Manager, ORCA

Organizational Status

ORCA is situated within the Learning Technology Innovation Centre (LTIC). The LTIC’s mandate is to catalyze and elevate learning technology application, innovation, and inquiry at UBC. Under academic leadership, LTIC is charged with meeting UBC’s needs for faculty and students in using and transforming learning technology, including playing a pivotal role in the support of Artificial Intelligence in research, development, and education, across the entirety of UBC

The ORCA Manager works with a high degree of independence under the general operational direction of the LTIC and the ORCA Academic Director. Strategic direction will be provided by the ORCA Academic Director. This position works in close collaboration with the ORCA Academic Director to develop ORCA’s strategic priorities, service model, partnership approach, policy framework, and growth plans. The position also works with academic unit leadership, course coordinators, and administrative partners to assess assessment needs, negotiate service arrangements, support implementation, and ensure ORCA services align with academic requirements and University standards.

The ORCA Manager develops and maintains effective working relationships with key campus partners, including academic units, Enrolment Services, the Centre for Accessibility, the Learning Technology Innovation Centre, Facilities Planning, Building Operations, UBC IT, faculty IT teams, the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology, and other units involved in assessment delivery, student support, technology, facilities, accessibility, and academic integrity.

This position will be required to participate in a shared on-call work rotation which may include work on some evenings or weekends.

Work Performed

Strategic Planning, Partnerships & Service Growth

• Develops and implements ORCA’s strategic roadmap, translating the vision of a UBC wide centralized assessment service into staged, fundable initiatives with measurable outcomes.
• Leads the expansion of ORCA into new faculties, buildings, and service models, including the identification and onboarding of new rooms, mobile testing infrastructure, and room variants tailored to discipline specific assessment needs.
• Engages prospective and subscribed academic and non-academic units to assess demand, including number and timing of assessments, enrolment volumes, accommodation profiles, and capacity requirements.
• Oversees development of strategy the CUPE 2950 staff will implement in the weekly and daily allocation of proctors including mitigation plans for medical emergencies and other urgent issues that arise in after-hours exams.
• Develops and negotiates Memoranda of Understanding/Agreement with faculties and academic units in collaboration with the Academic Director.
• Builds and maintains collaborative relationships with academic units, Enrolment Services, the Centre for Accessibility, the Learning Technology Innovation Centre, Facilities Planning, UBC IT, the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology, and other campus partners.
• Applies for internal and external grants to support operation and expansion of ORCA in collaboration with the ORCA Academic Director.
• Tracks usage, course adoption, faculty mix, and capacity utilization; prepares data analysis and program evaluation reports to support resource allocation, growth planning, and renewal of partnership agreements.
• Maintains ORCA facing communications, including the ORCA website, instructor portal and intake forms, training documentation, and marketing collateral for internal and external audiences.
• Represents ORCA and participates in discussions, projects, and initiatives in the online community of administrators running testing centers at other higher-education institutions in North America.

Requirements, Standards, Academic Integrity & Student Experience

• Develops, maintains, and continuously improves ORCA policies, SOPs, and operating protocols, including reservations, identity verification, network filtering, proctoring, accommodations, incident response, and academic misconduct procedures.
• Customizes ORCA policies and procedures to align with the academic requirements, assessment cultures, and governance structures of partner faculties, while maintaining consistent core standards across all ORCA spaces.
• Acts as a liaison between faculty members, course coordinators, and administrators and ORCA's advisory partners (e.g., Enrollment Services, Centre for Accessibility, Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology), directing inquiries to the appropriate unit and relaying guidance on UBC examination procedures, accommodation requirements, and ORCA-specific operating procedures.
• Manages the academic misconduct process in consultation with the Academic Director; analyzes misconduct trends and uses data to strengthen prevention measures, proctor training, room design, and operating procedures.
• Partners with the Centre for Accessibility to ensure that students with approved accommodations receive timely, appropriate, and dignified access to ORCA assessments.
• Manage student wellbeing across ORCA spaces by responding to critical incidents, including medical events, exam related distress, accessibility issues, and integrity concerns, and coordinating appropriate support, escalation, and follow up.
• Evaluates feedback from students, instructors, and proctors and uses it to drive continuous improvement to facilities, processes, and policies.

