VPFO Update | The week of March 27, 2023

Strategic Plan updates

How do you champion VPFO’s strategic plan?

What we do matters. We each play a role in enabling excellence in teaching, learning and research at UBC. Through sharing about your work and people, you can help other departments gain a better understanding of what you do, how you connect to others in the portfolio, and how your team helps move the strategic plan forward.

Complete our online interview to share your story and get involved.


Operations updates

Facilities

Building Operations, Custodial Services, Customer Services & Informatics, Energy & Water Services, Infrastructure Development, and Municipal Services

  • Educating young children on solid waste collection on campus: Waste Management in Municipal Services paid a visit to the Berwick Child Development Centre to educate young children about solid waste collection on campus. The kids were beyond thrilled to see the trucks up close and learn how they work! Read more
     
  • Facilities Stores find opportunities to improve efficiency: Digital storage lockers will soon be available for Stores to more efficiently distribute non-inventory items when they become available. Municipal Services is also seeking feedback from teams and individuals that use the Stores counter or order inventory through Planon. If you use the Stores counter, we encourage you to complete the survey.

Finance

Comptroller, Finance & Operational Excellence and Treasury

  • Claiming unidentified wire transfers and direct deposits: Please check through the list of unidentified payments (updated as of Mar 23) to see if any payments belong to your department.   
     
  • Identifying, prioritizing and pursuing improvement opportunities across UBC HR, IT and Finance: Last year, Operational Excellence received funding from President’s Executive Management Team to deliver operational improvement roadmaps for UBC HR, IT and Finance. Learn more about some of the now-identified initiatives within each function.

Operations & Advising

Communications & Engagement, Human Resources, and Safety & Risk Services 

  • Be a voice for campus safety and help support this initiative: Campus Security is inviting students, faculty and staff on the UBC Vancouver campus to provide input between Mar 27–Apr 18. VPFO Communications & Engagement has created a toolkit to help you share this information with your teams. Access the toolkit

Shout outs

Facilities 

  • Gilberto Andrade: Kudos to Gilberto Andrade in Municipal Services for getting his Project Management Professional (PMP) certification! Lots of hard work went into this achievement.  

Safety & Risk Services

  • Manmohan Mand, Francis d'Souza, Khandaker Bashet, Jonathan Valerio and Wayne Pasieka: Congratulations to Campus Security who was recognized by the Vancouver institute for enabling the safe and peaceful and uninterrupted public education lectures hosted by the institute.

Well done! Want to give someone a shout out in the next edition? Submit your kudos in your local recognition program or email communications@vpfo.ubc.ca

People in motion

  • Cenon Ramiso has joined Custodial Services in Facilities as Auxiliary Service Worker. 
  • Oliver Choo joins as Finance Director, Vice President Research and Innovation. Oliver will be responsible for providing strategic financial leadership within the 16 units of the VPRI portfolio. 
  • Farewell to Barb Gordon, Director, Capital Planning & Strategic Priorities, whose official last day is on March 31. Thank you for your service and congratulations on your retirement!  

Read more about our people on the VPFO website.

Job openings

All positions at UBC are available on the UBC HR Careers website, or through the career application in your Workday account. Please note that applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. on the day prior to the posting end date. The following VPFO positions are currently open:

  • Custodial Scheduler (JR11943) – 03/28/2023
  • Procurement Officer - Construction (JR11717) – 03/29/2023
  • Coordinator, Travel Operations and Finance (JR11992) – 03/30/2023
  • Trades 2 - Plumber (JR11966) – 03/31/2023
  • SubHead Trades 2 - Plumber (JR11970) – 03/31/2023
  • Senior Manager, Partnerships and Strategy (JR12032) – 03/31/2023
  • Trades 3 - Mechanic (Heavy Duty Ticket Preferred) (JR12009) – 03/31/2023
  • Project Manager 1 (JR11920) – 04/03/2023
  • Finance Assistant (JR12068) – 04/03/2023
  • Financial Project Analyst (JR12158) – 04/07/2023
  • Safety Advisor - Field Safety (JR11918) – 04/09/2023
  • Senior Treasury Analyst (JR12033) – 04/09/2023
  • Systems Analyst II (JR11061) – 04/10/2023
  • Financial Operations Systems Processor: Workday (JR12110) – 04/14/2023
  • Labourer 2 (Seasonal) (JR11189) – 06/30/2023

Don't forget to apply as an internal candidate! Please review the Apply for an Internal Job Posting guide in the Workday Knowledge Base for instructions on how to apply. Reminder to attach a copy of your resume when you apply for a career opportunity in Workday.

