Host: Mandana Bassiri, Director of Administration and Finance 

Opportunity: We would like someone to help with the Faculty Affairs Portfolio. For example, draft out our promotion guidelines and establish the process for portfolio reviews. (Specific Project)

Time Commitment: 3 hours/ week for a total of 60 hours 

Dates: September 19, 2024 – March 19, 2025  

Exchange Objectives:

• Collaborate with the HR team on best practices used at McGill and/or peer institutions in order to identify gaps in our current Faculty Affairs procedures. 
• With the guidance of myself, the Dean and other management staff, the Participant will create new procedures/documentation.  
• The Participant will gain experience in working with senior management in general, but also specifically in relation to SCS faculty affaires (not the same as Tenure Track faculty). 

Tasks Involved:

• Researching Faculty Affairs/Academic Personnel processes currently being used in the University and also best practices in peer institutions. 
• Collecting internal document and draft process (e.g., promotion guidelines for CAS faculty) 
• Consulting with stakeholders on the draft and make required changes. 

Targeted Skills and Experience: 

• Writing
• Policy Development
• Presentations
• Administrative Tasks
• Advising
• Experience working in a decanal (Dean) office and on academic personnel administration. 

Host: Mona Sabouri, Human Resources Advisor 

Opportunity: Join our HR team and help us promote employee wellness and recognition. (Specific Project)

Time Commitment: 3 hours/ week for a total of 60 hours 

Dates: September 19, 2024 – March 19, 2025 

Exchange Objectives:

• Main goal: to foster a supportive and open environment where employees feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and concerns, HR can help build a sense of trust and connection that is critical for strong employee engagement. 
• Specific Tasks: 
• Attend the monthly Health, Safety & Wellness committee meetings:  

Report back to HR advisor with a summary of findings, especially areas of relevance to HR (i.e. employee wellness and recognition),  

Suggest how HR could address issues or concerns,  

Take on responsibilities to support HR goal and unit. 

• Participate in the Social Committee meetings and activities:  

Support HR goal by partaking in brainstorming sessions for future social committee events,  

Participate in event planning which support the HR goal and unit. 

• The employee will be encouraged to share their own suggestions with the HR team at CMARC. 

Tasks Involved:

• Participate in the planning of the employee recognition ceremony (to be launched in December 2024). 
• Be in communication with nominees and nominators. 
• Conduct a short interview(s) with winner(s) and write short biographies of winner(s) to be posted on our website. 

Targeted Skills and Experience:

• Public Speaking/ Marketing
• Writing
• Event Planning
• Administrative Tasks
• Research
• Teamwork and team building 
• Comfortable sharing ideas in discussion circles 

Host: Crystal Noronha, Manager of Student Affairs 

Opportunity: Student Affairs Curriculum Support (Specific Project) 

Time Commitment: 2 hours/ week for a total of 50 hours 

Dates: September 19, 2024 – March 19, 2025 

Exchange Objectives:

• Connect with various team members to gain a perspective of the working of a clinical based program.
• Learn more about student affairs, including processes and procedures in support of student progress and success.
• Collaborate with the unit to provide their perspective on processes to support continuous improvement.

Tasks Involved: 

• Map out the curriculum scheduling process within the unit to help identify areas to improve efficiency and effectiveness and offer recommendations for improvement;
• Learn new scheduling software (One45); provide support for new curriculum implementation;
• Share your existing transferable skills and perspectives to enhance processes.

Targeted Skills and Experience: 

• Policy Implementation
• Project Development
• Administrative Tasks
• Advising
• Attention to detail
• Desire to learn more about Process Mapping/Process Improvement

Host: Marcy Slapcoff, Director, Office of Science Education (OSE) 

Opportunity: Job Shadow the Director (and possibly other members of the Office of Science Education) (Job Shadowing Host)

Time Commitment: 2-3 hours/ week for a total of 30 hours 

Dates: September 19, 2024 – March 19, 2025 (TBC) 

Exchange Objectives:

• This could include partaking in activities for undergrads, TAs and/or professors; joining in on planning meetings for the OSE team; sitting in on meetings with Chairs or other administrators. 
• Observe how McGill's Office of Science Education functions as its team members collaborate with students, faculty and staff. 
• Participate in activities or learning communities on various topics (could be inquiry guided learning, assessment, neuroscience-informed strategies for learning, undergraduate research, etc.) 

