Department: Faculty of Arts

Job Type: Limited Term

Full-time/Part-time: Full Time (>=1249 hrs/year)

Campus: Waterloo

Reports to: Senior Administrative Officer, Faculty of Arts

Employee Group: WLUSA

Application Deadline: August 20, 2025

Requisition ID: 10108

Wilfrid Laurier University is a leading multi-campus university that excels at educating with purpose. Through its exceptional employees, students, researchers, leaders, and educators, Laurier has built a reputation as a world-class institution known for its rich student experience, academic excellence, and global impact. With a commitment to Indigenization and commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, Laurier’s thriving community has a place for everyone.

Laurier has more than 21,000 students and 2,100 faculty and staff across campuses in Waterloo and Brantford, as well locations in Kitchener and Milton. The university is committed to providing an inclusive workplace, a flexible work policy and employing a workforce that is reflective of local and national demographics. Laurier's Waterloo, Kitchener, and Brantford campuses are located on the shared traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishnaabe, and Haudenosaunee peoples. This land is part of the Dish with One Spoon Treaty between the Haudenosaunee and Anishnaabe peoples and symbolizes the agreement to share, protect our resources, and not to engage in conflict. Laurier's Milton campus is located on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, and part of the Nanfan Treaty of 1701 between the British Crown and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.

Position Summary

The Administrative Assistant is the first point of contact in the Dean of Arts Office responding to students, faculty and staff and must be an informed and professional representative of the faculty. The Administrative Assistant co‐ordinates administrative requirements of the Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association (WLUFA) Full‐time Faculty Collective Agreement and the Contract Teaching Faculty (CTF) Collective Agreement for the Faculty of Arts (FOA). The incumbent works closely with Department Chairs/Program Coordinators, full‐time faculty members, CTF members, staff members and students in the FOA.

The challenge in this position is managing the volume of intensive, detailed work associated with one of the largest academic faculties at Laurier, coupled with the interpersonal skills required in working with such a diverse group, while meeting the requirements of the two WLUFA Collective Agreements. The incumbent manages this challenge through meticulous record keeping and organizational leadership, ensuring that key deadlines are met through the year. Professionalism, good judgement, tact and diplomacy are essential in the decision‐making and problem‐solving required in the position. The incumbent routinely handles confidential materials.

This position provides subject matter information requiring regular interpersonal interactions and collaboration with departments at the Waterloo Campus and the Brantford Campus. Special attention is given to ensure equitable service delivery across all locations.

Accountabilities

Faculty Relations

• Interprets and applies the provisions of the WLUFA CTF agreement within the faculty, ensuring that deadlines as outlined in the Collective Agreement are met;
• Manages Professional Expense Reimbursement (PER) for full‐time faculty and CTF members reviewing for compliance with PER Guidelines and Laurier’s Expense Handbook;
• Tracks records of PER, monitoring balances and calculating carry forward where appropriate, and provides reports as required;
• Reviews travel reimbursement submissions for accuracy and adherence to approved budget;
• Compiles and distributes reports of faculty travel and expenditures twice yearly;
• Acts as the first point of contact for Office Administration Coordinators with regards to Letters of Appointment (LOAs), overload contracts, and HRIS issues;
• Creates official files for new CTF members, generates a Laurier ID in Banner, and notifies departments, Payroll and Faculty Relations of next steps;
• Reviews and processes CTF LOAs as well as overload contracts for full‐time faculty;
• Prepares and maintains a spreadsheet tracking the CTF LOAs and overload contracts, noting the number of stipends, number of tutorials and stipend amounts; prepares other reports as required;
• Maintains and updates the CTF listserve as required;
• Co‐ordinates the seniority status review process with departments each term;
• Monitors CTF LOAs and overload contracts as they relate to the maximum number of courses allowed under the respective collective agreements and approved by the Dean;
• Ensures timely return of LOAs by contacting CTF members who have not returned their signed contract in accordance with the Collective Agreement;
• Oversees course evaluation process in the FOA by ensuring official files are updated and copies distributed as required;
• Updates, maintains and is responsible for the safekeeping of confidential CTF Official Files;
• Processes requests for CTF official files;
• Works closely with the Senior Administrative Officer regarding Collective Agreement issues;
• Culls CTF files when appropriate.

Front‐Line Responsibilities

• Provides front‐line administrative service and information dissemination; provides accurate and timely information to in‐person, e‐mail and telephone inquiries coming to the Dean’s Office from students, parents, staff, faculty and visitors concerning the university and faculty policies, procedures, and rules and regulations
• Responds to and acts on queries;
• Assesses effectively the needs of a busy front office and knows when consultation is appropriate; establishes priorities while maintaining focus on quality service;
• Assists students, faculty and staff with questions regarding the on‐line booking calendars and works with ICT to maintain the on‐line booking system.

