Term: 1 year

The Co-op Service Specialist is an advocate for the University of Waterloo’s Co-operative and Experiential Education programs. The Specialist supports students, employers, and alumni through our core employment process and coaches them on co-op policies, interview procedures, and WaterlooWorks, our job administration system, in accordance to the University of Waterloo’s Service Promise, values, equity, diversity, and inclusion. The Specialist supports students and employers in their efforts to develop and retain talent for a complex future. The Co-op Service Specialist provides comprehensive, frontline service, while striving for first contact resolution.

Service Delivery

• First point of contact within CEE for employers and students. Delivers service across the CEE Portfolio in accordance to the University’s Service Promise, Values and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
• Supports students, employers, and alumni on inquiries from across the CEE portfolio related to our core employment process, co-op policies, WaterlooWorks, and escalates them to other campus resources as required
• Liaises with CEE service team members to triage inquiries, when first contact resolution is not possible
• Meets clearly defined, targeted service standards (i.e., first contact resolution, response time, quality of communications, interview day experience, etc.)
• Monitors and responds to inquiries across an integrated network of communications
• Proactively identifies ways to enhance student, employer, and alumni experience beyond immediate request, by providing information and resources about our evolving co-op and experiential education programs
• Interprets student, employer, and alumni records and co-op policies and procedures, to assess stakeholder needs, and navigates conversations of a confidential nature
• Collates information from multiple resources to provide comprehensive service

Administration, Operations, Systems Support

• Monitors student and employer interviews, daily interview logistics, and troubleshoots interview process issues and webcam technologies for issue resolution
• Accountable for accuracy of interactions, that will be analyzed to identify trends to support data-driven, informed decisions
• Communicates interview day roster shifts, logistics, interview scheduling nuances, and special accommodations, to ensure readiness and preparation of next day interview success; provides clarification and basic training as necessary
• Administers support for requests to input or output data to and from WaterlooWorks to support students, employers, and alumni. The scope of these requests can vary from an individual record request to a collective document capturing multiple records
• Provide international support and the execution of critical, mandatory, and confidential student documents required for international travel for co-op work/study terms
• Responsible for building accessibility and logistics prior to core business hours and liaises with external security personnel, to facilitate a smooth experience for students and employers
• Executes temporary, additional work for a limited time within or outside the direct scope of role, to support Co-op Services unit, other CEE units, and campus partners

Stakeholder Support & Continuous Improvement

• Monitors CEE Hub requests to identify issue trends related to process, technology, or user that require escalation to the Assistant Service Manager coaches
• Guides students, employers, and alumni on best practices to contribute to interview success
• Supports students, employers, and alumni with various technologies (WaterlooWorks, multiple webcam platforms, paging system)
• Contributes to optimizing job match success by guiding students, employers, and alumni through the job rank and match process
• Escalates urgent, unresolved issues, following the path of escalation

Career Progression

Typically incumbents will begin the role as USG 5. To progress to the operating level of the role (USG 6) all required training must be complete and a full understanding of the institutional knowledge required to perform the role at operating level must be established. This base knowledge is required to proficiently resolve challenges that arise concerning these core accountabilities. At the operating level, additional responsibilities are assigned and include:

• Supports Assistant Service Manager with recruitment of new team members including co-op students, by participating in candidate selection and/or interviewing
• Mentors co-op student(s) in partnership with Assistant Service Manager, including providing regular feedback, participating in one-to-one meetings, and assisting with the completion of the student performance evaluation
• Trains new team members and supports them with learning the intricacies of the role, including the core employment process, WaterlooWorks technical support requirements, and resources available to support students, employers, and alumni
• Subject Matter Expert on the depth and breadth of CEE Hub processes and may participate in working groups
• Actively contributes and recommends areas of opportunity for continuous process improvements by supporting initiatives, other projects, and participating in meetings to better serve our stakeholders
• Support and maintain process documentation, to build a deep knowledge base of all processes, policies, and programs in CEE
• Pursues ongoing and relevant professional development opportunities and integrates learning in work and shares insights with team

• Completion of post-secondary education required; university undergraduate degree preferred
• Equivalent combination of education and/or experience will be considered
• Minimum 1-2 years of experience in a collaborative, team based, fast-paced, frontline service role, and/or administrative role, preferably in a post-secondary environment
• Experience with a customer administration/database system, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, or administration system (i.e., WaterlooWorks) strongly preferred
• Experience with unified communication platforms strongly preferred
• Knowledge of employment processes, recruitment, co-op programs, or policies and guidelines strongly preferred
• Experience in a mentorship role an asset
• Experience with Microsoft Office suite
• Ability to absorb information from multiple sources that is vast and diverse and often confidential in nature, synthesize it, and deliver it to varied audiences through information and data literacy
• Apply critical thinking when assessing a problem, to determine the best course of action and urgency, while using a high-degree of intuition and judgment
• Ability to self-manage, by focusing on positivity in the workplace, emotional management, coping with workplace pressures, and being receptive to feedback, while integrating it into future performance
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with a proven ability to build relationships and manage strong rapport with internal and external stakeholders as an effective communicator and collaborator
• Demonstrated technological agility to adapt to changing and evolving digital platforms to support our service
• Effective probing and triaging skills to respond to and resolve inquiries with stakeholders that requires a unique, targeted, case-by-case response
• Resilient to changing priorities and demands, requiring flexibility and adaptability when needing to pivot in a dynamic work environment
• Works well independently and in a team environment, with the ability to balance and support a team with fluctuating workload demands
• Ability to self-assess current skills with a commitment to lifelong learning and expanding and transferring knowledge and expertise to adapt with evolving business needs in the workplace

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 co-ordinated 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.