Office Administration Coordinator (Global Studies and Anthropology)

Wilfrid Laurier University; Southwestern Ontario; On-site; CAD 30,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading multi-campus university in Waterloo seeks an Office Administration Coordinator to support departmental operations in Global Studies and Anthropology. The candidate will manage administrative functions, assist with budgets, and collaborate with faculty and students. A strong background in communication, planning, and computer skills is essential, alongside relevant education and experience in an academic setting. This full-time role offers competitive pay with potential for growth.

Qualifications

• Two years relevant experience within an academic environment, preferably in an academic department or comparable environment.
• Experience working with university policies related to student academic life.
• Experience with meeting procedures and minute taking.

Responsibilities

• Provide administrative support to Department Chair and faculty members.
• Coordinate departmental budget and monitor financial activities.
• Assist with recruitment and management of teaching assistants.

Skills

Communication skills

Planning and organization

Diplomacy and discretion

Computer skills

Education

Secondary school plus one year post-secondary education

Tools

Word

Excel

Outlook

Job description

Department: Faculty of Arts

Job Type: Limited Term

Full-time/Part-time: Full Time (>=1249 hrs/year)

Campus: Waterloo

Reports to: Administrative Manager

Employee Group: WLUSA

Application Deadline: January 23, 2026

Requisition ID: 10480

Wilfrid Laurier University is a leading multi-campus university that excels at educating with purpose. Through its exceptional employees, students, researchers, leaders, and educators, Laurier has built a reputation as a world-class institution known for its rich student experience, academic excellence, and global impact. With a commitment to Indigenization and commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, Laurier’s thriving community has a place for everyone.

Laurier has more than 21,000 students and 2,100 faculty and staff across campuses in Waterloo and Brantford, as well locations in Kitchener and Milton. The university is committed to providing an inclusive workplace, a flexible work policy and employing a workforce that is reflective of local and national demographics. Laurier's Waterloo, Kitchener, and Brantford campuses are located on the shared traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishnaabe, and Haudenosaunee peoples. This land is part of the Dish with One Spoon Treaty between the Haudenosaunee and Anishnaabe peoples and symbolizes the agreement to share, protect our resources, and not to engage in conflict. Laurier's Milton campus is located on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, and part of the Nanfan Treaty of 1701 between the British Crown and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.

This job posting is for a current vacancy.

Position Summary

At Laurier, we are a community. It’s what brings our students here and what keeps our people here. As an educational institution, we inspire lives of leadership and purpose in our student community. As an employer, we seek, foster and value the same qualities of leadership and purpose in our employee community. We currently have an opportunity for you to join the Laurier community as an Office Administration Coordinator within the Departments of Global Studies and Anthropology.

This position has a university-wide mandate and is based at the Waterloo Campus. The incumbent provides subject matter expertise to all campuses, requiring regular interpersonal interactions and collaboration with departments at the Waterloo Campus, the Brantford Campus, locations in Kitchener and Milton, and external partners. Special attention is given to ensure equitable service delivery across all locations.

Reporting to the Administrative Manager, Faculty of Arts and with daily direction and oversight from the Department Chair(s), the Office Administration Coordinator is accountable for the overall efficient administrative functioning of the Department. They provide comprehensive administrative support to the Department Chair, the Undergraduate Officer, full-time faculty members and contract teaching faculty (CTF), and staff, working with a high degree of independence. The Office Administration Coordinator ensures that the department meets key deadlines throughout the year and provides organizational leadership and support for departmental events. The incumbent routinely acts as the Department’s contact on administrative policy and organizational matters and must be an informed and professional representative of the Departments.

The incumbent works regularly with confidential information therefore the position requires discretion and good judgment. The incumbent works both independently and co-operatively with other staff both in the department and in the Faculty of Arts.

