Coordinator of Off-Campus Student Experience

Position Summary

The Coordinator of Off-Campus Student Experience is responsible for the coordination of staff, programs, projects, and resources designed to enhance the student experience for off-campus students on the Brantford and Milton campus.

The incumbent provides leadership and guidance to a team of student staff and volunteers, focusing on implementing programming and services related to off-campus living, including the Laurier Off-Campus University Student (LOCUS) program and the off-campus housing program.

This position has a university-wide mandate and is based at the Brantford Campus, requiring regular interpersonal interactions and collaboration with departments at the Waterloo Campus, the Brantford Campus, locations in Kitchener and Milton, and external partners.

Responsibilities

1. Recruit, hire, develop, support, evaluate, and appreciate LOCUS student staff and Student Housing Ambassadors.
2. Foster a positive and inclusive team environment that promotes collaboration, creativity, and professional growth.
3. Chair regular student staff meetings and coordinate frequent one-on-ones to increase communication and staff development.
4. Coordinate a successful onboarding of all student staff, including a summer program.
5. Coordinate meaningful opportunities for student staff and volunteers to build upon their skillset and develop as a student leader at Laurier.
6. Focus on the leadership and personal development of off-campus students by providing targeted support, mentorship, and resources.
7. Support the well-being of all student staff and volunteers and triage/elevate to coordinated care support when appropriate.
8. Coordinate the development and implementation of a first year off-campus student council in collaboration with Residence Education.
9. Work with the Manager, Off-Campus Initiatives to develop programs, workshops, and events that focus on developing student's skillset.
10. Actively seek out new opportunities for students to gain leadership experience on campus.
11. Develop and implement strategies to enhance the engagement and sense of community for off-campus students.

Orientation & Transition

1. Coordinate programming for off-campus first year students to transition to the program, and transition out of it at the end of each academic year.
2. Coordinate the LOCUS programming, information, and representation with the Laurier 101 program.
3. Coordinate, plan and facilitate the Off-Campus Welcome Day.
4. In collaboration with key campus departments, host specific orientation programming focused on the off-campus first year experience.
5. In collaboration with the Coordinator, Student Life & Experience develops an opt-in process for mature and transfer students to join the LOCUS program.
6. Be an active participant in the planning and coordination of Winter Orientation programming.
7. Consult with the Students' Union in planning orientation week & ensuring that the off-campus student experience is considered and represented in the planning stages.

Student Programming

1. Create and update documents that monitor and track the growth, challenges and successes of the program, and students involved
2. Oversee the planning, development, and execution of programs and initiatives designed to enhance the student experience for off-campus students.
3. Support the development of programming to meet the needs of off-campus first-year students.
4. Supervise the LOCUS student-led programming ensuring responsible spending, risk management processes, and general programming support as required.
5. Coordinate LOCUS' involvement in larger-scale programming initiatives like volunteer appreciation, Thrive Week events, Keep Calm & Study On programs.
6. Track and monitor student staff programming expenses and spending as outlined by the manager.
7. Foster a collaborative partnership with Residence Education to strengthen and enhance the programming and experience for off-campus students within the First Year Leadership Program.

Off-Campus Housing Support

1. Create awareness and an on-campus presence focused on supporting students with off-campus housing needs.
2. Develop and facilitate international onboarding to advise students on off-campus housing best practices.
3. Maintain partnerships with Legal Care, Department of Residence, and Regional Legal Clinics and coordinate strategic ways to educate and inform the Laurier community about living off-campus.
4. Develop and facilitate one-on-one support, workshops, campaigns, and programming to offer undergraduate and graduate support as it relates to off-campus housing.
5. Develop a series of programs and campaigns focused on educating off-campus students' rights and responsibilities while living in the Brantford and Milton community.

Special Projects & Initiatives

1. Work with Manager to advocate for on-campus space for off-campus students.
2. Develop partnerships and education campaigns to promote and advocate for the off-campus student experience.
3. Coordinate the marketing of LOCUS and off-campus housing support to incoming first year students and families at recruitment & transition events (ie. Open House, Laurier 101, Ontario Universities Fair etc.).

Assessment & Evaluation

1. Develop assessment measures to learn more about the needs, experiences, challenges, barriers, and preferences of off-campus students.
2. Coordinate and implement continual, creative evaluative measures within all aspects of the LOCUS program to ensure student needs are being met (experience surveys, focus groups, etc).
3. Create project/program briefs that summarize the successes, challenges and goals for the LOCUS program and the off-campus housing program to share with management.

Administrative & Communication

1. In collaboration with the Coordinator, Off-Campus Initiatives on the Waterloo campus, regularly monitor the shared and email accounts and regularly monitor the shared LOCUS and Off-Campus Housing social media accounts.
2. Regularly update and generate content on the students.wlu.ca webpages for both LOCUS and Off-Campus Housing.
3. Develop effective communication strategies to promote programs and services to off-campus students, ensuring wide-reaching participation.
4. Maintain regular communication and collaboration with Waterloo and Milton campus counterparts to ensure programming and service delivery is equitable across each campus.
5. Oversee the Locker Rental program including, promoting, recording, and maintaining accurate rental records and ensuring the lockers are in excellent working condition;

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree, and minimum 2 years related work experience.
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills, sensitivity, and responsiveness
• Effective organization, time management, and problem-solving skills Proven ability to deal with high pressure situations Proven ability to facilitate large- and small-scale programming
• Excellent word-processing and data-entry skills using appropriate computer software including Excel and Word
• Demonstrated creativity, initiative, and experience in completing independent and team tasks
• Experience coaching/mentoring students; handling confidential information; and developing and teaching training sessions and workshops
• Agree to regularly work weekday evenings and weekends for programs and events

Hours of Work

This is a full-time, continuing position. The normal hours of work are 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday. Flexibility in hours will be required, including evening and/or weekend work due to student schedules and programming needs. When possible, the manager will adjust the work schedule so that no more than 35 hours are worked in a week.

Compensation

Level: E

Rate of Pay: $41.09 to $43.44 per hour with an annual step progression on anniversary date up to $46.96 per hour.

Considerations for new hire step placements include, qualifications and length/depth of required experience, relevant market rates for similar jobs, internal equity, and estimated learning curve in starting the job.