Finance & Student Appointment Administrator

University of British Columbia•Kelowna, BC

3d•CA$4,695 - CA$5,385•Onsite

About The Position

The Finance & Student Appointment Administrator provides integrated financial, academic appointment, and administrative support for the School of Engineering, supporting the effective operation of faculty, academic programs, and governance activities. The role is responsible for the accurate and timely processing of high volume financial transactions, reimbursements, and academic employment actions in compliance with UBC policies and audit requirements. The position coordinates student appointments and payroll related activities for approximately 36 faculty members, supporting a range of employment types including Graduate Research Assistants (GRA/URA), Graduate Academic Assistants (GAA), Teaching Assistants (backup coverage), appointment extensions, and One Time Payments (OTPs). The role also serves as a key point of contact for student payroll inquiries, ensuring accurate information and issue resolution. In addition to financial and appointment responsibilities, the role provides administrative support to multiple academic and leadership committees, including meeting coordination, minute-taking, surveys, and faculty and student communications. The position supports senior academic leadership and contributes to operational continuity through Workday maintenance, process coordination, and backup coverage during staff absences. Through a high degree of accuracy, discretion, and service orientation, this role supports the School’s academic, financial, and governance functions in a complex and deadline driven environment.

Requirements

Completion a two (2) year diploma program, plus a minimum of three 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
Demonstrated experience using Workday or a comparable enterprise financial/ERP system to process transactions, manage reimbursements, maintain records, and support reporting and audit requirements.
Intermediate computer proficiency, including Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) and Adobe; advanced spreadsheet or reporting skills (e.g., data tracking, reconciliation, basic analysis) preferred.
Experience in a professional office environment providing administrative support, including document management, correspondence, scheduling, and use of standard office equipment.
Experience in finance or accounting (e.g., accounts payable, payroll) and/or human resources-related functions.
Familiarity with UBC financial policies, procedures, and approval workflows, or experience working within comparable policy-driven environments.
Demonstrated ability to interpret and apply policies and provide clear procedural guidance to faculty, staff, and students.
Proven ability to manage high-volume, deadline-driven workloads, balance competing priorities, and maintain strong attention to detail and accuracy.
Strong organizational, problem-solving, and communication skills (oral and written), with the ability to exercise tact, discretion, and sound judgment in handling sensitive information.
Strong customer-service orientation, with the ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a team-based environment and contribute to shared workloads.
Ability to type a minimum of 60 wpm and operate standard office equipment.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in a post-secondary, public sector, or large institutional environment preferred, ideally within a finance or academic administration setting.
Experience supporting student-related financial processes (e.g., reimbursements, project funding, expense claims) is an asset.

Responsibilities

Provides end to end oversight of a high volume of financial and reimbursement transactions in accordance with UBC financial policies, audit standards, and institutional deadlines.
Administers capstone project reimbursements for approximately 59 student groups, each consisting of multiple students, ensuring good stakeholder engagement and coordination as well as compliance with documentation requirements and payment timelines.
Reviews reimbursement claims for accuracy, completeness, and compliance prior to payment, including completion of Payment Authorization Forms (PAFs) and follow up on incomplete or incorrect submissions.
Completes Payment Authorization Form (PAF) and other students' reimbursement processes, including follow-up on incomplete or incorrect submissions.
Provides ongoing assistance to faculty and student employees, including Research Assistants, Academic Assistants, Teaching Assistants and Work Study regarding facilities access, equipment and lab supply purchase procedures.
Provides guidance and procedural support to faculty regarding expense eligibility, documentation, and reimbursement procedures.
Maintains accurate financial records and supporting documentation to ensure audit readiness.
Holds and reconciles a UBC Visa card in accordance with University Procedures. Advises faculty on Visa card policy and procedures.
Assists with the reconciliation of research grants, follows up on and resolves variances or discrepancies and makes corrections.
Assists researchers with adjusting student funding between grants.
Coordinates financial transaction activities in support of the School, liaising with internal and external partners, including Faculty, Research Finance, the Senior Manager Strategic Decision Support, and Procurement, to facilitate timely and compliant processing.
Coordinates and processes student appointment and payroll actions for approximately 36 faculty members.
Supports and advises faculty on multiple student related employment types and processes, including: Graduate Research Assistant (GRA/URA) appointments; Graduate Academic Assistant (GAA) appointments; Extensions; One-Time Payments (OTPs).
Coordinates, enters, updates, and maintains student appointment payroll and employment data in Workday, ensuring completeness, accuracy, and compliance with UBCO and Applied Science (UBCV) policies and procedures, and work permits (international students).
Provides onboarding information to student employees (Campus Wide Login, Novell).
Provides a high level of customer service to students, faculty, and UBC partners on both campuses.
Provides backup coverage for Teaching Assistant (TA) appointment processing to ensure continuity during staff absences.
Maintains organizational accuracy by reviewing and removing unused or outdated positions in Workday.
Provides administrative support to multiple academic and leadership committees.
Coordinates meetings, prepares materials, records minutes, and manages committee actions and reporting, including tracking follow ups.
Supports faculty and student communications related to committee work and academic processes.
Provides ongoing administrative support to senior leadership (e.g., Director, Associate Director, Senior Staff), including special projects. Arranges catering, room setup, tech set-up, and post-event clean-up.
Collects and organizes data for final meeting reporting, including financial reconciliation and summary report of event evaluations, where appropriate.
Ensures UBC/UBC Okanagan campus policies are adhered to, and that inter-campus stakeholders are consulted when required.
Provides frontline contact for the School of Engineering administration area. Responds to and redirects telephone, email and in-person inquiries from students, staff, faculty and the general public to the appropriate area.
Provides backup administrative coverage during staff absences.
Performs other related duties as required.