Managing Director, Student Affairs

As a member of the Vice-President, Students Leadership Team, the Managing Director, Student Affairs, is responsible for the strategic direction and oversight of a wide range of units and programs that are responsible for building, transforming, and enhancing UBC student engagement and experience on the Vancouver campus. The position provides strategic leadership for student experiences on the UBC Vancouver campus. The incumbent establishes over-arching priorities and commitments for the Student Affairs unit, aligned with the UBC Student Strategic Plan as well as other priorities for students. The Managing Director leads strategic initiatives designed to advance inclusive excellence, enhance student success, and ensure access to meaningful learning experiences, supporting all students to achieve their academic, personal, and career goals. Specifically, the Managing Director is responsible for the oversight of the Centre for Accessibility, the Centre for Community Engaged Learning, the Centre for Student Development and Leadership, Sexual Violence and Prevention Office, and International Student Development.

The Managing Director leads and develops an integrated student programming model to meet the evolving needs and diversity of our student population and provide students with an unparalleled experience. The Managing Director has significant responsibility for staff leadership, fostering and strengthening academic partnership, and assessment and evaluation that support the strategic objectives for the Student Affairs units. In addition, this role provides leadership in developing collaborative, strategic, responsive and innovative partnerships across both campuses and with academic partners.

Organizational Status

The Managing Director, Student Affairs reports to the Vice-President, Students.

The Managing Director oversees a number of director positions within Student Affairs including the Directors of: the Centre for Accessibility, Center for Student Development and Leadership, Sexual Violence and Prevention Office, the Centre for Community Engaged Learning, and International Student Development.

The role also has responsibility for cultivating relationships with student leaders, including student members of the Vancouver Senate, the Board of Governors, Alma Mater Society, and Graduate Student Society. The Managing Director also serves as a liaison with the Greek Letter governing bodies.

As a member of the VPS Senior Leader ship Team, the Managing Director contributes to the development of VPS portfolio-wide strategic priorities, and collaborates with other University units, key campus partners and external organizations as required.

Work Performed

• Establishes a vision, provides leadership and sets the strategic direction pertaining to the Student Affairs units including: the Centre for Accessibility; Center for Student Development and Leadership, Sexual Violence and Prevention Office, International Student Development, and the Centre for Community Engaged Learning, establishing and maintaining these units as nationally leading centres/units.

• Centers justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion across all aspects of Student Affairs programs, resources, and services. Leading from an intersectional framework, ensures an accessible, inclusive and welcoming environment for all students, building staff capacity to address and eliminate systemic barriers that may prevent full student participation.

• Ensures that all students are welcomed and supported. Where policies, programs, or procedures impose barriers to full inclusion, the Managing Director is responsible for identifying those gaps and introducing solutions.

• Ensures the objectives of Student Affairs are aligned with the UBC Student Strategic plan, StEAR Framework, Inclusion Action Plan, Indigenous Strategic Plan, and other campus-wide objectives and commitments.

• Provides administrative leadership and educational expertise to the strategic development of program objectives - including learning objectives, performance objectives, financial, staff development - and coordinates the overall annual action plan for Student Affairs. Evaluates achievements of Student Affairs against the University’s commitments to access, inclusion, learning, and development.

• Cultivates relationships with student government groups including the Student Senate, Alma Mater Society, Graduate Student Society, , and Greek-letter governing bodies, as well as other student groups and key campus partners in order to advance the standards of leadership and conduct that are consistent with UBC values and community standards.

• Builds relationships with the UBC student body, acting as an ambassador for students and establishing Student Affairs as a trusted and responsive source of information for students.

• Influences leaders and stakeholders within the University to lead, integrate, adopt, and champion Student Affairs initiatives.

• Works with unit directors and the Director of Human Resources, VPS, to set standards and cultivate and maintain a culture of respect in the workplace, recognizing the value of diversity within the team that reflects our community.

• Leads a team of professionals to evaluate the efficacy of programs and that information is gathered to inform program improvements and strategic objectives. Ensures alignment of objectives and related programming with broader portfolio goals.

