Updates from the VPFO
We Are The VPFO: Join us on May 31
On May 31, we have an opportunity to gather and hear from our new Vice-President Frank Laezza, as well as connect and participate in a teambuilding activity. A calendar hold has been shared with the portfolio—if you can, please join your VPFO colleagues from across all departments, groups, and services at this event. Let's celebrate who we are, how we connect, and what we do for UBC.
Learn more
Strategic Plan updates
Next up: Amber Velay-Mah, Patrol Officer in Campus Security & Jeff Georgilas, Utility Worker in Custodial Services
When you talk to Amber or Jeff, one of the first things you'll notice is their genuine care for our beautiful campus and diverse community.
Read next week's issue to learn how Amber and Jeff achieve excellence and advance stewardship in their day-to-day work.
Operations updates
Facilities
Building Operations, Custodial Services, Customer Services & Informatics, Energy & Water Services, Infrastructure Development, and Municipal Services
- Beaty Biodiversity Centre Addition approved by UBC Board of Governors: The project has received its Board 3 approval in the Board Committee meeting on March 31. Construction will start soon. Read the project brief and learn more about this project.
- Capital Project Updates presented to Board of Governors: A status update on current capital projects and capital priorities in planning was presented in the Board Committee meeting. Presented twice annually, the updates include details on major capital building projects (>$5 million) and a summary of routine capital renewal and renovation projects (<=$5 million). Read the project brief.
- Maintaining an ideal exam experience at UBC: UBC Facilities’ Custodial Services and Municipal Services worked in tandem to set up exam spaces in preparation for 2022/23W Term 2 exams. Congratulations to Facilities teams for another excellent setup effort! Read more.
- Meet UBC's new cogeneration engine: The Jenbacher J-612 has arrived in its new home inside the Bioenergy Research Demonstration Facility (BRDF). Despite being smaller than the original, the new engine will provide the same electrical power output while reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. Learn more
Finance
Comptroller, Finance & Operational Excellence and Treasury
- Upcoming period-end dates: The period-end dates deadlines for April and May are now available as PDFs and as a rolling list on the UBC Finance website.
Operations & Advising
Communications & Engagement, Human Resources, and Safety & Risk Services
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
VPFO
- VPFO Vancouver Sun Run team – Taylor Bohn, Pushpa Chopra, Michael Cunningham, Noah Cunningham, Carson Koo, Ruben Mancera, Irene Prakash, Jodi Scott, Tom Scott, Hollis Stephens, Sam Stephens, Stan Takenaka, David Uribe, Dave Wight: We're so proud of you all completing the Vancouver Sun Run on April 16 despite the rainy conditions! Congrats to all for getting out there and representing the VPFO!
Facilities
- Balvir Bains & Charanjit Bains: Custodial Services staff celebrated Vaisakhi, one of the most important dates in the Sikh calendar, on April 14. Special thanks to Balvir Bains and Charanjit Bains for organizing this celebration and augmenting the importance of this key date on our shared cultural calendar!
- Chad Lamond: Several streetlights along west mall and crescent mall failed in March. Chad was able to identify the source of the problem and safely correct it with assistance from his team members. Chad's problem solving and quick action prevented many more lights from being damaged. Great job!
- Municipal Services' Stores team: The Streetlight crew would like to thank the team working at Stores on April 14. Special thanks goes out to Riley for helping with a scheduled generator shutdown, Jag for obtaining multiple items from the stores, and Jason for retrieving tools and materials on short notice to complete urgent repairs outside of UBC hospital. Excellent work team!
Finance & Operational Excellence
- Rashmi Chaudhuri: Shout out to Rashimi for always providing excellent customer service for the UBC community and partners!
- Bill Liu: Kudos to Bill for always helping out the team with Workday tasks and being a role model of teamwork and accountability.
- Marina Chan & Nikhila Donakonda: Shout out to Marina and Nikhila for quickly resolving an issue with Visa Payables. Great work!
