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Compensation Range

The Compensation Range is the span between the minimum and maximum base salary for a position. The midpoint of the range is approximately halfway between the minimum and the maximum and represents an employee that possesses full job knowledge, qualifications and experience for the position. In the normal course, employees will be hired, transferred or promoted between the minimum and midpoint of the salary range for a job.

Posting End Date

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

Job End Date

This position is expected to be filled by promotion and is included here to inform you of its vacancy at the University

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 Manager, Student Engagement is responsible for the leadership, development, implementation, and evaluation of a portfolio of student engagement initiatives, partnerships, and institutional initiatives that advance the mandate of the Centre for Student Development and Leadership (CSDL) in the areas of Transition and First-Year Experience, Community and Connection, and Peer Leadership.

The position provides leadership for interconnected programs, services, partnerships, and initiatives that collectively support undergraduate and graduate students in their transition to, engagement within, and leadership across the UBC community. Through a combination of strategic planning, program development, partnership building, and operational leadership, the Manager contributes to student success, belonging, leadership development, and community formation throughout the student experience.

The Manager is responsible for identifying emerging student needs, developing new initiatives and approaches, and ensuring that programs and services remain responsive to changing student populations, institutional priorities, and evolving research and practice in student development and student success.

The Manager is accountable for strategic planning, design of services and programs within a broad portfolio, assessment, budget oversight, risk management, staff leadership, and partnership development within a portfolio that engage thousands of students annually and contribute directly to university priorities related to student success, engagement, transition, belonging, and leadership development.

The position manages the full lifecycle of major student engagement initiatives, including strategic planning, development, implementation, assessment, continuous improvement, budget oversight, risk management, and staff supervision.

The role acts as a connector across the university, convening partners from VPS, faculties, departments, student organizations, and campus communities to develop coordinated approaches that advance institutional priorities related to student engagement, belonging, leadership, and success.

The Manager maintains a broad portfolio perspective while ensuring excellence in implementation and delivery.

Organizational Status

The Manager, Student Engagement reports to the Associate Director and/or Director of the Centre for Student Development and Leadership (CSDL).

The role requires extensive collaboration across VPS, faculties, Enrolment Services, student organizations, and other campus partners. The position serves as a key liaison, collaborator and subject matter expert with administrators, faculty, and campus partners in the development and advancement institutional approaches to student transition and engagement, leadership development, belonging, community building and student success

The position provides leadership for professional staff, student staff, volunteers, and distributed student leadership structures operating across multiple programs, services, and campus environments.

Work Performed

Program and Portfolio Leadership

• Leads the development, implementation, assessment, and continuous improvement of a portfolio of sophisticated and interconnected programs, systems, and engagement initiatives that advance CSDL's mandate in Transition and First-Year Experience, Community and Connection, and Peer Leadership.
• Identifies emerging student needs, institutional priorities, and opportunities for innovation and develops new programs, initiatives, services, and approaches in response.
• Develops and implements strategic and operational plans that align portfolio activities with institutional priorities and student success goals.
• Oversees multiple interconnected programs, projects, events, and initiatives involving multi-unit partnerships, campus-wide implementation and large-scale student participation, ensuring alignment across activities and desired student outcomes.
• Establishes frameworks, processes, and systems that support the effective delivery, assessment, and continuous improvement of student engagement initiatives.
• Monitors, assesses, and evaluates outcomes using student feedback, institutional data, assessment findings, and emerging research to inform decision-making and future direction.
• Resolves complex operational, programmatic, and student-related issues requiring independent judgment, risk assessment, and coordination across multiple stakeholders.

Strategic Leadership and Collaboration

• Provides leadership in the development and advancement of student engagement strategies that support institutional priorities and student success objectives.
• Advises and collaborates with campus partners to develop coordinated approaches to student transition, belonging, engagement, leadership development, and community building.
• Builds and sustains collaborative partnerships and coalitions across VPS, faculties, departments, and student organizations to advance shared institutional goals.
• Leads cross-functional initiatives involving multiple stakeholders with differing priorities and interests and achieves outcomes through collaboration, influence, negotiation, and consensus-building.
•  Leads or contributes to institutional committees, working groups, and initiatives that influence university-wide approaches to student engagement and student success.
• Represents CSDL in discussions requiring subject matter expertise related to student development, engagement, belonging, leadership, and first-year experience.

Staff Leadership and Capacity Building

• Supervises professional staff, student staff, including recruitment, onboarding, training, performance management, coaching, and professional development.
• Oversees supervisory structures that support large and distributed student leadership teams operating across multiple programs, services, and locations.
• Provides leadership, mentorship, and support to staff responsible for delivering student engagement initiatives.
• Develops tools, resources, and training programs that strengthen the capacity of staff, student leaders, and campus partners to contribute to student success and engagement.
• Fosters a culture of collaboration, accountability, inclusion, continuous learning, and student-centered practice.

Financial and Resource Management

• Develops, monitors, and manages budgets associated with multiple programs, initiatives, and operational activities.
• Allocates resources strategically to support priorities and achieve desired outcomes.
• Prepares budget forecasts, reports, and recommendations and contributes to broader resource planning discussions.
• Ensures compliance with university financial policies and procedures and exercises sound stewardship of institutional resources.

Assessment, Reporting, and Institutional Planning

• Develops reports, assessments, proposals, briefing notes, and recommendations that inform decision-making and future planning.
• Analyzes trends, data, and assessment findings and translates them into actionable recommendations.
• Contributes to divisional and institutional planning processes related to student engagement, student success, belonging, leadership development, and first-year experience.
• Communicates outcomes, priorities, and recommendations to a wide range of stakeholders.
  
  Consequence of Error/Judgement

The Manager exercises substantial independent judgment in the leadership of programs, partnerships, staff, budgets, and strategic initiatives that affect large numbers of students and contribute directly to institutional priorities related to student success, engagement, belonging, and leadership development.

Errors in judgment, planning, implementation, assessment, resource allocation, partnership management, or risk management could negatively impact students, damage relationships with campus partners, affect institutional reputation, and reduce the effectiveness of university-wide student engagement efforts.

The position regularly addresses complex and sensitive issues requiring interpretation of policy, balancing of competing interests, assessment of risk, and development of solutions with significant organizational implications.

Supervision Received

Works independently under the general direction of the Associate Director and/or Director. Work is reviewed in relation to achievement of strategic objectives, quality of outcomes, effectiveness of partnerships, leadership of staff, and contribution to institutional priorities.

Supervision Given

Provides leadership, guidance, supervision, and performance management to professional staff, student staff, volunteers, and project teams. Provides direction and coordination to campus partners engaged in collaborative initiatives and programs.

Minimum Qualifications
Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline. Minimum of four to five years of related experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience

- 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

• A Master's Degree in a relevant discipline.
• Experience developing and managing large-scale and ongoing programs in a university or public sector environment.
• Knowledge of student development theory, transition and retention practices, and student success research.
• Experience in change management, budget planning, and risk management.
• Demonstrated ability to develop long-term program strategies and align them with institutional priorities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage diverse stakeholders.
• Strong interpersonal skills with proven ability to resolve conflicts, build consensus, and foster partnerships.
• Ability to manage multiple sophisticated projects with competing deadlines while maintaining accuracy and attention to detail.
• Demonstrated leadership and supervisory experience, including mentoring and coaching staff.
• Ability to anticipate issues, analyze challenges, and develop innovative, student-centered solutions.
• Familiarity with UBC’s academic and administrative structures is an asset.