Dean of Health - Executive Brief 2024

at  University College of the North

SUMMARY

University College of the North’s new Dean of Health will be a fearless innovator who is excited by
opportunities to prepare students for future careers in health and human services. Working with
outstanding faculty and staff, our new Dean will be an energetic collaborator who actively ensures that
the Faculty of Health has a strong reputation for delivering programs that meet the needs of students
and responds effectively to health care profession needs in northern Manitoba.

THE DEAN’S QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS

Essential Qualifications

• Registered Nurse with an unrestricted CRNM license to practice
• Post-secondary education at the masters level in nursing, science, or another field related to the

programming offered in the Faculty; and,

Recruiting a Dean of Health at UCN

• At least 5 years of proven senior management experience.

Essential Skills

• Effective strategic thinking and planning skills. A proven ability to think longer-term, and be

visionary, innovative, creative and entrepreneurial, but to also focus, operationalize and execute
strategy/vision into concrete and achievable action plans, outcomes and deliverables within a larger

institutional context;

• A proven ability to successfully lead and manage significant change and transformation; build high

performance teams that empower and engage;

• A commitment to taking action on the Truth and Reconciliation Act Calls to Action and to embracing

Indigenous culture and ways of knowing within the Faculty and UCN;

• Strong familiarity with the diverse program areas in order to credibly represent UCN to the

community, understand and analyze competing elements of program areas and to strategically

plan for the cessation of some programs and the introduction of new ones;

• General knowledge of the principles of adult education, curriculum and program development,

and post-secondary administration;

• Experience negotiating in challenging situations, problem solving, and identifying effective solutions;
• Experience leading and managing in a unionized environment;
• Experience leading policy and program development to address emerging and complex issues;
• Excellent operational management skills;
• Proven ability to develop and lead teams to achieve desired outcomes;
• Proven collaboration skills to assist in the management of complex situations and projects;
• Financial management experience in financial planning, budgeting, and monitoring;
• Proven outstanding political acumen skills;
• The ability to synthesize multi-dimensional issues, adapt to changing priorities, and operate

successfully within a deadline-driven environment;

• Superior interpersonal communication skills, including the ability to establish productive working

relationships with staff within UCN, communities, industry, senior government officials, health

authorities, provincial nursing regulators, and peers at other colleges and universities;.

• Superior verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate and present to all levels

of the organization and to external stakeholders;

• Superior written communication skills, including the ability to write politically sensitive and

confidential material for senior executives;

• Proven strong attention to detail;
• The ability to maintain a positive, friendly and outgoing attitude;
• Ability and willingness to travel throughout the north and elsewhere as required;
• Excellent proficiency with the MS Office suite of programs;
• Proven ability to understand diversity, cultural influences, and issues specific to northerners and

adult learners; and,

• Personal experience and/or knowledge and understanding of Indigenous cultures.

Desired Qualifications and Skills

Recruiting a Dean of Health at UCN

• A doctorate in an area related to programming in the Faculty of Health; and,
• The ability to speak an Indigenous language.

linkages between secondary, post-secondary, and continuing education;

• Ensure the development of appropriate activities to analyze, develop and adopt new learnin

agencies, business and educational institutions, including those outside the province; and,

• In consultation with faculty members and staff and the Vice-President Academic and Research

Education in accordance with the Collective Agreement;

• Monitor the delivery of UCN courses for adherence to approved Learning Outcomes;
• Identify and resolve issues related to the efficient and effective flow of information between th

The University College operates in a diverse, complex and constantly changing environment and exists
to serve a wide range of diverse interests and concerns. Decision-making is complex and impacts
operations across the University College, including non-academic Divisions. A high degree of
independence in decision-making is required in order to balance all the parameters in a complex
organization. This high degree of independence is accompanied by a high degree of accountability.

Leadership

• Promote the University College’s mission and objectives;
• Develop and maintain an environment conducive to open communication and discussion among

all faculty, staff, students and external groups;

• Coordinate and integrate all academic activities to ensure the role and mission of the University

College is being fulfilled in a cost effective manner;

• Provide an innovative, risk-taking, principle centred approach to leading the Faculty to undertake

continuous evaluation and improvement;

• Promote the development of a life-long learning culture in northern Manitoba by developing

linkages between secondary, post-secondary, and continuing education;

• Ensure the development of appropriate activities to analyze, develop and adopt new learning

models and technologies;

• Foster an entrepreneurial, quality focused and accountable approach to academic operations.
• Create a learning environment which is responsive to the needs of students and which promotes

student access and success;

• Work with faculty and staff to bring University College programs and courses to people where

they live, in delivery formats that suit their needs;

Recruiting a Dean of Health at UCN

• Develop and maintain liaisons with Indigenous organizations, other post-secondary institutions,

industries, unions, professional and regulatory bodies, government bodies, and appropriate

research centres;

• Leads and oversees the development of goals, objectives and budget proposals for all areas of the

Faculty, including the implementation of these goals and objectives;

• Ensure that the Faculty exhibits a relentless and unwavering focus on quality;
• Develop effective strategies for the promotion of the Faculty’s programs, and performs a lead role

in representing UCN in the community;

• Establish priorities and timelines to ensure that all functions of the Faculty are met in an effective

and efficient manner;

• Ensure adherence to the requirements of the Collective Agreement;
• Consult with members of the Senior Academic Leadership Team on relevant issues;
• Ensure ongoing professional development of staff by providing relevant training opportunities;
• As part of the University College’s Senior Academic Leadership Team, participate in formulating

academic policies, and procedures;

• Implement the Representative Workforce (Employment Equity) Policy;
• In collaboration with faculty and coordinators, create a human resource and organizational

development strategy for the Faculty consistent with University College priorities and needs
identified by staff through performance evaluation processes.