Operations, Facilities, Technology & Resource Management

• Manages end to end ORCA room development projects, including space scoping, equipment specification, furniture and partition configuration, network and security setup, and commissioning, in partnership with Facilities Planning, Building Operations, UBC IT, and faculty IT teams.
• Manages ORCA equipment and technology infrastructure, including workstations, document cameras, ID card readers, peripherals, and supported assessment platforms, ensuring systems are maintained and current.
• Partners with Building Operations and IT counterparts to proactively identify and resolve operational, technical, safety, accessibility, and facilities related issues.
• Leads annual budget planning and develops budget frameworks that allow ORCA to operate effectively within available resources while supporting controlled growth.
• Develops, implements, and administers ORCA’s funding and cost recovery model, including pilot subsidies, per-student or per-course pricing, billing, reconciliation, renewal cycles, and reporting to partner units.
• Oversees resource allocation, procurement, and vendor management for hardware, software, consumables, furniture, equipment, and proctoring related costs.
• Represents ORCA in budget, capital, and resource discussions as directed by the Academic Director.

People Leadership and Training

• Hires, trains, schedules, supervises, and evaluates ORCA management and unionized staff, including M&P, CUPE 2950, and CUPE 2278 TAs, invigilators/proctors.
• Designs and delivers training programs for proctors and operational staff covering check in procedures, identity verification, exam integrity, accommodation protocols, incident response, student wellbeing, and room specific procedures.
• Develops and maintains training manuals, SOPs, and reference documentation for ORCA staff, ensuring consistent service delivery while accounting for room specific and faculty specific requirements.
• Provides ongoing feedback, coaching, performance evaluation, professional development, and progressive discipline as appropriate, in accordance with collective agreements and UBC HR policies.
• Builds a service-oriented team culture grounded in fairness, accountability, professionalism, and care for both students and instructors.

Consequence of Error/Judgement

This role requires sound judgment, discretion, and strong operational decision making. Errors in planning, scheduling, staffing, technology coordination, accommodation delivery, academic misconduct handling, or room readiness may compromise assessment integrity, disrupt student progress, affect instructor confidence, create inequitable student experiences, or cause reputational harm to the University. Poor judgment in service agreements, costing, policy alignment, or stakeholder management may result in unsustainable commitments, budget pressures, inconsistent service delivery, or strained relationships with faculties and departments. Because ORCA supports high volume, high stakes academic assessments, the Manager must anticipate risk, respond quickly to incidents, maintain accurate documentation, and ensure processes are defensible, equitable, and consistently applied.

Supervision Received

The Manager works with a high degree of independence under the general operational direction of the Associate Director, Operational Strategy and Administration, LTIC, the ORCA Academic Director and the ORCA Operations Committee. Strategic direction will be provided by the ORCA Academic Director.

Supervision Given

The Manager supervises ORCA staff, including M&P, CUPE 2950 staff, CUPE 2278 invigilators, and other temporary, student, or casual staff assigned to ORCA. The Manager may also provide operational direction to staff from partner units when they are supporting ORCA related rooms, projects, pilots, or service activities.

Minimum Qualifications

Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline. Minimum of five years of related experience, or the equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own.

• Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working professionally in a post-secondary environment supporting academic programs, program administration, or student services.
• Familiarity with student information systems (e.g., Workday, or similar) and other academic administrative systems.
• Strong policy interpretation and application skills, including the ability to analyze complex situations and determine appropriate courses of action within departmental, Faculty, and institutional policies and procedures, including situations where policy guidance may be ambiguous.
• Demonstrated experience managing staff, including coaching, performance management, mentoring, and supporting the long-term learning and development of staff.
• Ability to interpret and apply collective agreements in a complex, unionized environment.
• Ability to identify issues and develop practical solutions when established procedures do not fully address a situation.
• Strong organizational and operational management skills, including the ability to manage workload, coordinate complex processes involving multiple stakeholders, and oversee multiple priorities and timelines simultaneously.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex information clearly, tactfully, and professionally to diverse audiences such as students, faculty, staff, and external stakeholders.
• Ability to build collaborative relationships with faculty, staff, and campus partners across units.
• Conflict resolution and mediation skills, including the ability to manage emotionally charged or high-stress interactions with professionalism and discretion.
• Ability to analyze complex situations using data-informed decision-making, case assessment, and reporting.