- Vicky Zhang: Shout out to Vicky for her positive personality, talents and dedication in supporting the people around her. Great work!
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
- Brody Lojstrup will be joining Facilities' Building Operations as a Trades 2 - Steamfitter on Tuesday, April 25. Welcome Brody!
- Owen Smith-Bishop will be starting in Facilities' Building Operations as a IUOE - Millwright on Tuesday, April 25. Welcome Owen!
- Tiffane Mak will be joining the Comptroller's Financial Reporting team as a Financial Reporting Manager on Tuesday, April 25. Welcome Tiffane!
- Wendy Lam will be joining Facilities’ Custodial Services & Informatics as Clerk on May 1. Welcome Wendy!
- Denise Brown will be joining Facilities’ Infrastructure Development as Director, Capital Planning on May 15. Welcome Denise!
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:
- Millwright (JR7181) – 4/26/2023
- Procurement Program Manager (JR12105) – 4/28/2023
- Utilities Electrical Engineer (JR11625) – 4/28/2023
- Configuration Analyst (JR12209) – 5/1/2023
- Day - Full-Time Service Worker (2 Positions) (JR12506) – 5/1/2023
- Knowledge and Training Analyst (JR12377) – 5/1/2023
- Night Service Worker (JR12545) – 5/1/2023
- Senior Financial Specialist 1b (Gr8) (JR12531) – 5/3/2023
- Human Resources Coordinator (JR12568) – 5/5/2023
- PrISM Instructional Designer (JR12327) – 5/7/2023
- Accounting Team Lead (JR12520) – 5/10/2023
- Procurement Officer - Construction (JR11717) – 5/12/2023
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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Kelly Ren, Tax Analyst, Treasury
Our team serves as a tax advisor to UBC departments and ensures the university meets its tax compliances. I'm currently working on an exciting PST recovery project, which allows me to reach out to departments and units across UBC to find out how we can provide tax advisory and training tailored to the campus users.
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Notable updates
AAPS PD: Register Now for Critical Thinking and Problem Solving (online and in-person)
Held online and in-person, this AAPS Professional Development workshop will help you develop:
- Greater ability to think broadly about problems
- More effective stakeholder involvement to balance decision quality, speed, and level of consensus required for the situation
- Greater creativity in developing ideas
- Fixes that are more likely to work and less likely to create other problems
Before registering for this session please keep in mind that it is 3 hours long, and you are expected to participate in the full session.
Register for your preferred time & date
April is Autism Acceptance Month!
Join the CWA and Autism Nova Scotia on April 27 for the Building Autistic Acceptance in the Workplace webinar. In this 1-hour webinar, speakers Carli and Taylor from Autism Nova Scotia hope to:
- emphasize a lived experience perspective on building autistic acceptance in the workplace,
- accessibility as an act of care rather than burden, and
- how to build spaces with autistic people in mind.
Register for the webinar on April 27
April 28th is the National Day of Mourning
Across Canada, April 28 has been designated the Day of Mourning. Each year, workers, families, employers, and communities across the province remember those who have lost their lives on the job, and we all renew our commitment to creating healthy and safe workplaces.
It is a reminder of the importance of health and safety at the workplace and to strive for a strong safety culture to prevent workplace incidents, illnesses, and fatalities.
UBC is committed to fostering a safe, healthy and respectful environment for everyone in the campus community. We want to highlight a few resources available to support your health, safety and wellbeing:
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.
- Workplace inclusion is not a static, one-off act of service. It’s an ever-evolving experience that requires the contribution of every employee — regardless of their level of seniority in the organization — to make each other feel included. To foster inclusion around you, form and regularly practice these seven inclusive behaviors.
- Cute, compact, and smart. Corgis are one of the most popular dog breeds. Read 70 interesting facts about corgis (or just look at photos of cute corgis on a Monday afternoon).
