not limited to summer move-out or move-in transitions student sublets and room changes and other operational or community-related needs specific to the summer term.

Essential Qualifications

• Previous experience in a student staff position with Residence Life and obtained a positive recommendation from a supervising Lead Coordinator Residence Life.
• Maintain a full-time student status at the University of Ottawa at the time of application and throughout the employment contract period.
• Obtain and maintain a minimum 5.0 CGPA at the University of Ottawa.
• All members of the Residence Life team are required to meet a high level of bilingualism (English French) in order to best support students living in residence and studying in either of the Universitys official languages. Given the multilingual nature of the student community living in residence proficiency in additional languages is an asset.
  • As employees with the University of Ottawa prospective candidates for a role with Residence Life must obtain a satisfactory result on a language proficiency test. Results that do not meet this requirement will automatically result in disqualification.
• Maintain a good standing at the University of Ottawa and in residence (where applicable).
• Valid Standard First Aid and CPR-C/AED Certification delivered by a recognized certification body in Canada and approved by WSIB in Ontario. Certification is to be valid throughout the employment contract period recertification within this period is permitted.
• Results of a Vulnerable Sector Criminal Background Check completed within the 2 years before the start of the employment contract period.
• Skilled in the use of all Microsoft Office software and other communication platforms.

Job Competencies

• Demonstrated competencies connecting with students in all levels of study
• Excellent interpersonal and communications skills to connect with others on a peer-to-peer level
• Excellent problem solving and decision-making skills
• Ability to manage time effectively and meet deadlines
• Ability to collaborate with others as well as work independently
• Ability to facilitate large- and small-scale events and meetings
• Creativity and initiative for community events and programming
• Understand the importance of documentation in their role
• Strong organizational abilities and attention to detail
• High tolerance for stress and ability to self-regulate
• Capacity to assist in managing crisis situations of a physical emotional academic and environmental nature
• Ability to self-evaluate and be receptive to feedback
• Excellent communications skills with supervisors related to deadlines issues arising urgent matters
• Familiarity with Residence Lifes leading principles concepts and approaches like harm reduction JEDI (justice equity diversity and inclusion) stepped care model etc. (an asset)
• Skilled in objective documentation and reporting (an asset)
• Knowledge of the University of Ottawa campus and surrounding vicinity (an asset)
• Knowledge of the Residence Agreement Code of Conduct and Disciplinary Procedure as well as other University of Ottawa policies (an asset)
• Knowledge of the University of Ottawa Residence Curriculum (an asset)

The hiring process will be governed by the current CUPE 2626 collective agreement; you can click here to find out more.

The University of Ottawa embraces diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We are passionate about our people and committed to employment equity. We foster a culture of respect teamwork and inclusion where collaboration innovation and creativity fuel our quest for research and teaching excellence. While all qualified persons are invited to apply we welcome applications from qualified Indigenous persons racialized persons persons with disabilities women and LGBTQIA2S persons. The University is committed to creating and maintaining an accessible barrier-free work environment. The University is also committed to working with applicants with disabilities requesting accommodation during the recruitment assessment and selection processes. Applicants with disabilities may contact to communicate the accommodation need. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Prior to May 1 2022 the University required all students faculty staff and visitors (including contractors) to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 as defined in Policy 129 Covid-19 Vaccination. This policy was suspended effective May 1 2022 but may be reinstated at any point in the future depending on public health guidelines and the recommendations of experts.