Program Planning and Delivery

• Manage the Bachelor of Nursing agreement between the U of Manitoba and UCN;
• Ensure the implementation of program reviews to ensure continuous improvement;
• Responsible for the creation of articulation policies and procedures to improve student access to

UCN programs and to facilitate credit transfer between programs;

• Develop and maintain articulation agreements with other universities;
• Ensure UCN programs meet provincial and national accreditation/approval guidelines;
• Ensure UCN programs are responsive to the needs of a culturally diverse population;
• Develop strategies to increase the accessibility of all programming;
• Coordinate UCN’s participation in joint program development and delivery models with other

agencies, business and educational institutions, including those outside the province; and,

• In consultation with faculty members and staff and the Vice-President Academic and Research,

develop annual academic action plans for the faculty. Work to integrate the annual academic
action plan into the Academic and Research Division operating plan.

Policy Development and Implementation

• Ensure that an optimum level of safety is maintained throughout the Faculty for staff, students

and visitors, in accordance with the provisions of the University College Workplace Safety and
Health Policy. Must ensure that the functional areas of the University College under their control

comply with the Workplace Safety and Health Act;

• May represent the VP Academic and Research at post-secondary VP Academic meetings to

represent the University College of the North’s perspective within Manitoba’s post-secondary
system;

Recruiting a Dean of Health at UCN

• As necessary, assist with the formulation of UCN strategic plans and other plans;
• Responsible for the establishment and maintenance of a safe workplace that is also free from

harassment and racism in accordance with applicable policies, regulations and legislation; and,

• Responsible for regularly reviewing existing policies to ensure they are current, adhere to process

and continue to meet the needs of the department, faculty and students.

Management and Supervision

• Support and evaluate faculty members and staff assigned to the Faculty;
• Provide timely formal and informal feedback to faculty. Work with faculty to remedy deficiencies

in performance. Implement remedial or disciplinary action where necessary, up to and including

dismissal in consultation with the Vice-President Academic and Research and Human Resources.

• Assign workload to faculty and staff;
• Ensure that college instructors progress satisfactorily toward attaining the Certificate in Adult

Education in accordance with the Collective Agreement;

• Monitor the delivery of UCN courses for adherence to approved Learning Outcomes;
• Identify and resolve issues related to the efficient and effective flow of information between the

Faculty and other academic and administrative units within the University College;

• Perform all functions in accordance with the Collective Agreement and UCN policies;
• Ensure maximum economy of human resources in delivering academic programs; and,
• Assist in the effective recruitment, selection and retention of faculty and staff.

Information Dissemination

• Collect, interpret and report relevant information to assist UCN managers in their decision making

and provide information to external partners as required.
Financial Management
• Represent the Faculty in budget management to ensure a fair and appropriate distribution of

salary, operating and capital resources across UCN operations;

• Assist the Vice President of Finance and Administration in developing financial projections related

to the Faculty;

• Coordinate the creation of a Faculty capital equipment plan each year to strategically allocate

capital resources to academic departments;

• Manage Faculty budgets and strategically coordinate the allocation of resources between

departments to ensure effective resource utilization;

• Develop opportunities to generate revenue from Faculty operations;
• Work with industry, business, government agencies and the community to develop corporate

sponsorship, course purchases, and donations to UCN; and,

• Be accountable for achieving a balance between budgeted and actual expenditures across all

academic budget centres.
Recruiting a Dean of Health at UCN

Student Success

• Ensure the Faculty is involved in the provision of effective academic counseling for program

selection, academic progress, etc.;

• Introduce continuous quality improvement techniques into the teaching and learning processes to

enhance student success;

• Participate in the creation of outreach activities to both sequential and non-sequential students to

improve their understanding of UCN programs;

• Address student academic and disciplinary complaints in accordance with established policy;
• Participate in processes which ensure that every student who enters UCN without all prerequisites

for his/her program of choice is properly assessed, and that for each such student, a Learning Plan
is prepared according to the procedure set out in the Faculty Handbook. Work cooperatively with

other relevant individuals to ensure student success;

• Ensure that student grades are submitted to the Office of the Registrar in a timely manner; and,
• Ensure appropriate Faculty participation with student recruitment activities.

Liaison and Promotion

• Represent the University College on external committees both locally and nationally and if

necessary, internationally;

• Act as an ambassador and champion when representing the University College locally, provincially,

nationally, and/or internationally;

• Promote University College operations and services to the community;
• Develop partnerships between the University College and business, community, provincial and

national groups to enable the University College to effectively serve the community;

• Lead and facilitate stakeholder and community groups in planning initiatives;
• Lead the development of an effective program advisory committee structure for Faculty

programs; and,

• Lead UCN in developing program partnerships with other post-secondary institutions.