Hello from my first 80 days
A message from Frank
I’ve been really inspired in my first few months by hearing and seeing how many of you value the connection between the work that you do and the overall success of the university. While I have deep respect for the role I’ve been asked to fill, I do see myself as a member of this team and encourage you to engage with me and to consider me a teammate. I hope I made this connection with everyone who joined me last Wednesday at our “We are the VPFO” team event on the Vancouver campus.
It was incredible to gather hundreds of us in person to truly experience the diversity of our people and our services, as well as the connections that we share as individuals and as colleagues. The spaces you develop, maintain and protect, are labs where the treatments for diseases are explored and classrooms that enable cutting edge learning. The people you resource and support are researchers developing sustainable building materials, and students who are tomorrow’s business leaders.
We are a large and multifaceted team, and our mandate is a big one—the UBC community relies on us in many different ways—but I believe that by understanding our core purpose, focusing on our foundations, and working together as a team we can accomplish what we’re here to do. We are the VPFO, and we’re here to enable excellence at UBC through finance, facilities, and managing risk.
I hope that those of you who were able to attend on Wednesday, online or in person, enjoyed the opportunity to get together. We’d love your feedback – please complete this short survey to share your thoughts. Each month I plan to share a message with the portfolio through our newsletter and I’ve asked the leadership team to identify a good mix of opportunities for us to meet face to face, whether in our teams or all together. Your feedback can help make those meaningful for everyone.
Have a great week,
Frank Laezza
Vice-President Finance & Operations
Operations updates
Finance
Comptroller, Finance & Operational Excellence and Treasury
- New in Workday: daily digest option for managing email notifications: UBC staff and faculty can now select an option to receive a ‘daily digest’ email once a day with a list of all Workday inbox action items from the last 24 hours. Learn more
- April interest rates: The April interest rates are now updated and available on the UBC Finance website.
- Claiming unidentified wire transfers and direct deposits: Please check through the list of unidentified payments (updated as of June 4) to see if any payments belong to your department.
Operations & Advising
Communications & Engagement, Human Resources, and Safety & Risk Services
- Photos from the "We are the VPFO" event: Spot yourself and your colleagues in the newly published photos from last Wednesday's portfolio event, available on the VPFO Flickr site. Thanks again for being there with us!
- Website Transformation Project update: A vendor has been selected to proceed with the Discovery portion of the Website Transformation Project led by the VPFO Communications & Engagement Team.
The VPFO consists of individuals doing important work to support the university. Our people bring our strategy to life and make our plans into reality. Read more about the people of the VPFO.
Shout outs
- Kudos to Annie Mullins, Holly Rail and Matt Furgal for creating the opportunity for staff across all our departments, groups, and services to gather and celebrate who we are, how we connect, and what we do for UBC on May 31.
- Special thanks to Lori Takenaka, Sarah Goold, Rachel Lau, Russel Neal and Pearle Lundeen for sharing how you resonate with VPFO's values at the We are the VPFO event. We know it's not easy speaking in front of a large crowd and you all did fantastic!
- Thank you George Kamel for adding four suppliers into the Visa Payables, an integral part of UBC's credit card program. Your support is appreciated!
- Shout out to Ted Hsieh for jumping in and testing the payroll results for our recent change to streamline employer-paid benefit costs for Sessional Lecturers in the summer.
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
- Kim Sheridan has started as the Senior Manager, Strategy & Partnerships in Safety & Risk Services' Campus Security as of May 29.
- Facilities is pleased to welcome:
- Sean Pardek as Custodial Scheduler in Custodial Services
- Tyler Briggs, Atlin Farinha, Joshua Davidson and Dmytro Benza as Labourers 2 in Municipal Services
- Harry Wang and Hong Wei Qiu as Trades 2 in Building Operations
- Frederick Kwok as CAD Technician in Infrastructure Development's Facilities Information & Inventory System team within Infrastructure Development
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:
- Assistant Civil Engineer (JR12802) – 06/09/2023
- Manager, Mechanical Utilities (JR12801) – 06/16/2023
- Senior Financial Analyst - Capital (JR12909) – 06/08/2023
- Truck Driver Medium/Labourer (JR12981) – 06/08/2023
- Auxiliary Service Worker (10 Positions) (JR13035) – 06/10/2023
- Continuous Improvement Program Manager-1 (JR12929) – 6/12/2023
- Night Service Worker (JR13158) – 6/12/2023
- Trades 2 - Carpenter (6 Months Term-Fixed) (JR13164) – 6/14/2023
- Financial Specialist – Accounting (JR13137) – 6/13/2023
- Auxiliary Service Worker (3 Positions) (JR13142) – 6/16/2023
- Business Data Analyst (JR13116) – 6/19/2023
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.
We are the VPFO: Spotlight
Each week, we'll meet another member of the VPFO as they introduce themselves and their work.
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Mary Julkowski | Knowledge Analyst, Change & Communications, Integrated Service Centre
I analyze upcoming changes in Workday and review support tickets to edit existing or develop new Knowledge Base articles. I believe the UBC community should have up-to-date and step-by-step information to navigate business processes in Workday. See the Workday Knowledge Base to find how-to guides and answers to common questions.
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Notable updates
Flag lowering on June 6
The BC, Musqueam and UBC flags (temporarily relocated to the East Mall Entrance and Plaza at the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre) will be lowered tomorrow (Tuesday, June 6) in remembrance of faculty and staff who have passed away recently, including Valeriy Kichenko, Technician in Safety & Risk Services' Environmental Protection team, who passed away on May 22.
Celebrate Indigenous History Month
June is Indigenous History Month in Canada, a month to learn about, appreciate and acknowledge the rich history, contributions and diversity of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples across the country.
Check out a collection of UBC and community events
Attend The Centre Health Fair: Heart Health this June
Brought to you by The Centre for Occupational Health, Safety & Wellbeing in partnership with the UBC Pharmacists Clinic, The Centre Health Fair: Heart Health is available at no cost to UBC faculty, staff, postdoctoral fellows, and student staff.
All health care services are provided by licensed pharmacists and pharmacy students from the Pharmacists Clinic – UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Appointments are 15 minutes in duration (pre-registration required) and participants will receive a cardiovascular risk assessment.
- Where: The Centre (University Services Building – 2329 West Mall)
- When: June 20 | 9:00 am–1:00 pm and June 21 | 1:30 pm–5:30 pm
Register now and learn more
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.