Accountabilities

Chair Support

• Advises the Chair/Program Coordinator on the department’s/program’s administrative needs and processes;
• Prepares the department/program course build and staffing submission in consultation with the Chair/Program Coordinator;
• Coordinates with, and makes appropriate recommendations to the Office of the Registrar regarding course scheduling in the annual preparation of course builds and class timetables in consultation with the Chair/Program Coordinator;
• Provides support to the Chair/Program Coordinator and Undergraduate Officer in curriculum and enrolment matters by monitoring and accessing enrolment data for classes and tutorials, providing regular updates, making appropriate recommendations, conducting overrides as instructed and assisting in the preparation of curriculum change proposals;
• Supports the departmental/program periodic review process, gathering and analyzing data, updating faculty CVs, assisting with the compilation and proofreading of the review and associated documents;
• Provides support to the Chair/Program Coordinator with respect to full-time faculty workload and CTF appointments applying rules and regulations set out in the WLUFA Collective Agreements for both full-time and part-time faculty, ensuring confidentiality is maintained;
• Prepares teaching workload letters for full-time faculty in consultation with the Chair/Program Coordinator;
• Schedules Department Appointment and Promotion Committee (DAPC) and Part-time Appointment Committee (PTAC) meetings;
• Supports the Faculty Search Committee (FSC) during full-time faculty hiring; receiving applications for faculty positions; soliciting reference letters on the Chair’s behalf; arranging interviews, travel itineraries and accommodation as required;
• Provides support to the Tenure and Promotion Committee (TPC) with respect to full-time faculty tenure and promotion processes;
• Provides support to the PTAC with the posting of CTF job ads, processing recommendations for CTF appointments, generating contracts, gathering documents to assist with seniority reviews and renewable appointment recommendations;
• Coordinates the scheduling of Department-in-Council and Departmental/Program meetings; taking regular meeting minutes and transcribing minutes to the committee(s);
• Organizes the election of CTF and student representatives to Department-in-Council and Arts Divisional Council; informs students of their roles.

Budget/Financial Support

• Assists the Chair/Program Coordinator in the development of the department/program annual budgets, including special initiatives;
• Oversees the intake of departmental/program revenues and arranges for deposits and transfers; assisting with honorariums and reimbursements as required for department/program events;
• Monitors department/program budget regularly; performing monthly reconciliation of accounts;
• Compiles information about student eligibility for awards and bursaries; may include finding eligible students and assisting them with the application process;
• Supports the processes of advertising, application review and the adjudication of internships, awards and bursaries, including the Social Entrepreneurship Student Opportunities Fund, the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship (Ghana Internships), the Project Ploughshares Internship and the Adele Slater Award for Writing on World Peace, liaising with the Student Awards Office as required.

General Departmental

• Provides front-line reception and information dissemination concerning university policies, procedures, rules and regulations, course registration, student status and other general inquiries; referring queries as appropriate;
• Assesses the nature and complexity of inquiries and determines actions to be taken, referring students and faculty to other departments as appropriate and scheduling meetings as necessary;
• Accesses student records, course enrolment information and room bookings using Banner/Cognos;
• Ensures timely completion and submission of examinations and related materials, course syllabi, curriculum program changes, and other materials;
• Proofreads the department’s/program’s portion of the undergraduate calendar;
• Prepares registration materials and assists students in the registration process;
• Supports the process of recruitment, assignment and administration of graduate Teaching Assistants (TA’s) in consultation with the Chair or Instructional Assistants (IA’s) in consultation with the Program Coordinator and relevant course instructors, including the submission of work assignment and payroll forms as required; prepare contracts for IA’s;
• Secures student markers and proctors throughout the year, as needed;
• Provides basic orientation for new faculty and CTF instructors, and acts as a first point of contact for CTF issues and concerns, referring to the Chair as appropriate;
• Proofreads, edits and updates the department/program web pages;
• Supports the department in strategic planning, program development and recruitment, including the preparation of promotional materials in consultation with the Chair/Program Coordinator and other faculty;
• Organizes various department functions, such as year-end student gatherings, in cooperation with the Chair/Program Coordinator and/or other faculty members;
• Assists in organizing the department’s participation and materials for Open House, Laurier Day, etc.;
• Supports the department/program in its alumni planning and programming, liaising with the GS Alumni Council and GS Student Association (GSSA) as appropriate and supporting the recruitment of alumni volunteers for classroom visits, special events, departmental publicity and fund-raising efforts;
• Liaises with university departments as appropriate for equipment maintenance, repair and service orders;
• Handles other administrative duties as assigned by the Chair or Administrative Manager;
• Works closely with the administrative staff within the Faculty of Arts and the Dean’s Office; providing main back-up assistance to other departments in the Faculty of Arts, as directed by the Administrative Manager.

