Assistant Manager Front Office Operations

Job Category
M&P – AAPS

Job Profile
AAPS Salaried – Administration, Level A

Job Title
Assistant Manager Front Office Operations

Department
UBCO un-jobs.net Accommodation un-jobs.net Housing and Conferences un-jobs.net Front Office Operations

Compensation Range
$5,622.33 – $8,081.00 CAD Monthly

The Compensation Range is the span between the minimum and maximum base salary for a position. The midpoint of the range is approximately halfway between the minimum and the maximum and represents an employee that possesses full job knowledge, qualifications and experience for the position. In the normal course, employees will be hired, transferred or promoted between the minimum and midpoint of the salary range for a job.

Posting End Date
January 29, 2024

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the day prior to the Posting End Date above.

Job End Date

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career. 

Job Description Summary
This position oversees the day-to-day operation of the Student Housing & Community Services Front Office at the Okanagan Campus and is responsible for the quality of service provided to students and guests from point of reservation to departure. Responsible for providing leadership, guidance and direction to employees including directing annual hiring competition for all sessional staff. This office supports 2120 beds over the academic year and transitions over the summer months to support both on campus summer residents and a 950-bed Hotel/Conference operation. This position must seamlessly transition between working along with minimal supervision, collaborating with peers and contributing with staff from various areas on larger departmental or campus-wide initiatives. Interactions with students, staff, colleagues and the broader university community are constant and require professionalism, precision, attention to detail and quick critical thinking.

Organizational Status
This position reports to the Manager, Front Office Operation. Supervises a team of up 10 sessional, student and seasonal front desk staff.  Works closely with Residence Life, Food Services, Conferences & Accommodations, and Maintenance Services. Interacts regularly with colleagues at the Vancouver Student Housing and Community Services operation, campus partners and external service providers.
Work Performed
Oversees the Front Office service operation and reservation desk

• Ensures the provision of high standards of service to students and guests through role modeling, training/mentoring, clearly communicating expectations, and by continually monitoring staff performance.
• Supervises and directs up to 10+ staff members including hiring, training, motivating, coaching, supervising, and evaluating staff as required.
• Interprets BCGEU collective agreement for regular and auxiliary appointments.
• Conceptualizes, defines, and designs training programs for new staff as well as executing training plans for ongoing changes to technology, process, and procedures. Facilitates programs and updates material as required, ensuring all areas of Student Housing & Community Services are represented.
• Ensures work safe policies and procedures are in place with respect to operation of a 24 hour front desk service.
• Directs work flows of the front desk to ensure effective utilization of staff while promoting quality. Responsible for staff scheduling of front office, including extended hours and a 24 hour, 7 day a week operation.

Manages the financial policies procedures for the front office.

• Manages and trains staff on cash procedures directly relating to and including; housing, summer conference, meal plan, petty cash and coin floats ensuring accuracy for student and guest account reporting.
• Provides authorizations for refunds as they relate to the front office managers access levels, and within policy and guidelines outlined by existing contracts. Refunds may included student accounts, guest accounts and meal plan accounts.
• Manages commission payments and approves rate adjustments and refunds as required.

Communication

• Manages guest relations, responds to guest complaints letters, meetings with dissatisfied guests to assess problems, provides resource information, mediates disputes and/or determines remedial measures.
• Compiles, organizes and implements communication and messaging that directly relates to the functions of the front office operation. (Eg. Move out procedures and instructions, key returns, room cleaning, move in).
• Reviews and recommends updates/changes for web page communications as they directly relate to the front office operation. This includes review of housing, and conference web information.

Maintains Front Office Systems

• Collects and reports on statistical data from systems, for use by the department for future planning and evaluation.
• Coordinates the collection of and review a variety of front desk, housekeeping, occupancy and reservation statistics.
• Oversees system to manage and maintain Student Housing & Community Services (SHCS) equipment available for loan to students.
   

Coordinates, recommends and implements policies and procedures for front office operations.

• Represents all areas of Student Housing and Community Services supporting best practises at the front desk to address issues including but not limited to customer concerns, key management, student & guest check in and check out process, lost & found, lock outs, reservations, room allocation, facility maintenance, & housekeeping concerns and general requests from students and guests of the community.
• Management of student & guest mail including; department mail room, security, distribution, parcel registry, courier deliveries, mail forwarding, and implementing best practises. Supervisory responsibility for department mail positions.
• Acts as a liaison between the front office and all other internal housing departments.
• Works closely with the Student Housing & Community Services management team to determine April, and August transition projects, timelines, and dates, for student move out/move in, and conference room set ups.
• Transition defines the activity that takes place to prepare buildings from one state (student move out) to another (conference set up) and vice versa.
• Represents front office operation, participates actively in departmental committees

• Performs other related duties as required in keeping with the qualifications and requirements of the job.
   

Consequence of Error/Judgement
This position has a direct impact on the quality of service for Students, Conference Guests and internal partners. Ineffective communication with staff, clients and campus service providers may have a negative impact on the Student Housing & Conference Operation and can lead to loss of revenue.

Sound judgment, excellent interpersonal communication and strong analytical skills are essential as incumbent makes recommendation on policies and long-term strategies.  The position supervises front line staff who most directly affect the experience of our student residents and summer conference guests impacting future success.
Supervision Received
This position reports to and works under the direction of the Manager, Front Office Operation and works independently to solve problems using solid judgment.

Supervision Given
Directly supervises sessional, student and seasonal positions throughout the year.
Minimum Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline.
• Minimum of two years of related experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own
• Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated front desk and reservation experience in a hotel or student housing environment. Exposure to similar university conference centers and the post-secondary environment is essential.
• Experience related to administrative and student services with demonstrated abilities in supervising and managing staff at a post-secondary institution in a unionized environment.
• Computer experience to intermediate level with spreadsheet and database software; and to intermediate word processing, email, and presentation software required. Ability to learn and administer proprietary software programs.
• Knowledge of university systems, structures, process, and decision-making structures is an asset.
• Demonstrated judgment, cross-cultural sensitivity, interpersonal, customer service and prioritization skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with diverse communities of students and promote inclusion.
• Demonstrated oral and written communication skills, with the ability to be tactful and articulate in difficult conversations.
• Ability to delegate, lead, motivate, coach and train staff effectively.
• Results of criminal records review must be acceptable to the University.

Working Conditions:

Must be comfortable working in a changing environment as the environment will often change from extremely high busy periods to slow periods and will focus on service to student clients during academic year and students and guest visitors from May – August.    May be required to work on weekends during summer conference season May – August. The Assistant Front Office Manager is on call bi-weekly after hours for matters relating to the front office operation.