Manager, Cooperative Education

University of British Columbia • Kelowna, BC

1d • CA$7,623 - CA$11,887 • Onsite

About The Position

This position provides leadership, strategic direction, and operational oversight for the co-op team. This role manages the delivery of high-quality co-op programming and works cross functionally with the manager of career development and the manager of business development to provide efficient services for undergraduate students. This position supervises the Interdisciplinary Co-op team and leads program planning, accreditation compliance, curriculum oversight, and outcome reporting. The role ensures alignment with Faculty partners and institutional priorities, CEWIL accreditation requirements, and evolving labour market trends. The Manager represents multiple Faculties in campus-wide Co-op & WIL committees and contributes to strategic initiatives that enhance student employability and experiential learning outcomes.

Requirements

• Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline.
• Minimum of five years of related experience, or the 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.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree preferred.
• Supervisory experience is required.
• Experience managing career services or co-op/WIL programs.
• Experience supervising professional staff.
• Strong knowledge of accreditation standards, labour markets, and student development theory.
• Experience working with employers and developing industry partnerships.
• Demonstrated ability in conflict resolution, risk management, and program evaluation.
• Strong data analysis, communication, presentation, and project management skills.

Responsibilities

• Provides leadership, coaching, and performance management for Co-op team and student/temporary staff.
• Sets team priorities, allocates workloads, and ensures consistent, high-quality student support.
• Oversees training, onboarding, and ongoing professional development for team members.
• Implements service standards and ensures a consistent student experience across departments within ACD.
• Leads operational planning and resource allocation to support program scaling and continuous improvement.
• Leads the planning, development, and evaluation of the Co-op portfolio.
• Ensures alignment with UBC strategic priorities, academic program development, and accreditation requirements.
• Oversees the development and continual improvement of co-op pre-employment and career curriculum.
• Monitors labour market trends to inform program direction and respond to emerging employer needs.
• Leads data-informed decision-making through analysis of student outcomes, employer engagement data, and evaluation metrics.
• Ensures all co-op programming complies with CEWIL Canada accreditation requirements.
• Develops, updates, and enforces co-op program policies, procedures, and standards.
• Oversees student eligibility, progression, and work term adjudication processes.
• Provides guidance on escalated workplace concerns, risk issues, and conflict resolution; liaises with Faculty leadership, HR, and Risk Management as needed.
• Supports quality assurance through documentation, monitoring, and reporting.
• Provides leadership in collaboration with the Manger of Business Development to support developing and stewarding employer relationships to expand co-op positions and career opportunities.
• Works closely with the Manager of Business Development to coordinate outreach, job development, and partnership strategies.
• Ensure employers understand program requirements, recruitment timelines, and student competencies, through activities such as Employer Orientation sessions.
• Oversees review and approval of job postings to ensure academic relevance and alignment with accreditation standards.
• Oversees the design, delivery, and evaluation of co-op pre-employment training and career curriculum across courses and workshops.
• Ensures curriculum and teaching practices reflect current research, industry expectations, and learner needs.
• Leads development and integration of digital and AI-enabled career tools.
• Leads data management, reporting, and analysis related to co-op accreditation, student outcomes, and employer engagement.
• Oversees budgets for career/co-op initiatives, events, and programming; contributes to annual budgeting processes.
• Ensures administrative systems (e.g., co-op databases, career platforms) are optimized and effectively used by staff and students.
• Prepares reports for accreditation.
• Represents the Faculty on University-wide committees related to WIL.
• Collaborates with campus units to align programming and enhance cross-faculty student support.
• Cultivates connections with CEWIL, ACE-WIL BC, and BC WIL Council to ensure best practices and sector alignment.

Benefits

• 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager