Updates from UBC
- September 6: UBC Bulletin: Leadership change within the Vice-President, Finance and Operations, portfolio
- September 6: UBC Broadcast: Welcome to the new academic year
- August 25: UBC Broadcast: Ensuring a safe start to the 2022/23 academic year
Updates from VPFO
- A message from Vice-President, Finance, Karamjeet Heer: Karamjeet has accepted a new position with SFU as their Associate Vice-President, Finance. Her last day with UBC will be October 31. As she works through the next months, Karamjeet’s responsibilities as Comptroller will be moving to Matt Boydston. Her interim role as Vice-President, Finance, will be transitioning to Yale Loh. Read Karamjeet’s full message
Operations updates
Facilities
Building Operations, Custodial Services, Customer Services & Informatics, Energy & Water Services, Infrastructure Development, and Municipal Services
- Update on the UBC Hydrogen Fueling Station: Facilities recently assembled the Hydrogen Fueling Station’s canopy, which will provide weather protection for the hydrogen dispenser users during fueling and visitors at the plaza. Read about the project and see photos on the Facilities website.
Finance
Comptroller, Finance & Operational Excellence and Treasury
- Period-End Dates: The period-end dates for the remainder of this fiscal year are now available on the UBC Finance website as a PDF and on the Month End / Year End Important Dates feed.
- Claiming unidentified wire transfers and direct deposit: Please check through the list of unidentified wire transfers and direct deposits (updated as of September 1) to see if any payments belong to your department.
Operations & Advising
Communications & Engagement, Human Resources, and Safety & Risk Services
- Pedestrian safety on campus: Safety practices for walking are just as important as those for riding on a bus or in a car. Visit the Safety & Risk Services website for some simple road safety guidelines to prevent pedestrian injuries.
- Driving safely on campus: Driving safely on and around UBC campuses is essential. To help, Safety & Risk Services have put together some basic safety guidelines to ensure a safe campus, and remember, the pedestrian always has the right of way. Learn more
- New photos of the UBC Hydrogen Fueling Station: VPFO Communications & Engagement recently did a photo shoot of the canopy steel structure of the Hydrogen Fueling Station project. Visit the VPFO Flickr album for photos.
- Key dates for employee transactions: Please complete all transaction entries & approvals for employees receiving merit increases on their base pay that are being loaded by the ISC by Sept 12. Do not enter any transactions between Sept 12 to Oct 7 to minimize the risk of errors. Learn more
- Helping new hires navigate the benefits enrolment process: UBC HR has developed a new Benefits Enrolment Guide that will be shared automatically with new hires through their onboarding process. Access the guide
People of the VPFO
Shout outs
At the VPFO, we love celebrating success! Join us every week in recognizing the great work our VPFO team members are doing to support the university.
Facilities
- Charlie Ryu, Service Worker: Since early 2019, the Integrated Renewal Program team was based out of the Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada (F.E.R.I.C.) building and was serviced by UBC Custodial Services. As the IRP relocates to a different location, they expressed thanks for the wonderful care and attention their Building Service Worker, Charlie Ryu has provided over the past 3.5 years.“Charlie is a Rockstar! IRP has been so fortunate to have Charlie as part of our team. No matter the task, he is always up for the challenge. Thank you so much for all of your hard work and for always approaching the day with a smile. We will miss you!”
- Scott Runquist, Project Coordinator: Shout out to Scott for all your work ensuring that classroom maintenance (Classtrek) is completed in anticipation of the start of term. Every year students can enjoy improved learning spaces as a result of all your hard work. Thank you!
- Bert Tempel Jr., Project Coordinator: Kudos to Bert for your excellent work on coordinating a very tricky theatre furniture installation in Chemistry C124 and C126. Having you come in over the weekend to ensure that all the work went smoothly made all the difference. The Learning Spaces Team is very excited to be able to have these two renovated theatres ready for start of term!
- Noel McNally, Project Manager & Victor Wong, Project Coordinator – Shout out to Noel and Victor for your hard work on the MacLeod Building Renewal project! This project had so many challenges related to equipment delays for the AV systems in our classrooms. Thanks for the extra attention that was needed to pull it all together. We are now all ready for classes!
Finance & Operational Excellence
- Wade Noseworthy, Payroll Team Lead – Shout out to Wade for moving heaven and earth to get a pay cheque out to a new employee in an extremely expedient fashion. Thanks to you Wade for making a new employee feel welcome and a part of the team.