Spotlight of the week

In honour of Women's History Month, we've celebrated the achievement of women across the VPFO throughout March. 

To wrap up the month and the mini-series, we've invited Barb Gordon from Infrastructure Development in UBC Facilities to share her proudest achievement after 20 years at UBC, before she retires at the end of the month. 

Thank you for your service and expertise, Barb — we will miss you!   

Barb Gordon, Director, Capital Planning & Strategic Priorities

I’ve played a role in the development of many capital projects, but I am most proud of working on building renewals, such as the MacLeod Building. Over the years, UBC has renewed 16 older buildings, giving them new life and upgrading all systems and finishes to support modern codes, sustainability goals, research methods and teaching pedagogy.

Managing your mental health

HR has mental health resources to help you manage your ups and downs. 

Manager or leaders: complete the new required training, Supporting Mental Health in the Workplace for Managers & Supervisors.

VPFO HR is always available for a confidential conversation, or access the Employee and Family Assistance Program's (EFAP) confidential services, through LifeWorks, by calling 1.866.424.0770. 


Notable updates

Be a voice for campus safety!

The UBC Vancouver Campus and community are constantly changing, and Campus Security is reviewing its services and model to make sure it is meeting the needs of students, faculty, and staff.

Share your thoughts on how Campus Security is working for you by:

  • Taking our short online survey (March 27-April 18) and enter to win a UBC gift card
  • Booking an interview or sending in a formal email to our engagement consultant: Brittany Mason at brittany@rmdelaney.com
  • Stopping by a pop-up in the AMS Nest on April 4 or 5, between 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
  • Registering for an in-person dialogue session on April 20, between 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. by emailing our engagement consultant: Brittany Mason at brittany@rmdelaney.com. Food will be provided and participants will receive a gift card as a thank you for their time. Spots are limited.

Whether or not you’ve accessed Campus Security services, we want to learn from you!

The survey closes on April 18 – share your thoughts now: https://bit.ly/ubc_campus_security

Learn more: security.ubc.ca/servicemodel
 

Expanded list of pronouns in Workday

UBC has expanded the list of pronoun options in Workday to better serve UBC employees.

Modelling the correct use of pronouns supports creating an inclusive campus environment. For more information and context on third-person pronouns, visit the Pronouns page on the UBC Equity and Inclusion website.

For guidance on how to update personal information, including pronouns, in Workday, see Change My Personal Information in the Workday knowledge base.
 

Ramadan 2023 at UBC

Ramadan, a month of fasting, is observed by some 1.6 billion Muslims all over the world. During the month of Ramadan, most Muslims refrain from food and drink, smoking, and sexual activity from dawn to dusk.
 
During Ramadan the UBC Muslim Student Association and the UBC Thaqalayn Muslim Association are hosting iftars, prayers, and other celebrations to mark the month.

Find events at UBC, from now until April 3

Helpful news

Some interesting news articles our team members have found informative, helpful, or fun! These are provided for information and entertainment only. Unless noted, UBC doesn’t specifically endorse or supply this content.

  • Hear more from Douglas Justice, Associate Director of Horticulture and Collections at the UBC Botanical Garden, about how the recent cold snap may affect this year’s cherry blossoms and how these trees have become so iconic in Vancouver. 

  • In healthy workplace cultures, leaders know how to balance accountability for results with empathy. Here are 6 questions that will help managers revisit their expectations and make sure they’re centering empathy in their attempts to encourage performance. Read more


The VPFO Update is a weekly snapshot that captures important university updates, work across VPFO departments, and relevant resources.

This will be reposted, along with past issues, at vpfo.ubc.ca/news. 

Questions, news or feedback?

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