Tasks Involved:

• Tasks may be assigned as appropriate and as they arise in the course of the program. 

Targeted Skills and Experience: 

• Writing
• Project Development
• Event Planning
• Administrative Tasks

Host: Gillian Nycum, Registrar and Executive Director - Enrolment Services 

Opportunity: Job Shadowing within Enrolment Services (Job shadowing Host)

Time Commitment: 2-3 hours/ week for a total of 30 hours 

Dates: September 19, 2024 – March 19, 2025  

Exchange Objectives:

• Job Shadowing where possible. 
• Mentoring / coaching; guidance as to governance. 
• Learn how Enrolment Services (ES) works. 

Tasks Involved: 

• Tasks may be assigned as appropriate and as they arise in the course of the program.

Targeted Skills and Experience: 

• Policy Implementation
• Policy Development
• Event Planning
• Presentations
• Leadership  
• Facilitation 

Host: Candace Miller, Associate Director, Analysis and Planning 

Opportunity: Supporting Data Governance for Research Administration (Specific Project)

Time Commitment: 3 hours/ week for a total of 54 hours 

Dates: October 1, 2024 – March 19, 2025 

Exchange Objectives:

• Support data governance at the VPRI: facilitate better data management and governance by clearly defining terms used in data management systems, analyses, reports and other documentation. 
• Document organizational knowledge: capture and document the knowledge and terminology used with the organization to preserve institutional knowledge 
• Foster collaboration: encourage cross-department collaboration by establishing a shared understanding of business terms by building consensus among data holding units. 
• Promote continuous improvement: establish a process for updating and maintaining the glossary to reflect changes in business processes and terminology. 
• Enhance training and onboarding: provide a valuable resource for training new employees and for ongoing professional development. 

Tasks Involved:

• Plan and draft a glossary of key terms and definitions, in collaboration with key stakeholders. 
• Review and summarize existing documentation into a cohesive document. 
• Develop a process for validation and approval of terminology. 
• Monthly reporting to the VPRI Data Governance Working Group. 
• Train internal data consumers. 

Targeted Skills and Experience:

• Writing
• Project Development
• Knowledge of data governance 
• Research administration and research data management 

Host: Susan Ajersch, Associate Director, Career and Professional Development 

Opportunity: Professional Exchange Opportunity at McGill's Career Planning Service (Specific Project & Job Shadowing Host)

Time Commitment: 2-3 hours/ week for a total of 50 hours 

Dates: September 19, 2024 – February 28, 2025 

Exchange Objectives: 

• Shadowing Experience: Gain insight into the daily operations and best practices of the career planning service through shadowing experienced staff members. 
• Employment Equity Skill Building: Enhance understanding and application of employment equity principles in career development and service delivery, drawing on research, benchmarking, and/or personal knowledge/experiences to inform and enrich these efforts. 
• Event Planning Experience: Gain practical experience planning and executing events, particularly for Canada Career Month. 
• Networking Opportunities: Build professional relationships with career planning staff, students, and external partners. 

Tasks Involved: 

1. Shadowing Staff Members: Spend time observing and learning from various career advisors and staff members to understand their roles and responsibilities. 
2. Employment Equity Initiatives: Participate in initiatives and develop resources and strategies to support diverse student populations. 
3. Event Support: Assist in the planning, promoting, and executing events, particularly those related to Canada Career Month. 
4. Resource Development: Help in the creation and refinement of some career development materials, ensuring they are inclusive and considerate of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) principles. 

