Updates from UBC
- July 16: President’s Blog: Community Update: Black Opportunity Fund
Updates on UBC’s response to COVID-19 are at covid19.ubc.ca.
Managing your mental health
HR has collected mental health resources to help you manage your ups and downs. Our VPFO HR staff is always available for a confidential conversation.
- Self-guided: Self and Community Care: Building skills to manage stress: Learn to integrate relaxation and your personal needs into your daily life in this self-paced webinar.
- Self-guided: Wellbeing in the Workplace: Learn tools and skills to support wellbeing while working within changing environments in this self-paced webinar.
- July 22: Pet-ditate Meditate with your pet: Pets and mindfulness can both reduce stress and improve feelings of wellbeing. Join us as we combine our pets and mindfulness in these 15-minute sessions.
- August 10 (Part 1) & 18 (Part 2): Understanding Mental Health: This session aims to increase mental health literacy while providing tools and skills to respond effectively in a caring and respectful way.
Operations updates
Facilities
Building Operations, Energy & Water Services and Infrastructure Development
- UBC Five-Year Capital Plan 2022/23 to 2026/27 available: UBC’s five year capital plan was presented at the June 2021 Board of Governors meeting, and our proposed list of capital priority projects was approved. The capital plan has been submitted to the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training for potential government funding. To view the list of projects, visit the Infrastructure Development website.
Finance
Comptroller, Finance & Operational Excellence and Treasury
- Payroll portfolio changes: The portfolio composition of our payroll representatives is now based on employee last name (as opposed to faculty and department, as previous). This change will support our service delivery to faculty and staff, who can now more easily find their payroll representative. Learn more
- General Wage Increase (GWI) Implemented on July 1: The July 1 GWI will be reflected in Workday under the Compensation menu on the View Your Profile page before July 16. Learn more
- Financial Operations Service Delivery Levels: Service delivery levels for June are now available on the UBC Finance website. Learn more
Operations & Advising
Communications & Engagement, Human Resources, and Safety & Risk Services
- Safety & Risk Services Welcome Back online series starts next week: SRS has put together a series of online sessions that will launch the week of July 26-30, 2021, to support everyone’s transition to a more vibrant and busy campus environment. Learn more on the SRS website.
- How does racism in the past relate to the present and future: In our final week, author, activist, and historian Wayde Compton reflects on the patterns of racism and how we can disrupt the cycle. Read more
- VPFO HR on-site support schedule: Due to increased safety measures, the VPFO HR team will be working from home on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. For any questions, please contact Senior HR Manager, Arvind Kang.
- July 19: Kasia Burza, Matt Furgal, Monica Habb
- July 20: WFH
- July 21: Rachel Lau, Matt Furgal
- July 22: WFH
- July 23: WFH
People in motion
Please join us in welcoming those who are joining us, celebrating promotions, and saying goodbye to team members who are moving on to their next steps.
- Kyle Whitehead is starting his Landscape Technologist Apprenticeship with Municipal Services.
VPFO job openings
All positions at UBC are available on the UBC HR Careers website, or through the career application in your Workday account. The following VPFO positions are currently open:
- Trades 2 – Carpenter (JR3233) – closes July 20
- Utility Worker (JR3234) – closes July 20
- Trades 2 – Carpenter (JR3233) – closes July 20
- People & Process Manager, Mech Systems & HVAC Trades (JR3132) – closes July 21
- Project Coordinator (JR3156) – closes July 21
- Senior Financial Analyst, IRP (JR3276) – closes July 22
- Senior Financial Analyst (JR3277) – closes July 22
- Project Supervisor (Construction Office) (JR3290) – closes July 22
- Relief Shift Engineer (CEC) (JR3319) – closes July 23
- Utility Worker (JR3234) – closes July 26
- Procurement Partner (JR3310) – closes Aug 2
Please remember to apply as an internal candidate. This ISC Knowledge Base article shows how: How do I apply for an internal job posting?.
Other notable updates
Operational Excellence rolling out Lean Six Sigma training across the VPFO
In the VPFO Townhall on July 15, 2021, our Vice-President, Peter Smailes announced Operational Excellence will begin a rollout of a VPFO-wide Lean Six Sigma training in alignment with our strategic plan.
Learn more on the Operational Excellence website.
VPFO Townhall on July 15 — presentation recording & slides
Our townhall last week looked back on our experiences over the past year and forward to a brighter fall and beyond. The townhall was recorded on Zoom (passcode: aj+=K8dM) and the presentation slides are available in PDF.
Supporting a safe and healthy work environment in preparation for increased on-campus activity
Safety & Risk Services has created a series of online campus resources to support a safe and healthy work environment in preparation for increased on-campus activity. The online series will launch during the week of July 26-30 with various live sessions, information sessions, and workshops.
The series is intended for faculty and staff who have been working on campus throughout the pandemic, as well as those returning to work on campus later this year.
Learn more on the SRS website.
Complete the updated mandatory safety training
As British Columbia proceeds to Step 3 of BC’s Restart plan, UBC has launched a new campus-specific COVID-19 training course.
Whether you have previously completed safety training due to being on campus, or are planning your return, please ensure you complete this new online training:
- UBC Vancouver – Go Forward COVID-19 Safety Planning Training
- UBC Okanagan – Go Forward COVID-19 Safety Planning Training
Full information available in this UBC announcement.
Campus & Community Planning refreshing their newsletter
Do you work, live or learn on campus? If so, get on the list and be in the know!
Campus and Community Planning is refreshing their newsletter to keep you better informed! If you’ve received their newsletter in the past and would like to continue getting it or if you’d like to sign up, follow this link and enter for a chance to win a UBC Bookstore gift card.
Helpful news
Some interesting news articles people 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.
- As many of us prepare to return to campus in the fall, here’s an interesting article from The Economist on post-pandemic office etiquette. Spoiler: wash your hands, clean desks, and keep your distance.
- Now is the time to reflect on what you learned during the pandemic and try to apply it to in-person office life. Here are 3 productivity lessons you should remember when returning to the office.
Have an article for the VPFO team? Email communications@vpfo.ubc.ca.