Intermediate Specialist, Academic Advising

About the Faculty of Arts
The oldest and one of the biggest faculties at the University of Ottawa. The Faculty of Arts has evolved to be one of the leading faculties on campus. Now more than ever, the new economy needs thinkers, communicators, and creators. Whether you are interested in the Humanities, Languages and Literatures, or Fine and Performing Arts, the Faculty of Arts offers students an education for today's and tomorrow's workplace! The Faculty of Arts is dedicated to creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment for everyone.

Position Purpose:

Reporting to the Supervisor, Student and Campus Support, creates an outstanding student experience by providing guidance and advice on academic development, such as course and program of study selection, to students to ensure an exceptional student experience and student satisfaction. Plans and executes student interventions as well as give advice to students experiencing difficulties to increase student success and retention rates. Build strategies and programs to increase enrolment and retention rates as well as increasing visibility by promoting the University, programs and the Faculty’s services at various on- and off- campus events.

In this role, your responsibilities will include:

Assess student needs: Review student files to ensure that identification, interpretation, analysis, and assessment of student needs support the students’ goals and respect the Faculty’s processes. May consult with colleagues and/or meet with students to further explore their needs.
Establish study plans: In consultation with students experiencing academic difficulties, develop a study plan which enables the student to improve his/her academic performance, reach his/her academic goals and promotes student retention.
Execute interventions: Meet with students experiencing academic difficulties to provide guidance by informing them and giving them advice on programs of study, program and course prerequisites, graduation requirements, departments, agencies, institutions and other on- and off-campus services. When necessary, will refer students to the appropriate services (ex. tutoring services), departments or support tools.
Retention: Review the student list to identify students experiencing academic difficulties and/or other issues and meet with these students to determine the cause of their difficulties. Provide guidance and advice to these students based on the nature of their identified needs and difficulties and track progress with them to ensure that they persevere and achieve their educational goals. In cooperation with colleagues, proactively develop and participate in the ongoing development of guideline initiatives for student retention. Identify factors and recommend initiatives to improve student retention rate.
Recruitment activities: Establish trust between the University and the target population by participating in recruitment activities as well as maintaining relationships with other associations. As an ambassador for the University, promote the University of Ottawa as well as its programs and services during commercial fairs and recruitment events.

What you will bring:

Bachelor’s degree in education or a related field
Experience in the education field or academic advising or a combination of both
Knowledge of academic programs (ex. regulations, degree requirements, prerequisites and course descriptions) at the high school, college, undergraduate and postgraduate levels
Strong knowledge of and experience revising, interpreting, communicating and applying processes, policies and methods to individual cases varying in complexity
Experience providing client service
Experience elaborating strategies and activity plans for students
Experience with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access), word processing, Windows and Internet
Experience in mentoring and/or coaching an asset
Strong communication skills
Ability to solve problems, make fast decisions and negotiate with students
Organizational and analytical skills attention to detail and ability to work within tight deadlines
Listening skills and strong work ethics
Judgment, independence, diplomacy and discretion
Bilingual – French and English (spoken and written)


Key Competencies at uOttawa:
Here are the required competencies for all or our employees at uOttawa:

Planning: Organize in time a series of actions or events in order to realize an objective or a project. Plan and organize own work and priorities in regular daily activities.
Initiative: Demonstrate creativity and initiative to suggest improvements and encourage positive results. Is proactive and self-starting. Show availability and willingness to go above and beyond whenever it is possible.
Client Service Orientation: Help or serve others to meet their needs. This implies anticipating and identifying the needs of internal and external clients and finding solutions on how to meet them.
Teamwork and Cooperation: Cooperate and work well with other members of the team to reach common goal(s). Accept and give constructive feedback. Able to adjust own behaviour to reach the goals of the team.

The University of Ottawa embraces diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We are passionate about our people and committed to employment equity. We foster a culture of respect, teamwork and inclusion, where collaboration, innovation, and creativity fuel our quest for research and teaching excellence. While all qualified persons are invited to apply, we welcome applications from qualified Indigenous persons, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, women and LGBTQIA2S+ persons. The University is committed to creating and maintaining an accessible, barrier-free work environment. The University is also committed to working with applicants with disabilities requesting accommodation during the recruitment, assessment and selection processes. Applicants with disabilities may contact hrtalentmanagement@uottawa.ca to communicate the accommodation need. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Note: if this is a union position: The hiring process will be governed by the current collective agreement related to the union affiliation noted above; you can click here to find out more.

If this is a front-line position with responsibilities to interact with students, selected candidates must be rated at the Low Advanced proficiency level or higher for both oral comprehension and reading comprehension in their second official language. The rating is determined by a proficiency test designed by the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute.

Prior to May 1, 2022, the University required all students, faculty, staff, and visitors (including contractors) to be fully vaccinated against Covid-1+ as defined in Policy 12+ – Covid-1+ Vaccination. This policy was suspended effective May 1, 2022 but may be reinstated at any point in the future depending on public health guidelines and the recommendations of experts.