Administrative Support

• Accesses student records (particularly when acting as back-up), course enrolment information and room bookings using Banner and Cognos;
• Provides administrative support and takes on special projects as assigned by the Senior Administrative Officer, the Dean, Vice Deanor Associate Deans;
• Coordinates any facilities‐related services such as access control, security, shredding and locker allocation;
• Responds to minor issues pertaining to Facilities Management, informing and escalating to the Senior Administrative Officer when appropriate;
• Provides direction to Office Administration Coordinators pertaining to appropriate University policies and procedures, as required by responsibilities of this role;
• Responds to frequent questions and requests from various campus departments, providing solutions for a variety of issues;
• Organizes and prioritizes work to ensure both faculty and university deadlines are met;
• Works with the Vice-Dean of Arts to confirm IA and GTA assignments in each department.
• Acts as a backup to the Office Administration Coordinator to update FOADigital displays;
• Receives and sorts all incoming mail to the artsinfo@wlu.ca and artscontracts@wlu.ca mailboxes, and directs mail to appropriate individuals within the Dean’s Office;
• Assists with FOA events (Open House, Laurier Day, Convocation, Think Arts Day, etc.), as needed;
• Provides back‐up assistance to the Administrative Assistant: Academic Advising & Faculty of Arts, and the Office Administration Coordinator (Dean’s Office) to book Arts Collaborative Spaces.

Qualifications

• Secondary School Diploma plus one (1) year post‐secondary education and two (2) years relevant administrative experience within an academic environment, preferably an academic department or comparable environment;
• Strong understanding of university policies and procedures and a proven ability to provide quality service in a fast‐paced environment considered an asset;
• Experience working with Collective Agreements, preferably the WLUFA Full‐time Faculty and/or CTF agreements an asset;
• Excellent customer/student service skills; including exceptional interpersonal and communication skills—in‐person, on the phone and on‐line;
• Track record of communicating effectively with a diverse population;
• Proven administrative and organizational skills; ability to multi‐task and prioritize work;
• Proven ability to anticipate and respond to the needs of clients to ensure service expectations are understood and met;
• Demonstrated ability to maintain a supportive, calm, patient and service‐oriented demeanor when dealing with upset or challenging students/clients;
• Detail‐oriented and capable of a high degree of accuracy in the performance of all tasks;
• Proven ability to assess situations and effectively; problem solve customer requests and concerns;
• Strong desire to be part of a collaborative, team‐centered environment which emphasizes creativity, reliability, and out‐of‐the box thinking;
• Ability to adapt to changing situations, work under pressure, and with frequent interruptions in a high-volume environment;
• Excellent computer skills, including word processing, spreadsheets, databases; knowledge of Word, Excel, and Outlook; experience with Banner, Loris, MyLearningSpace (MLS), Cognos and Millennium considered an asset;
• Skill and experience in managing web pages and in preparing and posting materials to the web;
• Understanding of standard accounting practices; good data analysis skills;
• Demonstrated ability and experience working and communicating cross‐culturally;
• Must present a professional image of the Dean’s Office at all times.

This position is deemed eligible for educational equivalencies.

Hours of Work: The normal hours of work are 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday. Flexibility in hours may be required, including evening and/or weekend work. When possible, the manager will adjust the work schedule so that no more than 35 hours are worked in a week. This role offers limited flexibility regarding flexible work arrangements. Please see Policy 8.14 (Flexible Work Policy) for more information. All arrangement must be approved by the direct manager. On occasion, this schedule may need to be adjusted to meet operational requirements.

Compensation:

Level: C

Rate of Pay: $34.73 to $36.73 per hour with an annual step progression on aniversary date up to $39.71 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.

Job Factor Scores:

Wilfrid Laurier University endeavors to fill positions with qualified candidates who have a combination of education, experience, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position while demonstrating Laurier's Employee Success Factors.

Equity, diversity and creating a culture of inclusion are part of Laurier’s core values and central to the Laurier Strategy. Laurier is committed to increasing the diversity of faculty and staff and welcomes applications from candidates who identify as Indigenous, racialized, having disabilities, and from persons of any minority sexual and gender identities. Indigenous candidates who would like to learn more about equity and inclusive programing at Laurier are welcomed to contact the Office of Indigenous Initiatives. Candidates from other equity deserving groups who would like to learn more about equity and inclusive programing at Laurier are welcomed to contact Equity & Accessibility. We have strived to make our application process accessible, however if you require any assistance applying for a position or would like this job posting in an alternative format, please contact Human Resources. Contact information can be found at careers.wlu.ca/content/How-to-apply/

Should you be interested in learning more about this opportunity, please visit www.wlu.ca/careers for additional information and the online application system.

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