Are you a skilled leader who can navigate complex student situations with compassion, sound judgement, and a commitment to fairness? Do you excel at balancing student wellbeing, community safety, and institutional responsibility in challenging and often sensitive circumstances? If this describes you, Vancouver Island University (VIU) invites you to join the Student Affairs team as the Manager of the Student Rights and Responsibilities Office.
Reporting to the Director of Student Services and based at VIU's Nanaimo campus, the Manager provides leadership for the university's response to complex student concerns related to student conduct, sexual misconduct, and violence risk. The Manager exercises significant professional judgement and decision-making authority in assessing risk, interpreting policy, determining appropriate interventions, and leading coordinated responses that balance care, accountability, procedural fairness, and community wellbeing. Working collaboratively across the institution, the Manager plays a critical role in fostering a safe, inclusive, and supportive learning environment for all students.
Department
Student Affairs Administration
Campus
Nanaimo campus *Successful candidates must be able to attend in person on campus as required.
Location
Nanaimo, British Columbia
Appointment Type
regular full-time
Workload
35 hours per week
Pay Level
Excluded Pay Band 10: Minimum salary is $106,645 and maximum salary is $121,187.
Starting Salary
Normal salary placement at the time of hire is $106,645 (prorated if part-time). This position is eligible for annual performance-based salary increases.
Appointment Start Date
28-Sep-2026
Applicant Documents
CV/Resume, Cover Letter, Qualifications , Name and contact information of recent supervisors willing to provide a reference
Duties:
Leadership
The Manager oversees a caseload of complex and sensitive student conduct and sexualized violence cases that require a high degree of discretion, outstanding judgement, and superior organizational skills. The success of this role is largely dependent on developing solid relationships with students, staff, faculty, and administrators across the institution including VIU's regional campuses in Duncan and in Powell River. The Manager is also responsible for the direct supervision of a Conduct Officer.
- Leads the Behavioural Intervention Team (BIT): a coordinated, tiered support structure of professional staff from designated units across the university whose mandate is to support student well-being, offer early intervention, and provide collaborative responses to complex student concerns that cannot be managed by any single service on campus
- Leads the Collaborative Assessment, Referral and Education (CARE) advisory meetings comprised of student service units to gain insight into student well-being trends
- Initiates and performs Risk and Threat Assessment triages and full HCR-20 assessments in accordance with VIU’s sexualized violence policy and consistent with student conduct investigation processes
- Supervises and evaluates the performance of the Conduct Officer
Case Management
- Manages and is most often the first line of contact regarding the Student Conduct Code and Sexualized Violence policy violations and follows their respective procedures and departmental processes including maintaining regular communication with students, complainants and respondents
- Triages student well-being concerns to the appropriate student services unit
- Liaises with academic and non-academic units in facilitating the resolution of student conduct concerns including the use of classroom management techniques
- Communicates with faculty and staff regarding student supports that meets the needs of a student
- Manages, when required, all aspects of approved third party investigations including facilitating contracts, communications, and finalizing reports prepared by the investigator for final institutional review and adjudication
- Manages all aspects of the Death of a Student protocol
- Provides weekly briefing updates on student cases to the broader conduct team
- Escalates complex cases to the Director and the Associate Vice-President (Student Affairs) particularly where there is significant university community safety concerns, institutional liability, risk or reputational harm
- Collaborates with key internal partners to investigate and/or resolve student concerns and/or violations
- Maintains a positive relationship with VIU’s Students’ Union and in particular the Student Advocate
- Supports and equips regional campus administrators to effectively manage student concerns up to and including policy violations
- Regularly meets with and informs the Director of all conduct case load matters
Operations and Committees
- Applies and remains current with applicable institutional policies including human rights code, privacy legislation and other relevant regulations
- Prepares an annual report complete with statistical analysis
- Adheres to proper record keeping in accordance with university policy, including files on student conduct cases, complaints, and tracking sanctions
- Analyzes and interprets data and makes recommendations for continuous quality improvement
- Acts as a campus resource on student rights and responsibilities and related policies
- Manages the departmental budget and all associated expenses
- Serves as an active member of the Risk and Threat Assessment Team (RTAT) and fills in for the Director (Co-Chair, Students) when required
- Serves as an active member of the Student Affairs Leadership Council (SALCO)
- Completes all other duties as assigned by the Director
Outreach
Time permitting:
- develops training resource materials for seminars and workshops to faculty, staff, and students on promoting behaviour congruent with a safe working and learning environment
- develops education and prevention strategies and provides supports and other resources available
Professional Development
Commits to ongoing professional development in the fields of investigation, privacy, violence risk and threat assessment, sexualized violence assessment, conflict resolution, and reporting writing.
Required Qualifications:
Graduate degree in a related discipline from an accredited institution plus a minimum of five years’ related experience. An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.
- Experience investigating non-academic student misconduct
- Experience and training in sexualized violence response and investigation
- Demonstrated knowledge of victim/survivor centered and trauma-informed approaches in working with individuals affected by sexualized violence
- Demonstrated sensitivity and understanding of contemporary and historical indigenous issues
- Demonstrated knowledge of the challenges experienced by university students including the transition to post-secondary level study
- Experience managing highly confidential and sensitive issues while maintaining confidentiality and neutrality
- Experience working effectively and calmly under pressure, meeting deadlines and managing changing priorities
- Experience with case management software
- Experience developing and applying exceptional verbal, written, and interpersonal communication and facilitation skills including communicating in a manner that is approachable and invites open dialogue
- Demonstrated exceptional organizational, decision-making, problem-solving and conflict-resolution skills
- Experience interpreting and applying a range of institutional policies related to personal safety and conduct management
- Experience writing investigation reports
- Training in violence risk and threat assessment
- Knowledgeable in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA)
VIU is pleased to offer eligible employees a comprehensive benefit plan; ample paid holiday time; professional development opportunities and a desirable pension plan. As part of the VIU campus community, our employees work with supportive colleagues within an encouraging environment and are provided with the tools and training that promote learning and development. The perks of VIU employment are multiple, and include well-being initiatives and services, strategic discounts, and flexible work opportunities.
Note:
- Short-listed candidates must provide original transcripts, or applicable original certifications at time of interview.
- All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.
- Vancouver Island University (VIU) is collectively committed to building and sustaining a diverse and inclusive working and learning environment for faculty, staff, and students. In our journey towards greater diversity, we invite applications from members of equity-seeking communities including women, racialized and Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, persons of all gender identities and sexual orientations who bring value to the VIU community through their lived experiences. We encourage members of all equity-seeking groups to self-identify within their application cover letter. When a candidate voluntarily discloses this information in their cover letter, the information will be used only for the fulfillment of the career opportunity. Disclosure and/or self-identification with an equity-seeking group will not lead to advantageous treatment of a candidate who is not qualified.
