Manager, Administrative and Front Line Advising (Registrar’s Office)

Closed for Applications

Position Title:	Manager, Administrative and Front Line Advising
Office:	Registrar’s Office
Category:	PM4
Supervisor	Registrar and Director of Student Advising
Hours:	35-hour work week. Regular office hours. Occasional evenings and weekends for special events.
Compensation:	$129,581 – $135,000
Pay Band:	PM4
Terms:	Full-time permanent position (in-person)
Posting date:	July 11, 2025
Closing date:	August 10, 2025
Apply to:	Hr.stmikes@utoronto.ca Attention: Human Resources (please include position title in subject line of email when submitting curriculum vitae and cover letter).  Informal questions can be addressed to irene.morra@utoronto.ca.

 ABOUT ST. MICHAEL’S COLLEGE

The University of St. Michael’s College boasts a diverse and vibrant community of over 5,400 undergraduate students registered within the Faculty of Arts & Science at the world-renowned University of Toronto.

The College is home to students enrolled across a full range of the undergraduate courses and programs offered in the Faculty of Arts & Science. It also sponsors four acclaimed interdisciplinary programs (Book & Media Studies, Celtic Studies, Christianity and Culture, Medieval Studies) and numerous first-year courses. These courses and programs are open to all students in the Faculty of Arts & Science and are grounded in the interdisciplinary strengths, intellectual history, and special collections and resources housed within the College.

St. Michael’s College is home to one of the busiest and most popular libraries on the St. George campus; to an acclaimed art collection; to a Print Studio featuring a variety of working historic printing presses; to an Academic Success Centre housing dedicated supports in writing, research, and learning strategy; and to a dynamic community of student groups and clubs. It is also home to a recognized community of supportive faculty, fellows, and librarians who teach across various subjects at UofT and who participate actively in the provision of mentorship, research, and co-curricular opportunities for undergraduates.

Located in the downtown core only steps away from the Royal Ontario Museum, Queen’s Park, and the two main subway lines, St. Michael’s College offers a “home away from home” to commuter and resident students alike. Renowned for its beautiful historic grounds and peaceful campus setting, it is home to a variety of residence buildings that range from historic old houses to more modern constructions. The College provides a unique residence experience to over 650 undergraduate students and an atmosphere of a friendly and characterful neighbourhood to all students across a variety of spaces that include a library late-night café, a Wellness Studio, and a basketball court.

Committed to supporting and empowering students in all aspects of their university experience, St. Michael’s continues to build upon its informing strengths in teaching and scholarly excellence, academic support, interdisciplinary exploration, and the provision of a close-knit community that recognizes the uniqueness of every student’s journey. It thrives on the energy and engagement of a student community encouraged to explore, discover, and apply their learning, ambition, and curiosity to an active engagement with the wider community. Never complacent in this commitment to the student experience and ever-responsive to the enlivening potential of challenge and initiative, St. Michael’s is embarking upon a renewed investment in key areas of student support.

THE REGISTRAR’S OFFICE AT ST. MICHAEL’S COLLEGE

St. Michael’s College is dedicated to challenging, supporting, and empowering in each student their potential to explore and fulfill a full sense of academic engagement (and thus achievement) in the broadest, most transformative sense. The Registrar’s Office is central to this definition of the College experience to students, to the College as a whole, and to the larger university and alumni community.

The Registrar’s Office is the essential centre of 1-1 personalized advising and referral for SMC students on a variety of complex, ever-evolving, and often individual matters related to their academic experience. As the leader of that Office, the Registrar and Director of Student Advising also manages the Manager, Student Wellness and acts as the central touchpoint for embedded on-location services (Accessibility Advisor; Career Advisor; Wellness Counsellor; Learning Strategist). The Registrar and Director of Student Advising is a prominent senior leader and representative of the undergraduate College experience within the College and within the Faculty of Arts & Science and the University of Toronto.

St. Michael’s College recognizes that the expertise and critical engagement of the Registrar’s Office staff with the intersection between individual student experience, University policy and supports, and College community provide an essential resource for the support of the larger strategic direction and leadership of St. Michael’s as a whole. In recognition of the complex challenges, needs, and opportunities inherent in the contemporary university student experience, it is looking to invest and build upon the strengths of its current office.

With portfolios currently dedicated to student services, financial aid, awards, and recruitment, St. Michael’s College will be supporting these areas with greater vigour and an extra level of dedicated leadership in the form of two new managerial hires (Manager, Administrative and Front Line Advising; Manager, Academic Advising and Engagement) and a new Associate hire (Recruitment and Transition) to be phased in by no later than the end of 2025 as space renovations are completed. These hires will join an office that currently consists of one Associate Registrar II, two Associate Registrars with portfolio, four Academic Advisors with portfolio (formerly “Assistant Registrars”), and three Front Line Advisors. The Office is investing proactively in areas of student advising and support that prioritize academic advising; first-year transition; upper-year transition and career/grad school planning; holistic support and referral; co-curricular academic and experiential learning; strategic awards planning; and the critical analysis of data, trends, and policy in order to inform ongoing strategic directions.