Qualifications

• Secondary school plus one (1) year post-secondary education and two (2) years relevant experience within an academic environment, preferably in an academic department or comparable environment;
• Experience working with university policies related to regulations affecting student academic life;
• Experience with meeting procedures and minute taking;
• Strong service orientation and well-developed communication skills;
• Excellent planning and organizational skills and the ability to meet demanding deadlines through multi-tasking and prioritization of work;
• Ability to work independently and apply sound judgement in decision making;
• Must possess diplomacy, discretion, tact and good judgement in dealing with sensitive and confidential situations;
• Excellent computer skills, including word processing, spreadsheets, databases and web pages; knowledge of Word, Excel, Outlook, Banner, Loris, MyLearningSpace (MLS), Cognos and Millennium is an asset;
• Skill and experience in managing web pages and in preparing and posting materials to the web;
• Experience with various social media platforms; i.e., Facebook, Instagram, Twitter;
• Experience in reconciling a budget;
• Experience in organizing special events is an asset.

This position has been deemed eligible for educational equivalencies.

Hours of Work: This is a Full-Time, Limited Term role with an anticipated end date of June 30, 2027. The normal hours of work are 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday.This role offers limited flexibility regarding flexible work arrangements. Please see Policy 8.14 (Flexible Work Policy) for more information. All arrangement must be approved by the direct manager. On occasion, this schedule may need to be adjusted to meet operational requirements. Flexibility in hours will be required, including evening and/or weekend work due to events that occur during non-typical business hours. When possible, the manager will adjust the work schedule so that no more than 35 hours are worked in a week.

Compensation:

Level: D

Rate of Pay: $38.80 to $41.02 per hour with an annual step progression on anniversary date up to $44.35 per hour.

Considerations for new hire step placements include, qualifications and length/depth of required experience, relevant market rates for similar jobs, internal equity, and estimated learning curve in starting the job.

Wilfrid Laurier University endeavors to fill positions with qualified candidates who have a combination of education, experience, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position while demonstrating Laurier's Employee Success Factors.

Equity, diversity and creating a culture of inclusion are part of Laurier’s core values and central to the Laurier Strategy. Laurier is committed to increasing the diversity of faculty and staff and welcomes applications from candidates who identify as Indigenous, racialized, having disabilities, and from persons of any minority sexual and gender identities. Indigenous candidates who would like to learn more about equity and inclusive programing at Laurier are welcomed to contact the Office of Indigenous Initiatives. Candidates from other equity deserving groups who would like to learn more about equity and inclusive programing at Laurier are welcomed to contact Equity & Accessibility. We have strived to make our application process accessible, however if you require any assistance applying for a position or would like this job posting in an alternative format, please contact Human Resources. Contact information can be found at careers.wlu.ca/content/How-to-apply/

Should you be interested in learning more about this opportunity, please visit www.wlu.ca/careers for additional information and the online application system. All applications must be submitted online. Please note, a resume and cover letter will be required in electronic form.

Please note, when pre-screening questions are used as part of the application process, AI is utilized to score responses. All other aspects of the hiring process are reviewed by our Talent Acquisition team.