• Provides strategic leadership and analysis to identify and evaluate opportunities, new and creative programs and approaches based on demographic information of students in the broader community.

• Oversees the development and implementation of strategies and initiatives to support and enhance professional development and workplace experience to empower, engage, and develop staff across Student Affairs.

• Ensures student leadership opportunities within Student Affairs align with the VPS student leadership model, and that student leadership opportunities are maximized and contribute to student learning.

• Oversees the Student Affairs units’ annual and long-range budgets and ensures the budget aligns with the unit's and the VPS portfolio's strategic priorities and directions and the UBC Student Strategic Plan.

• Responsible for ensuring that the unit Directors are accountable for and engaged in the annual budget planning and goal setting process in order to achieve budget expectations for the Student Affairs unit.

• Advocates for students at the undergraduate and graduate levels; monitors policy and accountability standards to ensure that all students and communities thrive; ensures that student support processes are responsive to the unique needs of diverse student populations; and maintains high standards of student and student-organization conduct.

• Responsible for recruiting, developing, managing, evaluating and coaching unit Directors, while providing leadership, advocacy, and support.

• Recommends on policy, procedural and service-related matters intended to support or enhance student programming and the student experience.

• Represents the VP Students portfolio on a number of University committees and matters related to student engagement and experience.

• Champions innovative practice, fostering an agile and evolving Student Affairs division informed by current research and evidence-based approaches.

Consequence of Error/Judgement
This position is critical to the long-term success on a broad base of functions as the responsible resource to provide expertise on continually improving organizational capabilities. The consequence of decisions may have catastrophic financial, operational and reputational impact for the Vice-President, Students and UBC.

Supervision Received
Reports to the Vice President, Students.

Supervision Given

The Managing Director directly supervises:

• Director, Centre for Accessibility

• Director, Centre for Community Engaged Learning

• Director, Student Development and Leadership

• Director, International Student Development

• Director, Sexual Violence and Prevention Office

Minimum Qualifications

Masters’ degree in a relevant discipline. Ph.D. preferred. Minimum 12 years of progressive, senior level leadership experience, preferably in an academic setting.
- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own

- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications

• Senior level experience in planning, directing, managing, and evaluating complex services. Knowledge of emerging best practices, delivery models, and protocols in higher education across the student services portfolio.

• An expressed commitment and experience with equity-deserving student populations is essential. Experience fostering environments and advocating for equity, diversity, and inclusion of all students.

• Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own

• Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

• Outstanding oral and written communication skills. Experience leading complex and challenging negotiations with a wide range of stakeholders. Proven ability to engage constructively in conflict and dissension.

• Expertise in and commitment to an educational and intersectional approach to supporting student education and experience.

• Demonstrated understanding and knowledge of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, and their cultures, histories, and traditions. Ability to lead and make decisions informed by awareness of historical and contemporary Indigenous issues, norms, and standards relevant to the promotion and protection of Indigenous rights. Proven sensibility and appreciations of the role that gender, race, disability, gender identity, sexuality, class, social and cultural background play in the experience of students in a university setting.

• Demonstrated capacity to educate on intersectionality, power, privilege, and systems of oppression.

• Proven people leadership skills. Ability to inspire, coach, and build capacity in a team toward achievement of organizational goals and priorities.

• Demonstrated experience in building partnerships within a community and taking a proactive approach with a wide variety of interested and diverse stakeholders. Ability to productively advance multi-stakeholder projects in a complex, decentralized environment.

• A track record of developing effective and credible relationships within the leadership of a diverse institution; the ability to value the differences and build on the similarities of need to accomplish a mutually inclusive goal of ensuring UBC is an institution that provides a supportive and healthy living and learning environment for students.

• Ability to operate effectively within a multi-stakeholder community, influence an organization at multiple levels, and generate alignment among varied entities. Demonstrated understanding of and commitment to the values of a research university.

• Proven ability to exercise a high level of diplomacy and discretion in both internal and external interactions.

• Strong conflict resolution skills and the ability to maintain professional decorum and make sound judgements under pressure.

• Proven ability as an innovative administrator capable of inspiring vision and leading change.