Monday update

August 23, 2021

Updates from UBC

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.
  • September 14: Supporting Resilient Teams: Recognizing and managing burnout (For Leaders & Managers): Take away a set of supportive leadership strategies for recognizing and supporting burnout prevention within teams.
  • September 24: QPR Suicide Intervention Training: Learn to recognize suicide warning signs, approach someone who may be at risk, and connect the person to resources that will help resolve crises.

Operations updates

Facilities

Building Operations, Energy & Water Services and Infrastructure Development

  • New 24/7 operations centre structure: On August 18, AVP Facilities, John Metras announced the new structure and the successful candidates for the Shift Sub-Head Operating Engineer 3rd Class positions supporting the new Facilities 24/7 Operations Centre. Read more on the Facilities website.
  • District Energy System (DES) Valve Optimization program: Since April 2021, Energy & Water Services has been undergoing a DES valve optimization project across campus. Read the feature to find out how the team worked together to ensure the smooth execution of this complex project, involving 10 worksites and 18 valves.
  • Improved process for facilities-related service requests in UBC Okanagan: To streamline the request process in preparation for a return to campus, faculties and units can now enter all facilities-related service requests in one location within the existing Archibus work order system. Learn more on the Okanagan Facilities website.

Finance

Comptroller, Finance & Operational Excellence and Treasury

  • Fiscal year 2021/22 & August period-end dates: The period-end dates both for the upcoming period-end close (August), as well as for the remainder of this fiscal year, are now available as a PDF and on the UBC Finance website.

Operations & Advising

Communications & Engagement, Human Resources, and Safety & Risk Services

  • Drop-in vaccination clinic available at Life Sciences Centre (LSC): The Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) drop-in vaccination clinic will open at the LSC on a first-come, first-served basis from August 26 to September 3. Learn more on the SRS website.
  • Book an appointment to acquire your UBC ID: A reminder to all new hires and staff to schedule an appointment for your UBC ID card as the UBC Bookstore no longer accepts walk-in appointments. Learn more on UBCard Online Services.
  • 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 23: Daisy Chan, Monica Haab, Gregor Macdonald
    • August 24: WFH
    • August 25: Kasia Burza
    • August 26: WFH
    • August 27: 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.

  • Willy Bois, Andy Gomes, Julian Hawkins, Joel Decolongon and Lance Lane started as SubHead Operating Engineers on August 16.
  • Sandy Poon is starting as the ISC Project Coordinator today.
  • Joey-Lee Rebelo will be the Operations Project Manager – Change Management in Customer Services & Informatics while Deb Capps goes on maternity leave.
  • Jessie Wu will be joining the Finance team as Financial Analyst on August 26.
  • Adveen Dosanjh is joining as Cross-Functional Product Sustainment and Support Manager on September 1.
  • Carolyn Rhee-Thompson is joining as Finance Director, VPFO/VPHR on September 7.
  • Best wishes to Chloe Ng who will begin her maternity leave on September 13.
  • Amarjit Garcha is joining as Finance Product Manager on September 7.

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:

  • Procurement Services Team Lead (JR3784) – closing Aug 31
  • Patrol Officer II (JR3803 and JR3804) – closing Sep 1
  • Manager, Business and Support Services (JR3849) – closing Sep 1
  • Sr. Procurement Officer (JR3883) – closing Sep 3
  • Auxiliary Service Worker (JR3807) – closing Sep 3
  • Labourer 3 (Streets and Operations Support) (JR3890) – closing Sep 6
  • Director, Campus Security (JR3820) – closing Sep 16

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

2021 Federal Election Guide now available

Ahead of the upcoming elections on September 20, an election guide is now available to help you communicate with your teams. Please refer to this guide to ensure that your messages are consistent with the guidelines laid out in this document.

Download the Federal Election Guide

From the classroom to the virtual space, and back again – How UBC’s Learning Spaces team is getting ready for a return to campus

When it comes to teaching, learning, and research, an optimal physical environment is crucial for creating an experience that is engaging, immersive and collaborative. What does the shift away from learning in the physical space mean for the teams that manage UBC’s learning spaces, and how are they preparing for a return to campus this fall?

Read the feature on UBC Today.

September 30 is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

UBC will be observing this day as a holiday — classes will be cancelled and university employees who are normally entitled to provincial and federal holidays will receive this day off. We encourage all members of the UBC community to honour this day, whether through personal reflection, education and awareness activities, or by participating in Orange Shirt Day or other events within your communities.

Building a foundation together in Lean Six Sigma

In the past few weeks, we dove into the world of Lean Six Sigma together, from breaking down basic terminologies to discovering how it promotes a UBC-wide mindset of collaboration, continuous improvement, and growth.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this series. If you haven’t already, we highly encourage you to complete the 90-minute White Belt training — please reach out to your supervisor for registration details.

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.

Have an article for the VPFO team? Email communications@vpfo.ubc.ca.

Be Part of the VPFO Monday Update

Each Monday we capture a snapshot of important university updates, the work across our departments, and other resources relevant to the VPFO team. This will be reposted, along with all past issues, at vpfo.ubc.ca/news.

Additions or questions can be sent to communications@vpfo.ubc.ca at any time.