Graduate Program Services Officer

University of Saskatchewan; Saskatoon; On-site; CAD 53,000 - 83,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Saskatchewan is seeking a Graduate Program Services Officer to support faculty, staff, and students across the graduate lifecycle. The role handles admissions, leaves of absence, time extensions, thesis defence, and program completion.

The GPSO builds strong relationships with on-campus offices to facilitate a smooth graduate experience and ensures compliance with policies while balancing multiple high-detail tasks in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Post-secondary education in a relevant field; an undergraduate degree is strongly preferred.
• Minimum of three years relevant experience; university-level experience in graduate programming is strongly preferred.
• Experience with advising, admissions, program management, and/or graduate administration is valuable.

Responsibilities

• Advise on graduate program management policies, procedures, and practices.
• Maintain graduate student records including CGPS admission and program files.
• Collaborate with faculty and staff to ensure high-quality student experience and service delivery.
• Develop and deliver content for the Graduate Administrators' Forum and facilitate discussions.
• Provide mentorship and coaching to Graduate Administrators within academic units.
• Support for graduation, convocation, and doctoral thesis defence processes.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Communication skills

Attention to detail

Team collaboration

Banner

Office Suite

DegreeWorks

SharePoint

Education

Undergraduate degree preferred

Post-secondary education in a relevant field

Tools

Banner

Banner Document Management

DegreeWorks

Cascade

SharePoint

Crystal Reports

Job description

Graduate Program Services Officer

Primary Purpose

Graduate Program Services Officer (GPSO) is part of a team that provides expertise and support to the graduate community on campus, including faculty, staff, and students. This position assists graduate academic units in managing the full lifecycle of graduate student experience, ensuring students, staff, and faculty make informed decisions concerning graduate admission and program management. The GPSO executes critical pieces of the graduate student life cycle, including (but not limited to) issuing final admissions, and checking individual program requirement completion prior to graduation. GPSOs promote student success by advising faculty and staff about the policies and procedures governing graduate activity, and by assisting stakeholders in navigating concerns/complexities which may arise during a student’s program (ex: leaves of absence, program transfers, referral to other student supports and services on campus). This position leverages resources for the graduate community by fostering strong working relationships and collaboration with other academic and service offices on campus.

Nature of Work

Reporting to the Supervisor, Graduate Program Services, this position is part of a team that offer expertise and support for faculty, staff and students within the graduate community. This includes, but is not limited to, admissions, leaves of absence, extensions to time in program, thesis defence and program completion processes.

This role initiates and maintains a level of professional relationships that support exceptional collaboration and problem solving. The individual will have daily contact with faculty and staff within the graduate academic units, as well as many other on-campus supports/services, and will work in a team environment that involves a high degree of autonomy, initiative, and independence within the reporting structure. This is a high-volume position and requires the ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced and ever-changing environment, while balancing competing deadlines, and multiple highly detailed tasks.

Qualifications

Education: Post-secondary education in a relevant field as it pertains to this position is required. An undergraduate degree is strongly preferred.

Experience: Minimum of three years relevant experience required. University-level experience working in graduate programming strongly preferred. Experience with advising, admissions, program management, and/or graduate administration are considered strong assets.

A combination of education and applicable experience may be considered.

Skills: Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, both verbal and written; ability to exercise good judgment and demonstrate integrity in solving problems, managing conflict, making decisions and setting priorities; demonstrated commitment to enhancing student success and persistence with a positive attitude toward service delivery; ability to manage multiple tasks and maintain attention to detail; highly motivated and have the ability to work collaboratively as part of a team and collaborate with other services, resource units on campus and external parties to support student success; demonstrates diplomacy and tact; ability to work effectively with broad stakeholder groups, including students, staff and faculty; experience with Banner and Office Suite are a must. Experience with Banner Document Management, DegreeWorks, Cascade, SharePoint, and Crystal Reports are considered strong assets.

Accountabilities

• As a subject matter expert, this position is responsible for advising on policies, procedures, and recommended practices in graduate program management. Some examples of this can include interpretation and communication of graduate program requirements, academic regulations, admission standards and academic policies.
• As a critical component of program oversight, contribute to the maintenance of robust student records, including CGPS admission and program files, DegreeWorks programs of study, and Banner student records.
• Establish and maintain close working relationships with staff and faculty in graduate academic units, and in other service offices on campus to ensure coordination of services and a high level of student experience.
• Provides advice and support to academic units in client portfolio on CGPS policies and procedures, including graduate student admissions, registration, leaves, extensions, program of studies, thesis defence, and graduation. Assists in executing resulting processes.
• Responsible for ensuring campus-wide compliance to all policies and procedures by building positive relationships with stakeholder group, using proactive communication skills and educating stakeholders using coaching techniques.
• Participate in and support timely delivery and effective communications regarding changes to procedures, updates to systems, and other factors impacting the graduate community.
• Maintaining direct contact with stakeholders (students, faculty, and staff) who may require assistance in navigating challenges arising during the graduate student life cycle. Advise on options within scope of graduate policy, and refer to other CGPS or university service offices as appropriate.
• In consultation with appropriate stakeholders, collaborates and leads development and implementation of standard operating procedures as well as projects supporting the strategic direction of the College.
• Collaborates with team members to plan and deliver the "Graduate Administrators' Forum" held three times per year. Responsible for developing content and delivering presentations to administrators and facilitating group discussion in the forum.
• Provide expertise, coaching, and mentorship to Graduate Administrators (graduate program assistants, secretaries, coordinators, etc.) within academic units.
• Provides support for unit events, including coordination of graduation and convocation processes.
• Coordinates key pieces of Ph.D. thesis defence - communicates with external examiners, recruits Dean's Designates, and assists in scheduling examination and final paperwork for doctoral thesis defence.
• Contributes to building a positive culture in the CGPS team by providing support, sharing information and collaborating on group goals.
• Other related duties as assigned.

Department: College of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies

Status: Term 13 months

Employment Group: ASPA

Shift: Mon-Fri, 8:00-4:30 pm

Full Time Equivalent (FTE): 1.0

Salary: The salary range, based on 1.0 FTE, is $53,091.00 - 82,954.00 per annum. The starting salary will be commensurate with education and experience.

Salary Family (if applicable): Specialist Professional

Salary Phase/Band: Phase 1

Posted Date: 11/5/2026

Closing Date: 11/19/2026 at 6:00 pm CST

Number of Openings: 1

Work Location: On Campus

The University of Saskatchewan aspires to be what the world needs and embraces equity, diversity and inclusion as foundational to excellence and innovation. We actively seek to create a welcoming environment where all individuals feel empowered to thrive, contribute, and grow. Applications from equity-deserving groups are encouraged as part of our ongoing efforts to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve: EDI Framework for Action.

We continue to grow our partnerships with Indigenous communities across the province, nationally, and internationally and value the unique perspective that Indigenous employees provide to strengthen these relationships. Verification of Indigenous Membership/Citizenship at the University of Saskatchewan is led and determined by the deybwewin | taapwaywin | tapwewin: Indigenous Truth policy and the Standing Committee in accordance with the processes developed to enact the policy. Successful candidates that assert Indigenous membership/citizenship will be asked to complete the verification process of Indigenous membership/citizenship with documentation.

The University of Saskatchewan provides an accessible and inclusive workplace. Should you require support through any stage of the recruitment process, please contact us for assistance.