- David Pepin, Operational Excellence Knowledge Transfer Manager – Kudos to David for coaching ~100 Yellow and Green Belt participants through their Lean Six Sigma certifications, and for planning and delivering the ongoing Lean Six Sigma celebration and Community of Practice events. Great job, David!
- Di Wang, Procurement & Logistics Processor – Shout out to Di for your commitment to getting the PST Audit PO/Contract compilation task completed in such a structured and timely fashion in addition to your regular work! Thanks, Di!
Well done! Want to give someone a shout out in the next edition? Email communications@vpfo.ubc.ca
People in motion
- Sandy Zarka will be taking a personal leave from October 1, 2022, to April 1, 2023. While she’s away, Holly Rail will step up into the role of VPFO Manager Administration. She will also be the Board Coordinator for the VPFO, as well as the Executive Assistant to the Interim VP, Finance.
- Pamela Troyer joins Project Services within Infrastructure Development in Facilities as Project Manager today. In her new role, Pamela will manage projects for the renewal of university facilities, and engage with stakeholders to guide them through the development process and project implementation.
- Best wishes to Hilde Schepens, Project Manager for Project Services within Infrastructure Development, Facilities, for a happy and restful maternity leave!
- Grace Cheng and Luyue Zhang join Payroll within Finance & Operational Excellence as WL W22 Payroll Assistants today.
- Evan Le Gal joins the Construction Office within Infrastructure Development, Facilities today as Trades 2 – Carpenter.
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:
- Truck Driver Medium/Labourer (JR9393) – 9/14/2022
- JR9446) – 9/21/2022
- Fleet & Asset Manager (JR9380) – 9/14/2022
- ISC Functional Support Analyst (JR9345) – 09/15/2022
- Finance Analyst, Financial Planning & Analysis (JR9507) – 9/15/2022
- Service Centre (ISC) Representative (JR9447) – 9/21/2022
- Service Centre (ISC) Representative (JR9446) – 9/21/2022
- Digital Payments Manager (JR9481) – 9/25/2022
Don’t forget to apply as an internal candidate! Please review the Apply for an Internal Job Posting guide 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.
Other notable updates
Are you prepared for an emergency?
Stop by the Emergency Management booth on Imagine UBC on September 6 to learn more about emergency preparedness and the resources available to plan and prepare for emergency situations. Visit us on September 7 and 8 to ride the Quake Cottage, an earthquake simulator to provide an educational experience of what it is like to go through a major earthquake and how to prepare.
- September 6: Find our Emergency Preparedness booth on Imagine UBC @ Main Mall, 1:00-4:00 p.m.
- September 7-8: Find our Emergency Preparedness booth and ride the Quake Cottage, an earthquake simulator @ University Commons outside the Nest, 10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
Workday Release on September 10
The next Workday release will include changes to the Global Navigation Menu, including shortcuts and applications, as well as other updates that may affect our HR, Payroll, and Finance processes. A summary of the upcoming changes is on the ISC website.
EDI – Labor Day: Honoring Work & Work-Life Balance
The first Monday in September has been an official holiday in Canada since 1894. It is a day of rest and celebration of the accomplishments of the labour movement.
The origins of Labour Day come from the movement to establish a 9-hour work day (the standard was a 12-hour work day and a 6-day work week) and a strike by printers in Toronto in the spring of 1872 to get it.
In this week’s EDI article, read about the history of Labour Day and the latest career trend of “Quiet Quitting”.
Attend the IRP Student Virtual Town Hall
Learn more about UBC’s mission to launch Workday Student – the anchor of our renewed student information system
On October 3, 2022, the Integrated Renewal Program – Student will host a virtual town hall where you can:
- Hear from University leadership about the future of UBC, and get answers to your questions
- Learn when UBC will move to the new student information system and how you will be supported
- Get to know more about the current solutions and where you can learn more about the changes coming
Visit the IRP website for more information, including event details.
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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.
- We hope everyone has had a chance to take some time off and relax over the summer! Post-vacation blues are very real, and to help you cope, here are some relatable memes that capture the pain of returning to work after vacation.
- Struggling to get your point across in meetings? Try these 5 tips, available on FastCompany.
- Pumpkin Spice Latte fans, the wait is finally over — Starbucks has launched its highly anticipated fall menu across Canada. Happy Fall!
Managing your mental health
HR has collected mental health resources to help you manage your ups and downs. To view workshops, webinars and events visit the HR event listing.
Our VPFO HR staff is always available for a confidential conversation. Refer to this service map to connect with the HR Advisor supporting your area.
Access the Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) confidential services, through LifeWorks, by calling 1-866-424-0770.