Academic Advisor

**Job Description**: **About MRU**: Founded in 1910 and located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Mount Royal University grew into a vibrant college in the 1930s and became a mid-sized university in 2009. Mount Royal has carved out a distinct niche by offering smaller class sizes, a robust liberal education and unique undergraduate programs. Currently, more than 15,000 credit students choose from 13 bachelor degrees and 38 majors. Mount Royal University is located in the traditional territories of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) and the people of the Treaty 7 region in southern Alberta, which includes the Siksika, the Piikani, the Kainai, the Tsuut'ina and the Iyarhe Nakoda. We are situated on land where the Bow River meets the Elbow River. The traditional Blackfoot name of this place is "Mohkinstsis," which we now call the city of Calgary. The city of Calgary is also home to the Métis Nation. **About the Faculty of Science and Technology**: Mount Royal University’s Faculty of Science and Technology offers a four-year Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree. Students can pursue majors in cellular and molecular biology, environmental science, general science, geology, and health science. In addition, the Faculty also offers a Bachelor of Computer Information Systems (BCIS), Bachelor of Science - Computer Science (University Transfer), Environmental Science Certificate, and an Aboriginal Science and Technology Education Program (ASTEP). **About the Role**: Academic advising is integral to fulfilling the teaching and learning mission of the Faculty. Advisors are responsible for educating and assisting students registered in the Faculty’s programs so they can make well-informed academic decisions as they define, plan, and achieve their goals. In support of this work, academic advisors provide accurate and timely information critical in the decision-making process, delivered in various formats, communicated in effective and efficient ways. Academic advisors play a key role in facilitating and contributing to the academic affairs of the Faculty; they collaborate with the Dean’s Office and with Departments; they liaise and work with centralized student/enrollment services and initiatives, and; they support access of students to appropriate programs, services, and people. This is a Full-time, permanent position, working 35 hours per week. **Responsibilities**: - Directing and referring students (as needed), assisting Departments with gaining a greater understanding of students’ needs, and ensuring student perspectives are brought to relevant discussions and are considered in decisions. - Participating in meetings of Department Councils, Faculty Council Standing Committees (as required by the requisite committee charters), and the Dean’s Advisory Group. - Engaging with Department Chairs, Program Coordinators/Advisors, and communicating to faculty relevant procedure and policy changes. - Liaising and working with centralized student and enrollment services (e.g. Academic Advising Services, Records, Admissions, Career Services). - Researching and articulating rationales for graduation exceptions and exceptional admission. - Proactively recommending changes to processes, events, curriculum, programming, and timetabling relevant to the Faculty, and providing advice and input into the same. - Organizational leadership and/or participating in events and initiatives which include Open House, New Student Registration, New Student Orientation, Major/Minors Fair, and Alumni Engagement, and - Administrative tasks related to tasks related to data requests, analysis and reporting, organizing and maintaining calendars, organizing meetings, supporting processes relevant to academic advising, and maintaining adequate documentation and records for relevant processes. **Qualifications**: - Minimum of a Bachelor degree - A strong commitment to student engagement and success - Highly developed interpersonal, organizational, and communication skills - Ability to make independent decisions and solve complex problems; possess excellent strategic thinking, sound judgment, tact, diplomacy, ability to manage confidential and sensitive issues - Ability to work with mínimal supervision and to provide guidance to others, including advice to students about programs and academic progression - Ability to work independently and as part of a team, and to manage their time effectively in a fast-paced, service-oriented environment with deadlines and large volumes of work at key periods throughout the academic cycle - Ability to manage interactions with people possessing a range of personalities and abilities, often with the need to adjust and manage expectations, and - Ideally, proficiency with University and Faculty policies, lines of authority, undergraduate curriculum, and graduation requirements. **What We Offer**: Talented and committed employees are the driving force behind student success. We strive to be an employer of choice among Canadia