Senior Advisor, Academic Operations

Job description

SAIT’s [**Academic Services**](https://www.sait.ca/sait-schools/academic-services) team is dedicated to serving SAIT’s schools and learners by providing training in essential and transferable skills. Join a team passionate about creating transformative learning environments that provide access to, and support post-secondary journeys. **The Opportunity** **Job classification**: P5932 - Supervisor **Salary range:** $78,385 - $90,000. Placement within the range is typically based upon a review of skills, experience, and internal equity. **Hours per week:** 37.5 **Paid leave:** 4 Weeks Vacation / 14 Flex Days per year **Position End Date:** December 31, 2027 **Deadline to apply:** 9am November 2, 2026 As the Senior Advisor, Academic Operations, you play a key role in ensuring pathway programs run smoothly from planning through delivery. You will oversee program staffing, scheduling, enrolment, course administration, faculty loading, and student progression while driving process improvements that enhance the student and faculty experience. Working closely with Academic Chairs, Associate Deans, faculty, and service areas across the institution, you will provide operational leadership and help ensure programs are delivered efficiently and effectively. This role allows academic leaders to focus on curriculum, teaching excellence, and student academic matters while you lead the operational execution that keeps programs on track. If you thrive in a collaborative environment, enjoy optimizing processes, and are passionate about supporting student success through operational excellence, we'd love to hear from you. Apply today and help shape an exceptional learning experience from behind the scenes. ### How you'll contribute **Program Operations and Administration** - Oversee day-to-day operations for English Language Foundations, Open Studies and other assigned pathway programming - Translate approved enrolment plans, program requirements and funding commitments into executable semester and annual operating plans - Ensure administrative processes and program activities are completed accurately and on schedule - Manage course and section planning, scheduling requirements, registration capacity, instructional loading, operational calendars and program readiness - Coordinate the administrative systems supporting adjunct faculty recruitment, appointment, contracting, onboarding, access and teaching readiness - Coordinate implementation of approved program and operational changes - Provide operational direction to administrative and advising staff, ensuring students receive timely, consistent information and support - Manage the operational delivery of government-funded programs, including participant eligibility, enrolment targets, funding requirements, expenditures, milestones and reporting deadlines - Coordinate the implementation of approved program changes without assuming responsibility for curriculum, course content or academic quality - Develop and maintain procedures, workflows, records and service standards that ensure consistent delivery across all assigned programs **Enrolment and Faculty Loading** - Monitor enrolment, course fill rates, waitlists, student progression and available capacity, taking timely action to address delivery requirements - Develop and maintain semester course and section plans based on approved program requirements, enrolment forecasts and available resources - Initiate and administer section additions, cancellations, consolidations and capacity adjustments within approved parameters - Manage the administrative processes required to recruit, appoint, contract, onboard and schedule adjunct faculty - Support the work of Academic Chairs by providing accurate enrolment and capacity information; coordinating the administrative requirements associated with program planning and governance; and escalating matters involving academic quality, curriculum, teaching standards, faculty performance, labour relations or significant delivery risk **Collaborative Operational Leadership and Coordination** - Work alongside Administrators, Analysts and other operational support roles to coordinate workflows, timelines and service coverage required for program delivery - Provide functional guidance, mentoring and operational expertise to employees performing program administration and student-support activities - Support administrative employee recruitment, onboarding, training and orientation by coordinating documentation, system access, procedures and program-specific information - Monitor service levels, workflow effectiveness and operational risks, implementing or recommending process improvements within the role’s authority - Work with Academic Chairs at a planning and governance level by providing operational data, identifying risks and translating approved academic decisions into implementation plans - Work directly with faculty to coordinate scheduling, loading, onboarding, classroom and other operational requirements, without responsibility for faculty performance or academic supervision - Coordinate with institutional service areas to ensure registration, scheduling, staffing and program-delivery requirements are completed accurately and on time - Escalate faculty-related, academic, labour-relations, and student conduct matters to the appropriate academic leader **Student Pathways and Program Processes** - Coordinate operational processes supporting admission, registration, progression and transition through pathway programming - Identify administrative barriers affecting student progression and coordinate resolution with appropriate service areas - Ensure processes and student communications are clear, consistent and timely - Coordinate with Advising, OTR and other institutional areas supporting pathway students - Support effective transitions from pathway programming into further SAIT studies - Identify opportunities to improve student-facing administrative processes **Reporting and Continuous Improvement** - Monitor operational information related to enrolment, retention, progression, course utilization and pathway outcomes. - Maintain regular program reports and operational updates - Identify recurring operational issues, inefficiencies and process gaps - Implement practical improvements to workflows, documentation and administrative processes - Coordinate operational requirements associated with REFRESH sessions, cyclical reviews and approved curriculum or program changes - Provide regular updates to the Senior Manager and academic leadership regarding program operations, risks and emerging issues ### What you bring - Diploma or Bachelor's degree in business administration, education administration, operations, management, or related discipline - 3-5 years progressively responsible experience in program operations, academic administration, post-secondary administration, student lifecycle management, or related environment - 1-2 years experience coordinating scheduling, enrolment, program delivery or administrative processes - An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered