The Sustainability Scholars Program, part of the Teaching, Learning & Student Engagement (TLSE) group at the Sustainability Hub, is an innovative paid internship program that matches UBC graduate students with on- and off-campus sustainability partners to work on applied research projects that advance sustainability and climate action across the region. The Program is growing and welcomes an increasing number of students every year, in 2023 we expect to have over 80 students participating in the program between May and August. This increase in the size of the program has placed a burden on the current administrative processes which rely on a single excel spreadsheet to track information and generate a large volume of documents such as legal agreements, employment letters, and invoices. As the program has increased in size, the administrative processes are proving to be an obstacle restricting our ability to manage them and maintain accuracy and timeliness.
We are seeking a Business Process Automation Specialist to help us improve the Sustainability Scholars Program administrative processes and related activities. The Business Automation Specialist will consult with the Manager of the Sustainability Scholars Program to understand all the processes, inputs, outputs, and the interdependency of the various data elements. From there they will map and analyse the data and procedural flows and test improvement solutions to strengthen and speed up these processes in anticipation of further program growth. Ideally, but time permitting, the Business Automation Specialist will also develop the solution (possibly using Power Automate or similar tools), pilot it and draft a user manual. While we can provide a lot of support and will work closely with the Business Automation Specialist, we are counting on them to bring their expertise and knowledge to helping resolve the matter, which will require a certain amount of independent thinking, the ability to exercise good judgement and being comfortable making certain decisions with limited guidance.
Work Performed
- Develop a project management and implementation plan
- Document current processes including a map of the discrete information elements/packets that are required at various stages and their dependencies.
- Review and comparison of solutions such as Power Automate with similar administrative case studies
- Develop a system or trial and test of a solution. If the solution is programmed in-house develop a user manual and programming documentation
- Other related duties as required
QUALIFICATIONS
Education and experience
- Upper level undergraduate or graduate student
- Familiarity with systems and process analysis
- Experience developing and managing databases
- Experience and interest in sustainability and climate action, an asset
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
- Strong technical, analytical and communication skills
- Programming skills (R, Python, or similar)
- Familiarity with Microsoft Power Automate or other business process automation/improvement tools
- Excellent interpersonal skills
- Strong oral and written English communication skills
- Detail oriented and meticulous, committed to accuracy and information integrity
- Ability to work both independently and collaboratively
- Ability to organize, prioritize and meet deadlines (basic project management skills)
- Enthusiastic, organized, and responsible, shows initiative
Job Details
- Salary / Wage: $30
- Number of Openings: 1
- Hours Per Week: 10-20
- Total Number of Hours per Student Position: 165
- Anticipated Start Date: May 1st, 2023
- Experience Level: Current Students in an Undergraduate Program, Current Students in a Masters or PhD Program, Recent Graduates
- Preferred Degrees/Disciplines: Applied Science/Engineering, Computer Science/IT, Science/Environment/Agriculture, Arts/Social Sciences, Business Administration/Commerce/Management, Education/Teaching, English
- Supervisor: Alejandra Urcelay
Application Process
To apply for this position please send an email with your resume and cover letter to alejandra.urcelay@ubc.ca Application Close: March 17th, 2023