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Job Requisition ID:

2025-00394

Time Type:

Full time

Employee Group:

Staff

Job Category:

Administrative Support

Employment Type:

Permanent

Department:

Faculty of Arts - Dean of Arts Office - Faculty Relations and Planning

Hiring Range:

$60,384.87 - $75,481.09

Posting Information:

The internal posting deadline is September 5 at 11:59pm.

Job Description:

Primary Purpose

The Dean’s Executive Assistant provides a wide range of administrative services to support the Dean and within the Office of the Dean of Arts. The Executive Assistant to the Dean must be fully aware of the Dean’s schedule and priorities, including travel commitments and speaking engagements, be prepared to make rapid changes to arrangements, and alert the Dean to potential scheduling conflicts and priorities. The demands placed on the Dean are such that he/she relies on the Executive Assistant to carry out the duties of this position with little or no direction.

The Executive Assistant to the Dean handles complex situations as they arise, while maintaining utmost confidentiality of Faculty records and/or discussions. S/he provides administrative support to functions related to the management of faculty appointments, tenure and promotion procedures and the annual performance review and salary increase processes.

The Executive Assistant to the Dean liaises with i) the Senior Administrators - President, Vice Presidents’ Offices etc., ii) the UW Deans, iii), Academic Deans, Department Chairs/Directors in Arts and campus-wide, iv) international visitors, government offices, and local communities. S/he represents the Dean to all visitors and employs appropriate protocol with dignitaries and international guests.

The role serves as Administrator for the Arts Endowment Fund and secretary to several Faculty-level committees such as Arts Faculty Council and Executive, Arts Honours and Awards Committee, Co-op Advisory Committee, General Group, and Department/School Chair/Director Nominating Committees.

Key Accountabilities

Manage the Dean of Arts’ priorities

• Act as first point of contact for the Dean’s meetings with senior members of the university, business and community leaders, and media representatives
• Collaborate with the Dean’s Office staff and visitors to plan events, ensuring the Dean’s role is properly positioned
• Schedule all appointments and meetings for the Dean; proactively manage the calendar to include requirements of the Dean’s external activities, including stakeholder relationships and community events
• Maintain a record of the annual cycle of events related to the Dean’s administrative position; use this to plan well in advance for activities such as tenure and promotion, attendance at leadership meetings, and the annual performance cycle
• Ensure that the Dean is fully briefed and prepared in advance of all internal and external appointments, meetings and calls, and is aware of priority matters
• Manage the Dean’s correspondence; direct communications as appropriate to the Dean’s support staff for action or Faculty-wide for information
• Ensure the Dean has secured an Associate Dean to act as Dean in his/her absence and communicate this to the Office of the Vice President, Academic and Provost
• Manage all travel preparations for the Dean which include travel preferences, accommodation, transportation, phone packages, conference registrations, meeting schedules, etc. and prepare complete itinerary for travel
• Handle complex situations, including rerouting travel/changes in accommodations/last-minute changes in event schedules
• Think critically in unexpected situations to assess what needs to be completed and prioritize tasks effectively
• Organize travel, accommodation, and other requirements for guests of the Dean and the Faculty of Arts
• Prepare the Dean’s travel claim documentation, reconcile travel advances and submit final travel claims for reimbursement
• Prepare and process Research and annual Professional Expense Reimbursement for the Dean in compliance with University Policy; remain current on knowledge of all policy requirement; attend annual training sessions
• Arrange meetings for the Dean, including, if necessary, reservation/menu selection, campus parking for guests (including detailed directions to reach campus and the Office of the Dean)

Faculty Administration

• Supports the process for administrative appointments of Chairs (or Directors) including monitoring term end dates and organizing chair nominating committees as well as completing appropriate forms to finalize appointments
• Supports the Tenure and Promotion process by corresponding and providing guidance to external referees, reviewing and collating files to ensure accuracy and completeness
• Supports the Annual Performance Review for Faculty by updating forms, performing data entry and arranging meetings with department Chairs/Directors
• Supports the records management activities in the Faculty in keeping in policies 46 and 75
• Provides support to the Dean in the absence of the Faculty Administrative Officer for any of the mentioned faculty processes

Faculty Committee Support

• Organize agendas, minutes and documentation for the Dean (e.g. Senate, General Group, Board of Governors, Executive and Deans’ Council, Faculty Relations Council, weekly meetings with members of the Dean's Office, etc.); arrange pre-meetings to brief the Dean if required

