Updates from UBC
- August 13: President’s Weekly Update: Supporting Mandatory Indoor Masking and Vaccination
- August 12: UBC Bulletin: Update on 2021 annual merit program for eligible staff
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 23 – September 3: Weekly mindfulness sessions: Join your community to practice mindfulness to improve your ability to manage stress and feel more connected while working from home.
- August 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
- Drinking water fountains and bottle-filling stations re-opening: Starting today, the Facilities team will begin un-bagging and flushing all of the drinking water fountains and bottle-filling stations across the UBC Vancouver campus. Learn more on the Facilities website.
- Latest Facility Condition Index (FCI) available: FCI scores reflect the current conditions of buildings at UBC. To view a diagram of UBC Vancouver’s current and projected building FCI and age profile, visit the Building Operations website.
Finance
Comptroller, Finance & Operational Excellence and Treasury
- Financial Operations Service Delivery Levels: Service delivery levels for July are now available on the UBC Finance website.
- UBC’s transition to a new customs broker: Reminder that UBC has transitioned to a new customs broker, Thompson Ahern, for international shipments as of August 12. This change does not impact users directly and there are no changes to current procedures.
Operations & Advising
Communications & Engagement, Human Resources, and Safety & Risk Services
- Resources on Working alone or in isolation: More resources, including step by step guides and templates, about working alone or in isolation are now available on the SRS website.
- Communications tools & templates: Communications & Engagement has a variety of templates available to use for planning and sharing information. Learn more on the VPFO Communications website.
- 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.
- August 16: Kasia Burza, Arvind Kang
- August 17: WFH
- August 18: Rachel Lau, Monica Haab
- August 19: WFH
- August 20: 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.
- Grace Cobankiat joined the Procurement Services team as Team Lead, today.
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:
- Emergency Management & Continuity Planning Advisor (JR3577) – closing Aug 18
- Sr. Financial Spec 1a (Gr 8) (JR3675) – closing Aug 19
- Report Developer (JR3656) – closing Aug 20
- Communications Operator (JR3766) – closing Aug 20
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
Making the MOST of a problem with Lean Six Sigma
Last week, we learned all about the DMAIC framework and how it serves as a driver of change.
In the final part of this series, we will discuss the importance of creating a problem statement and how it helps you make effective and sustainable change at UBC.
Read the full article on the Operational Excellence website.
Resources for getting to and from campus
Whether you plan to take public transit, bike, drive or walk, find resources to help you plan your commute to and from campus.
Learn more on the UBC Campus + Community Planning website.
Helpful news
Some interesting news articles 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.
- There’s no one right path to work-life balance — but there are plenty of wrong ones. Here are 5 ways leadership can support team members in healthier ways.
- The Paris agreement is aimed at limiting global temperature rise to no more than 2°C, but we could reach 1.5°C within the next decade. Here’s the difference that half degree could make to our world.
Have an article for the VPFO team? Email communications@vpfo.ubc.ca.