Administrative and Operations Coordinator

Staff - Union

Job Category

CUPE 2950

Job Profile

CUPE 2950 Salaried - Administrative Support 3 (Gr7)

Job Title

Administrative and Operations Coordinator

Department

Administrative Support | Botanical Garden and Centre for Horticulture

Compensation Range

$4,594.00 - $4,827.00 CAD Monthly

Posting End Date

September 1, 2025

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

Job End Date

Ongoing

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 Senior Administrative Specialist is responsible for providing financial, HR and administrative support for UBC Botanical Garden and the various programs within the Garden, including the Horticulture Training Program, the Admissions Desk, and the Shop in the Garden. This position is responsible for interpreting and following university policies to ensure compliance with the use of financial funds, human resource management systems and collective agreements. As the main point of contact for the Botanical Garden, this position coordinates procedures and processes of a complex nature. Including, but not limited to, coordinating office expenses and reconciliations, processing HR business processes, creating tracking and management systems for human resources and financial processes, establishing priorities and resolving complex customer, staff and volunteer issues. This position oversees the coordination of the Admissions desk scheduling calendar, including training and onboarding of new employees, and coordinates Shop and Garden expenses.

This position works independently, using judgment, initiative and ingenuity to determine the best solutions for effective Guest Experiences, Administrative, Financial and HR processes and procedures.

Organizational Status

This position reports directly to the Associate Director, Administration, works with staff, students, volunteers and clients, and contacts and liaises with other university administrative units, service providers, and vendors.

UBC Botanical Garden's Senior Administrative Specialist ensures the Garden's Vision and Mission are fully supported. UBC Botanical Garden's Mission and Vision are as follows:
Vision Statement

UBC Botanical Garden’s living plant collections, landscapes and people inspire communities, ideas and actions for a resilient, biodiverse world.

Mission

UBC Botanical Garden’s foundational work in documented plant collections, innovative horticulture and engaging education invites curiosity and learning. We connect communities with science through research, exceptional visitor experiences and academic service. We conserve biodiversity, demonstrate sustainable practices and provide spaces to encourage health and wellbeing.

Work Performed

Performs administrative, HR and financial responsibilities under the direction of the Associate Director, Administration. Working within UBC Botanical Garden's Administrative Building, the Senior Administrative Specialist coordinates the administrative procedures and processes in the following areas:
GUEST EXPERIENCE
- Using tact and discretion, acts as the first point of contact within the active environment of the Campbell Administrative Building for faculty, staff, students, volunteers, customers, visitors, service providers and the general public.
- As first point of contact for many guests within the Garden, actively listens, probes and seeks information to defuse challenging situations.
- Acts in coordinating the Admissions Desk, including scheduling and training Admissions Desk staff.
- Investigates different options for improving methods for training and improving the Garden's frontline staff.
- Stays abreast of new training information from UBC Finance & HR to ensure Admissions Desk staff are up to date in their training and that processes are current and functional.
- Maintains and assists in the development of the Garden's membership database, including optimization, tracking and consistently improving the performance of the contents, this support for the membership program must be completed in a pro-active and positive manner.

FINANCE
- Prioritizes and uses initiative in reconciling general operating, specific purpose and endowment project/grants.
- Works independently to troubleshoot, resolve, and follow-up on financial system problems (Workday) with Financial Services, Human Resources, Development, and other related units on campus.
- Prepares, monitors and reports on budget expenditures for the Shop in the Garden, Admissions at both Nitobe Memorial and UBC Botanical Garden.
- Reconciles daily & weekly Shopify transactions into Workday, identifies, delves into and solves any irregu