Intermediate Specialist, Academic Advising

University of Ottawa; Ottawa; On-site; CAD 85,000 - 107,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Ottawa seeks an Academic Development and Student Retention Specialist in the Faculty of Medicine to support student success by guiding course and program choices and providing targeted academic development advice.

Based at the Roger Guindon Hall campus within Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Academic Services, you will plan interventions, counsel national and international students, and collaborate on retention initiatives to enhance enrolment and student satisfaction.

Qualifications

• Guidance and advice on academic development and course selection.
• Ability to plan and execute student interventions to improve success and retention.
• Build programs to increase enrolment and visibility of the Faculty's services.

Responsibilities

• Assess student needs and review files to support goals.
• Establish study plans with students facing difficulties.
• Plan interventions and revise plans for effectiveness.
• Execute interventions and refer to tutoring or services as needed.
• Counsel national and international students on mobility and experiential learning.
• Follow-ups to monitor progress and address retention risks.
• Direct students to appropriate authorities and resources.

Skills

Academic Advising

Student Retention

Counseling

Program Guidance

Job description

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Posting Reason:

New Position

Job Type:

Employee

Anticipated Duration in Months (for contracts and temporary assignments):

24

Job Family:

Academic Advising

# of Open Positions:

1

Faculty/Service - Department:

Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Academic Services

Campus:

Roger Guindon Hall

Union Affiliation:

SSUO

Date Posted (YYYY/MM/DD):

2026/10/05

Applications must be received BEFORE (YYYY/MM/DD):

2026/10/16

Hours per week:

35

Salary Grade:

SSUO Grade 10

Salary Range:

$85,040.00 - $107,421.00

About the Faculty of Medicine

Welcome to the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine, the first and largest bilingual medical faculty in Canada. Our learners have access to state-of-the art facilities and specialized institutions as they learn alongside world-class physicians and scientists. Consistently ranked among the top 10 medical schools in Canada, our faculty is among the top faculties of medicine in the world for research impact in biomedical and health sciences.

Position Purpose:

To create an outstanding student experience by providing guidance and advice on academic development, such as course and program of study selection, to students to ensure an exceptional student experience and student satisfaction. Plan and execute student interventions as well as give advice to students experiencing difficulties to increase student success and retention rates. Build strategies and programs to increase enrolment and retention rates as well as increasing visibility by promoting the University, programs and the Faculty's services at various on- and off- campus events.

Typical Accountabilities:

• Academic Development and Student Retention
• Assess student needs: Review student files to ensure that identification, interpretation, analysis, and assessment of student needs support the students' goals and respect the Faculty's processes. May consult with colleagues and/or meet with students to further explore their needs.
• Establish study plans: In consultation with students experiencing academic difficulties, develop a study plan which enables the student to improve his/her academic performance, reach his/her academic goals and promotes student retention.
• Plan interventions: Ascertain the accuracy of the diagnostic outcomes and considerations to ensure the quality of the intervention and review and revise the intervention plan to make sure that it will address the student's needs.
• Execute interventions: Meet with students experiencing academic difficulties to provide guidance by informing them and giving them advice on programs of study, program and course prerequisites, graduation requirements, departments, agencies, institutions and other on- and offcampus services. When necessary, will refer students to the appropriate services (ex. tutoring services), departments or support tools.
• Give advice to national and international students, student mobility, and experiential learning: Counsel national and international students to ensure full integration to their program of study as well as student life on campus. Provide guidance to students participating or interested in participating in the student mobility program by providing information on the program, course selection and equivalences, etc.
• Follow-ups: Meet with students, when necessary, to monitor their progress and take appropriate corrective measures as necessary to address student concerns and student retention risks.
• Direct students to the appropriate authority: Audit to ascertain that students are in fact referred to the appropriate service or resource person (ex. program supervisors, services, tutoring Academic Development and Student Retention Specialist services, etc.), based on their needs, either self-identified or through University assessment processes.

Operations Management

• Admission: Follow-up with students when there is a modification in course selection to ensure it meets the requirements of the identified program.
• Modification to the program of study : Review student requests relating to modifications to their selected program of study in order to explore with them possible options as well as to provide guidance and advice on the selection of their academic options. Ensure that student files are analyzed according to the Faculty's processes and that eligibility to the program of study is validated and, when eligible, finalized.
• Course selection and registration application process: Give advice to students on course selection and the registration process, so students can make informed decisions. Support the student's course selection, when reasonable, by proceeding with the registration process and making sure it is completed.
• Retention: Review the student list to identify students experiencing academic difficulties and/or other issues and meet with these students to determine the cause of their difficulties. Provide guidance and advice to these students based on the nature of their identified needs and difficulties and trac