Upper Canada College Looking for Assistant Director, Preparatory School Admission at Toronto, Ontario, Canada Full Time

Employment Terms: F/T, Permanent

Start Date:  September  2023

With a commitment to equity and fairness, students learn that what makes us different as individuals makes us stronger as a community. A rigorous academic program is supported by accomplished faculty, exceptional co-curricular programming, and state-of-the-art facilities. The UCC experience is underpinned by five core values: learning, pluralism, service, community, and wellbeing.  Among its strategic goals is UCC’s ambition to become more diverse and inclusive. This is supported by a recog­nition that no learning community is whole without the inclusion and amplification of multiple voices; UCC is committed to fostering belonging, striving for jus­­tice and peace among all people, and addressing systemic and structural forms of oppression.

Position Overview:

The primary role of the Admission Office is to recruit, assess, enroll, and retain mission-appropriate students and families who will thrive as part of the UCC community. Reporting to the Director, Preparatory School Admission, the Assistant Director, Preparatory School Admission supports all aspects of the Prep School (SK to Year 7) recruitment and admission process, contributing to a positive applicant experience and sound decision-making. This role acts as an important ambassador for UCC, particularly in the Greater Toronto Area.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Recruitment, Event Management, Outreach and Marketing

• Supports the organization of, and attends, recruitment events (in person and online) with a particular focus on the Greater Toronto Area. This includes on and off campus fairs, school visits, associate/alumni events, among others;
• Supports organization, planning, and delivery of on-campus events including Open Houses, Information Sessions, New to Blue and summer tours;
• Assists in the development and maintenance of admission print and electronic material (including the website) by proactively identifying and communicating needed updates to the Director and the Marketing and Communications department;
• Delivers campus tours with a focus on the Prep School, as needed;
• Assists the Admission Assistant in campus tours of the Preparatory school, as needed; 
• In tandem with the Director of Admission, Preparatory School, designs special events and projects including Open Houses, Information Sessions,  New To Blue, and summer tours with logistical leadership  from the Admission Assistant;
• Creates and drives  communications to Prep School candidates through maintenance and consistent messaging of candidate interest lists using the OnBoard database and other marketing platforms. 

Admission Process

• Supports the end-to-end admission process (cultivation, assessment, decision, feedback, and transition) for Prep School applicants (SK to Year 7), at the direction of the Director, Prep School Admission;
• Coordinates and administers standardized testing, conducts candidate and parent interviews, and evaluates report cards and references in collaboration with the Admission Team;
• Participates in the admission database set-up and organization, and uses the admission database effectively to ensure clean, usable data is available to support decision-making and an optimal user experience;
• Maintains candidate files to ensure they are complete and ready for student interviews and next steps;
• Oversees the timely progression of applicants through the funnel to ensure prompt file completion;
• Coordinates all Prep School interviews;
• Completes file review process and participates in Admission Decision Committee meetings. 

New Student and Family Onboarding

• Supports the Director, Prep School Admission in the new student onboarding process and collaborates with teachers, counsellors, Heads of Preparatory School, Wernham West Centre for Learning staff and others, as needed;
• Supports preparation of all new student files for class placement meetings, in collaboration with the Admission Team;
• Serves as a main point of contact for new Prep School families, in collaboration with the Director, Prep School Admission.

Retention

• Supports the Vice-Principal, Enrolment Management and the Directors, of Preparatory School and Upper School and Boarding Admission to enhance the approach to student retention through data gathering, analysis, and action planning;

Customer Service

• Delivers outstanding customer service, ensuring that all prospective applicant families feel welcome and supported in their interactions with UCC;
• Advances UCC’s value of pluralism by supporting a fair, equitable, and unbiased process and engaging in innovative community outreach;
• Maintains the highest level of professional integrity;
• Supports post-offer transitions and conversations for all families with empathy and with an emphasis on relationship development;
• Maintains membership and professional involvement in organizations related to admission or supportive to its goals.

Teamwork

• Builds community through team trust and shared purpose;
• Offers and receives feedback to continuously improve the process and team culture;
• Maintains effective and collaborative relationships with other roles and departments, including the Wernham West Centre for Learning, International Baccalaureate Coordinators, and the Head and Assistant Heads of the Prep School;
• Builds and maintains strong partnership with the Marketing and Communications Team to continuously refine and update materials;
• Acts as a mentor for an IB continuum project (PYP Exhibition, MYP Personal Project, or DP Extended Essay);
• Undertakes general administrative office duties to support the Admission Team in day-to-day operation, as needed;
• Takes on other duties as needed to support the Director, Prep School Admission and the Vice-Principal, Enrolment Management, as needed.

Vision, Mission, Values Alignment

• Actively advances and upholds the vision, mission, and values of the College in all aspects of the work;
• Enables and participates in brave conversations about identity, marginalization, bias, power, privilege, and barriers in service to students and families, while maintaining productive working relationships;
• Stimulates open discussion of problems and encourages differences of opinion, while maintaining an inclusive climate of appreciation and trust for those who come from different backgrounds or think differently;
• Understands the complexity of elements important to members of another culture in relation to its history, values, politics, communication styles, economy, or beliefs and practices.

Knowledge, Competencies and Experience:

• University degree preferred;
• At least three years of relevant work experience, preferably in independent school admission or related function(s);
• At least three years of candidate interview experience, preferably in an independent school admission context;
• Knowledge of childhood development and primary education;
• Familiarity with the independent school environment in Toronto;
• Adjusts own attitudes and beliefs because of working within and learning from the diversity of communities and cultures. Promotes others’ engagement with diversity;
• Seeks to understand issues relating to implicit bias, stereotype threat and institutionalized prejudice;
• Seeks to understand the influence of one’s own assumptions, judgments and/or biases during interactions with one’s own culture and the culture of others;
• Event planning and coordination experience and knowledge;
• Understanding of various cultures and identities, particularly with respect to anti-bias efforts in education and assessment;
• Experience and knowledge of effective use of Blackbaud OnBoard platform or other similar admission database;
• Experience with Google suite of tools;
• Teaching experience is an asset;
• Marketing and communications experience and knowledge is an asset.

If you have the majority of the qualifications we’re looking for, we encourage you to express your interest by submitting your application.

What we Offer: 

• Opportunities for professional development to support life-long learning of skills and knowledge;
• Floating holidays that recognizes our employees diverse religious and cultural practices; offers three paid floating holidays per year instead of three statutory public holidays of their choosing.  
• Excellent mental health, medical and dental benefit plans (including Health Care and Lifestyle Spending Accounts, Employee Assistance programme and onsite wellbeing programming;
• Paid volunteer time off to become involved in you’re communities, lending  voluntary support to programs 
• Ongoing community events and employee social events throughout the academic year;
• Fabulous collaborative team members and colleagues;
• Generous pension / retirement plan and paid time off plans: vacation / holidays, personal emergency leave, personal leave, parental leave top-up and flexible self-funded leaves;
• Free on campus parking;
• Opportunity for casual dress days.

UCC is an Equal Opportunity Employer and values diversity, encouraging applications from all qualified individuals and welcoming applications from women, visible minorities, Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities, and LGBTQ persons. UCC embraces pluralism – celebrating differences, cherishing similarities, and giving voice to multiple perspectives. If you are contacted regarding a UCC opportunity, please advise if you require any accommodations.