Administrative Coordinator

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Primary Purpose

The Administrative Coordinator provides administrative and operational support to the Director, Administrative Officer, Executive Assistant, and the School of Optometry and Vision Science. This role ensures the efficient coordination of the Director’s Office, supports academic and strategic initiatives, and contributes to the effective delivery of administrative services across the School. The position facilitates communication, maintains critical records and processes, and supports faculty lifecycle activities, events, and facilities coordination to achieve the School’s academic, research, and operational objectives.

Key Accountabilities

• Administrative Support for the Director
  • Assists the Executive Assistant in maintaining the Director’s schedule, including coordinating meetings, prioritizing requests, and handling confidential matters.
  • Prepares agendas, documentation, correspondence, and meeting minutes to support decision-making and follow-up.
  • Maintains electronic platform (eg. SharePoint) where best practices and relevant guidance documents are shared with faculty and staff, at the direction of the Executive Assistant.
  • Provides administrative support for program reviews, including requesting data and preparing and summarizing statistical reports.
  • Assists in the preparation of documentation and presentations for internal and external audiences related to the School.
  • Responsible for maintaining an accurate and up-to-date record of all Optometry personnel.
  • Supports faculty recruitment, appointments, tenure and promotion, and sabbatical processes as required with direction from the Executive Assistant.
• Office Administration
  • As first point of contact, responds promptly and professionally to in-person, email, and telephone inquiries; directs inquiries to appropriate people/departments, manages shared email inboxes.
  • Maintains an up-to-date listing of contacts and term contact lists for Optometry.
  • Purchases and maintains office supply inventory using department purchasing card and WatProcure.
  • Distributes daily mail to faculty, staff, and students and prepares shipping documents as required.
  • Supports the leadership team on special projects as needed.
  • Supports the academic team with administrative processes (eg, exam printing and pick-up, student key distribution, etc.).
  • Maintains the meeting room calendars and resolves any booking conflicts within the school.
• Facilities and Operations
  • Reports and tracks all building maintenance issues to Plant Operations and arranges for building repairs and maintenance as necessary.
  • Maintains and monitors the door schedule for the School & liaises with IST to keep them informed of events and changes to school access hours.
  • Issues key permits to incoming faculty/staff/students and visitors, and records/manages permit data to ensure accurate tracking and compliance with Key Control procedure.
  • Manages key and fob assignments, including distribution and collection.
  • Assists the Administrative Officer with office space allocation.
  • Maintains an internal space inventory and room availability e-record for all office and research spaces within the building.
  • Primary contact for signing out Optometry van keys to students and staff for clinical placements and outreach activities.
  • Supports the Health and Safety Committee by scheduling meetings and minute-taking, maintaining first-aid kits, bulletin boards and completing safety inspections as required.
• Event Support
  • Assists and supports various team members across the school, providing logistical support and day-of-event support as required.
  • Assists with coordinating meetings and ordering catering for staff/faculty meetings or events; may assist with the event setup and take down as needed.
  • Assists with issuing parking permits for events.

Required Qualifications

• Education
  • Undergraduate degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience
  • 2–4 years of administrative experience, preferably in an academic environment.
  • Experience supporting senior leadership and handling confidential information.
  • Experience coordinating events or academic processes is an asset.
• Knowledge/Skills/Abilities
  • Strong organizational and time management skills.
  • Excellent communication and attention to detail.
  • Ability to handle confidential information with discretion.
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office and database systems.
  • Strong interpersonal and problem-solving skills.

Nature and Scope

• Contacts: Regular interaction with faculty, staff, students, leadership, and external stakeholders.
• Level of Responsibility: Individual contributor responsible for coordinating administrative processes.
• Decision-Making Authority: Exercises judgment in scheduling, prioritization, and escalation of issues.
• Physical and Sensory Demands: Office work requires attention to detail and multitasking.
• Working Environment: Office-based academic environment with peak periods during events and academic cycles.

Equity Statement

The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is coordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations.

The University values the diverse and intersectional identities of its students, faculty, and staff. The University regards equity and diversity as an integral part of academic excellence and is committed to accessibility for all employees. The University of Waterloo seeks applicants who embrace our values of equity, anti-racism and inclusion. As such, we encourage applications from candidates who have been historically disadvantaged and marginalized, including applicants who identify as First Nations, Métis and/or Inuk (Inuit), Black, racialized, a person with a disability, women and/or 2SLGBTQ+.

Positions are open to qualified candidates who are legally entitled to work in Canada. The University of Waterloo is committed to accessibility for persons with disabilities. If you have any application, interview, or workplace accommodation requests, please contact Human Resources at hrhelp@uwaterloo.ca or 519-888-4567, ext. 45935.