POSITION SUMMARY

Under the direction of the Registrar and Director of Student Advising, the Manager, Administrative and Front Line Advising will perform a leading role within the office of one of the largest Colleges within the Faculty of Arts & Science. Senior experience as an Associate Registrar in one of the Colleges within the Faculty of Arts & Science would provide ideal experience for this role. The successful candidate will have a strong understanding of the value of the College system and the role of the College Registrar’s offices within the Faculty of Arts & Science and the University of Toronto. They will possess exceptional skills and experience in 1-1 student academic advising; process management; financial management and oversight (especially of awards and financial aid); the use of IT applications, services and tools relevant to registrarial staff; collegial staff management and/or training; and reporting and analysis of statistical and financial information. This experience will ensure that the candidate can also play a critical role in helping to inform strategic planning within the College.

Personable, collaborative, and collegial across all levels, quietly and effectively confident in their leadership and expertise, the successful candidate will be expected to manage and supervise a team of advisors ranging from senior Associate level to entry-level Front Line Advisors. They will be responsible for the senior-level training and direct management of any new staff under their portfolio and for the effective documentation and management of process and procedures. They will help to strategize and lead, develop, and oversee the implementation of change and special projects including but not limited to awards programs, workshops, and seminars. They will be expected to model – in leadership practice, knowledge, advising approach, and programming initiatives – a proactive and holistic approach to student advising, with an emphasis on enabling student success as defined by circumstances and expectations unique to each individual.

As Manager of the Front Line advisors, the successful candidate will be responsible for training and managing an efficient, personable, and thoroughly informed team to an advanced level. The College aims to empower its Front Line advisors into a confident advising of students beyond transactional exchange. The Front Line team will also be thoroughly conversant with how and when to make appropriate referrals within or outside of the office and how best to maintain and process documents, transactional materials, and records. As Manager of the Associate Registrar, Awards and Financial Aid and the Academic Advisor, Fees and Financial Aid, the successful candidate will also help to coordinate workflow and to oversee the management of the daily operation of the fees, awards, and financial aid portfolio. The candidate will be expected to advise students on complex financial aid matters, bursaries, awards, budgeting, and personal financial management. They will be expected to produce complex statistical and/or financial reports and to oversee a considerable awards and financial aid budget. In that context, they will also act as a senior administrative point of contact with the Advancement office in relation to donor-funded awards and sources of financial aid. More generally, they will initiate and oversee any conversations around areas for improvement and/or opportunities for growth, expansion, or revision of current administrative practices.

In keeping with the Office’s collective emphasis on the importance of 1-1 advising and with the seniority of the position, the candidate may be responsible for some of the more complex student cases in the office, dealing with ongoing and complicated scenarios that demand an exceptional knowledge of policies and procedures – and a strong familiarity with the support and referral structures within the College and various departments within and across the Faculty of Arts & Science and the University of Toronto.

As a senior member of the Registrar’s managerial team, the candidate will be expected to advise strategically on initiatives and projects informed by statistical data and an overall mandate to ensure individual, proactive support of students who come from a variety of socio-economic and cultural backgrounds and often with complex needs and expectations.

This is a permanent appointment.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree. Master’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Experience

• Minimum six years of intensive academic advising experience to undergraduates within a university environment.
• Minimum four years of senior administrative experience within a university environment.
• Proven experience in managing an awards portfolio.
• Detailed knowledge of university record systems, IT applications, policies, and procedures.
• Extensive experience in supporting and advising students on complex academic, interpersonal, and financial issues.
• Extensive experience in and evidence of strategic, sophisticated collection and analysis of data across a variety of IT applications, services and tools.
• Experience in working collaboratively across units and departments, including those not specifically dedicated to academic advising.
• Senior-level experience in university admissions.
• Experience in financial reporting and budget management.
• Experience in successful management, supervision, and/or leading of staff, preferably in a unionized environment.
• Extensive experience in strategic and creative seeking-out of information through specialized tools/IT applications and from multiple sources.
• Senior-level experience presenting data in formal or informal settings.
• Senior-level experience in management of confidential information and thorough familiarity with data retention and management policies and procedures.
• Experience working within a College Registrar’s Office in the Faculty of Arts & Science a strong asset.

Skills

• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.
• Exceptional 1-1 advising skills.
• Excellent research, analytical, and reporting skills.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills: ability to manage details and implement and document process and procedures while maintaining a broader, strategic
• Proven ability to manage and refer complex crisis-level situations and to manage unpredictable or urgent problems.
• Excellent project management skills: proven ability to devise and direct large-scale projects.
• Advanced ability to create and edit documents in, but not restricted to, Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point,
• Advanced expertise and skills with ROSI/ACORN, Degree Explorer, and other similar enterprise database solutions/CRM systems.
• Senior-level ability to produce detailed and efficient process and/or procedure materials for onboarding and/or transition planning.
• Collaborative and consultative approach with managers and staff at all levels.
• Proven ability to manage, maintain, and report a financial budget.
• Exceptional individual and team management skills: proven ability to mentor and to lead change.
• A high level of muscular coordination and/or manual dexterity for precise processing of a variety of documents or inputting data where corrections are permitted after the fact.
• Demonstrated initiative; conscientious, tactful, and diplomatic.
• Exceptional independent work habits and organizing strengths.
• Exceptional knowledge of the Registrarial process from recruitment to graduation.

We thank all applicants for their interest.  Only those considered for an interview will be contacted.

The University of St. Michael’s College is strongly committed to diversity within its community and especially welcomes applications from racialized persons/persons of colour, women, Indigenous/Aboriginal people of North America, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ persons, and others who may contribute to further diversification of ideas. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

If you require accessibility accommodation, please contact Human Resources at 416.926.7101 or hr.stmikes@utoronto.ca.