We’d love your feedback on the ‘We are the VPFO’ event
Thank you to everyone who attended the ‘We are the VPFO’ team event, and for your participation and enthusiasm! We hope you enjoyed hearing from our Vice-President Frank Laezza and connecting with each other across the portfolio.
Frank shared his reflections on the importance of being connected as a team, and stressed that everyone’s role within the portfolio plays a part in our shared success. Attendees also participated in a teambuilding activity that involved individuals from across all of our teams to gather and form new groups based on our portfolio values of Safety, Respect, Integrity, Accountability, and Excellence.
Share your thoughts on the event
We’d love to hear what you enjoyed about the event and how we can improve. This survey will only take a few minutes to complete. All responses are confidential and respondents will be in no way identified personally.
Take the survey
Missed the event?
Phase 2 of the IRC Woodward electrical shutdown: Dec 25–31 2023
As part of the capital renewals, Project Services is upgrading the electrical distribution at the IRC Woodward building this fiscal year. In preparation, a complete building shutdown is scheduled from December 26–31 2023.
This window will provide the contractor with sufficient time to install the new distribution. This is an advance notice for all shops on readiness for the shutdown.
For more information, please contact:
Updated zone list
The Zone list (see attached) has been updated as of June 5, 2023. Please note that the following update was made:
Reminder to sign up: Heart Health Fair @The Centre
The Centre for Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing in collaboration with the UBC Pharmacists Clinic are happy to be running the very popular Health Fair in June, with the topic on Heart Health.
The Health Fair will be held at The Centre (University Services Building – 2329 West Mall) over two days. This Health Fair is open to VPFO employees and pre-registration is required.
- Tuesday, June 20 | 9:00 am–1:00 pm
- Wednesday, June 21 | 1:30 pm–5:30 pm
Appointments are 15 minutes in duration and participants will receive a cardiovascular risk assessment consisting of:
- Blood pressure measurement
- Body Mass Index (BMI – height & weight) and waist measurement
- Cholesterol measurement (a small finger prick)
- Calculation of heart disease risk (Framingham score)
- 1:1 counseling & interpretation of results
- Recommendations to optimize heart health
All health care services are provided by licensed pharmacists and pharmacy students from the Pharmacists Clinic – UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Click here to register or reach out to Lori Takenaka at lori.takenaka@ubc.ca or 604-822-6732 to register.
Learn more
UBC’s Mass Care Open House & Preparedness Fair
On June 28, 2023, join us at UBC’s Mass Care Open House & Preparedness Fair to learn what UBC is doing to prepare for major regional emergencies and how you can be better prepared.
The UBC Tennis Centre will be transformed into the site of a mass care exercise to simulate the response to a major regional event at the university and within the surrounding community. The exercise involves setting up a mass care shelter to support those displaced during a disaster— from providing food and shelter, and registering “evacuees”, to training UBC staff and volunteers to deliver support services.
At the Preparedness Fair, you will have the opportunity to learn more about emergency preparedness from various stakeholders and purchase emergency supplies for your emergency kit.
- Where: UBC Tennis Centre (Wayfinding)
- When: June 28, 2023 | 9:30 am-12:00 pm
- Who: Open to everyone, no sign-up required
Learn more or register to be a volunteer
People in motion
- Ayoub Tennoune joins Facilities' Municipal Services as a Labourer 3 starting June 12.
Kudos
We have recently received many positive feedback on how our Custodial Services staff continue to keep making a lasting impact and contribution to our campus and workplace.
Thank you for your fantastic work! We appreciate your dedication and your work is invaluable to this organization. Some recent mentions include:
- Beaty Biodiversity Museum, Evening zone 4 team led by Bill Sidhu – “Compliments to the custodians from the Museum staff. Nice job.” and “Thank you- the museum is looking nice and clean!”
- Chemistry A floor refinishing – “[We] looked at the floor in the labs yesterday. They look amazing!”
- JBM Room 270 Ceiling leak, Weekend shift teams– “Kudos to you and your crew for reacting quickly and protecting the equipment beneath."
- JBM Patterson Clinic - "The crew has been great with the Patterson Dental Learning Centre, thank you."
- Life Building temporary waste staging area cleanup, thank you to Gurchet Bains – “What a rock star!! Takes the initiative and makes a difference!!”
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:
- Trades 2 - Carpenter (6 Months Term-Fixed) (JR13164) – 6/14/2023
- Auxiliary Service Worker (3 Positions) (JR13142) – 6/16/2023
- Manager, Mechanical Utilities (JR12801) – 6/16/2023
- Operating Engineer (JR13196) – 6/20/2023
Don't forget to apply as an internal candidate! Please review Apply for an Internal Job Posting 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.
Weekly Emergency Tip: Text, don’t call
During a disaster such as an earthquake, cellular networks will be overwhelmed. Use text messaging, social media or email to communicate with family and friends instead of calling.
Learn more about how to stay connected in a disaster
Managing your mental health
HR has collected mental health resources to help you manage your ups and downs.
As a manager or leader, you play an important role in supporting your mental health and that of your teams. Complete the new required training: Supporting Mental Health in the Workplace for Managers and Supervisors.
Representatives are always available for a confidential conversation:
- Monica Haab (monica.haab@ubc.ca): Building Operations, Energy & Water Services, Customer Services & Informatics, and Infrastructure Development
- Gregor MacDonald (gregor.macdonald@ubc.ca): Custodial Services and Municipal Services
Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) offers an extensive suite of services to support you – from providing wellness coaching or advising on family issues to offering legal support. Access the EAP confidential services through LifeWorks, by calling 1-866-424-0770.
In case you've missed it
In case you've missed it Here is a quick recap of key events and information that you may have missed. For more details, please click on the links below or refer to our weekly portfolio newsletter, VPFO Update.