· Arts Endowment Fund (AEF)

• Act as the primary Faculty resource for fund related inquiries

• Maintain committee membership of faculty, staff, student, and alumni members

• Promote the AEF to the Faculty of Arts; engage the support of staff and faculty to promote the AEF to students

• Set and maintain a calendar of submission deadlines and committee meetings

• Screen proposals as they are received to eliminate ineligible applications

• Prepare and distribute meeting agenda and proposals to the committee, record minutes of the meeting

• Prepare approval/decline letters for proposals

• Provide approvals to the Faculty Financial Analyst for fulfilment

• Maintain the AEF website and SharePoint site.

• Arts Faculty Council

  • Organize council leadership, meeting agendas, record and distribute meeting minutes, maintain files/SharePoint sites

• Arts Honours and Awards Committee

  • Organize committee membership and maintain the Name Bank of potential Honourary Doctorate recipients, set meeting dates, prepare agendas, record minutes, prepare and send nomination packages to the President’s Committee; organize the Celebration of Arts event by setting the date, arranging for dignitary attendance, reserving the celebration location, arranging catering, ordering awards, preparing event programs, and managing staff and faculty attendance

• Department Chair Nominating Committees

  • Organize committee membership through online elections, obtain Provost approval of committees per Policy 40, set meetings, send emails to facilitate department consultation, and schedule nominee meetings with the Dean prior to confirmation

• General Group

  • maintain the list of Department Chairs, schedule meetings, record and distribute meeting minutes

• Support the Co-op Advisory Committee by organizing membership, preparing agendas, recording and distributing meeting minutes

• Manage the process for the Distinguished Teaching Award for Arts; arrange for Distinguished Teacher portrait sitting, production and hanging of portrait in the Modern Languages Building

Administrative Support to the operations of the Dean of Arts Office

• Assist with large-scale events planned in the Dean’s Office; including but not limited to corresponding with attendees, monitoring registration, coordinating venue and food services, set-up of facilities
• Manage the process for the Co-op Work Report Awards; solicit exceptional reports from departments; compile report and package for reviewer, process financial award and facilitate certificate creation and delivery to award winners
• Create and manage systems to organize and file all forms of documentation, action requests, and follow-up to completion
• Administer bookings for the Dean’s meeting rooms
• Troubleshoot computer issues on behalf of the Dean and Dean of Arts Office staff and coordinate technical support as required
• Act as backup to the Faculty Administration Officer, Faculty Services/Financial Assistant, and the Administrative Coordinator, Arts Graduate Studies and Research during their absences

Required Qualifications

Education

• Completion of a college diploma in executive administration or related field required

Experience

• 5 years of executive level administrative support required
• Demonstrated experience managing the priorities of a senior leader with competing demands, changing priorities and complicated international travel and protocol.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating events/meetings and briefing materials for a senior leader

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

• Strong project management skills
• Knowledge of the University’s policies, procedures, and operating requirements
• In depth knowledge of Policies 31 (Travel), 40 (The Chair), 45 (The Dean of a Faculty), 46 (Information Management), 76 (Faculty Appointments, 77 (Tenure and Promotion of Faculty Members), the Arts Endowment Fund Management Guidelines, and the Faculty of Arts Constitution preferred.
• Proven ability to exercise sound judgement, tact, and diplomacy
• High understanding of confidentiality and the importance of data integrity
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Excellent interpersonal and relationship building skills with a demonstrated ability to handle faculty, staff, and students from around the world with tact and diplomacy

Equity Statement

The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is coordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations.

The University values the diverse and intersectional identities of its students, faculty, and staff. The University regards equity and diversity as an integral part of academic excellence and is committed to accessibility for all employees. The University of Waterloo seeks applicants who embrace our values of equity, anti-racism and inclusion. As such, we encourage applications from candidates who have been historically disadvantaged and marginalized, including applicants who identify as First Nations, Métis and/or Inuk (Inuit), Black, racialized, a person with a disability, women and/or 2SLGBTQ+.

Positions are open to qualified candidates who are legally entitled to work in Canada.

The University of Waterloo is committed to accessibility for persons with disabilities. If you have any application, interview, or workplace accommodation requests, please contact Human Resources at hrhelp@uwaterloo.ca or 519-888-4567, ext. 45935.