Targeted Skills and Experience:

• Public Relations/ Marketing
• Writing
• Project Development
• Social Media
• Event Planning
• Presentations
• Research
• Leadership 
• Advising 
• Networking / Employer relations 

Host: Lara Pereira, Controller 

Opportunity: Business Process Analyst (Specific Project)

Time Commitment: 3.38 (half-day) hours/ week for a total of 60 hours 

Dates: September 19, 2024 – March 19, 2025 

Exchange Objectives:

• Efficiency Improvement: Identify inefficiencies in specific business processes and streamline workflows to improve productivity. 
• Leverage technology: Explore existing tools available to the university (Teams workflows, Co-pilot or other preapproved AI) to identify ways they can be incorporated into business processes. 
• Compliance and risk management: Identify improvements to processes to ensure compliance with controls and mitigate risks of wrong/poor data in the system. 

Tasks Involved:

1. Validate previously identified processes for optimization or automation (2-3 have already been identified). 
2. Consult with team to identify other processes or workflows ripe for optimization or automation. This will require establishing criteria to evaluate which processes can be optimized and considering the scope of processes that can be optimized during the period of the exchange program. 
3. Scope out tools that can be used for optimization. This may require consulting with other teams or units that have been successful in adapting existing tools to optimize workflows. Tools may include automation (software), leveraging or improving existing system controls, creating job aids or training for parties to a process, monitoring tools for compliance/adherence to processes. 
4. Create a plan for process optimization. 
5. Implement the plan. 

Targeted Skills and Experience:

• Project Development
• Administrative Tasks

Host: Karrie-Noelle Plohman, Associate Director – Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) 

Opportunity: Development of a Staff Mentorship Program for Indigenous and People of Colour (POC) Identifying Staff (Specific Project)

Time Commitment: 3 hours/ week for a total of 60 hours 

Dates: September 19, 2024 – March 19, 2025 

Exchange Objectives:

1. Review research findings conducted by Desautels in the 2023-24 academic year; further research into best practices may be required. 
2. Contact established connections (both internal and external to McGill) for further information related to best practices for staff mentorship programs at academic institutions. 
3. Develop, and write, a proposal for a staff mentorship program for Indigenous & People of Colour (POC) identifying staff.

Tasks Involved:

1. Conducting research 
2. Networking with internal and external university contacts 
3. Write a program proposal 
4. Meet regularly with host and other contacts who are supporting the project 
5. If time permits, participate in a listening session/focus group 

Targeted Skills and Experience:

• Writing
• Policy Development
• Project Development
• Event Planning
• Presentations
• Administrative Tasks
• Research
• Advising
• Solid understanding of equity, diversity and inclusion, and empathy 
• Critical thinking  
• Willingness to engage in challenging conversations related to sensitive topics 

Host: Andrea Di Stefano, Manager Registration, Programs & Degree Evaluation

Opportunity: Support development of the Course Catalogue: McGill's new academic information website (Specific Project & Job Shadowing Host)

Time Commitment: 3 hours/ week for a total of 60 hours 

Dates: September 19, 2024 – March 19, 2025 

Exchange Objectives:

• Ensuring a successful April 2025 launch of the new Course Catalogue academic website by reviewing programs, courses, academic unit info, and University regulations. 
• Gaining familiarity with our review and publication processes, and how our team supports academic units' advising and student affairs activities and goals. 
• Sharing your perspective and knowledge with the team and contributing your unique skillset to the success of an important University-wide project implementation. 

Tasks Involved:

• Helping to test and provide feedback on the new Course Catalogue, scheduled for implementation in April 2025: reviewing courses & programs to ensure they're aligned with approval documentation; reviewing academic content for formatting and stylistic consistency. 
• Supporting the transition of academic content on other academic units' websites across McGill (WMS) to ensure a seamless experience for students and advisors. 
• Supporting other units within Enrolment Services (Class Scheduling team, Student Records team, Government Reporting team, PBPQ financial support review team) in ongoing collaboration on different processes. 

Targeted Skills and Experience:

• Writing
• Project Development
• Web Content Development
• Administrative Tasks
• Report generation (SQL queries) 
• User acceptance testing (UAT) 
• Markup languages (HTML, CSS)