Team Lead, International Student Settlement
Job Description
As an ever-growing and evolving organization, new opportunities for the New Dawn as a whole, and for particular divisions within the organization, emerge regularly.
The Team Lead will both work to increase the retention of international students studying at and graduating from Cape Breton University, and oversee the international student settlement and retention team, with support from the Manager of the Cape Breton Island Centre for Immigration.
The work of the Team Lead will be accomplished through a combination of events for students, graduates, and other newcomers, day-to-day settlement with students and graduates, and helping to shape the agenda of the international student retention team to ensure responsiveness and relevance to new and returning students, and graduates as they settle into their new communities.
The Team Lead will report to the Manager of the Cape Breton Island Centre for Immigration and will work with Island businesses, Cape Breton University, Island Municipalities and First Nations, and Island development agencies (RENs, Cape Breton Partnership, Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce, etc.)
Duties:
Team Lead
- Understand, execute, and update as needed project objectives and deliverables
- Develop annual calendar of events and programming, align events and programming with academic calendar year and student/graduate programming feedback and requests
- Oversee and assign project tasks and deliverables to CBICI’s two international student retention facilitators, and work as a team to reflect and improve on project outcomes.
Develop programming to increase international student retention
- Design and deliver programming throughout the year including, but not limited to: Island tours, fall multi-cultural festival, and community/employment readiness workshops.
- Ensure that this programming is professional, responsive, and designed to meet the needs of international students
- Engage Island partners in the design and execution of programming (Island municipalities, CBU and NSCC, development agencies, etc.)
- Gather feedback from partners and participants after events to improve the quality and relevance of events in subsequent years
Student/Graduate Employment/Business/Settlement Support
- Provide ongoing support on an individual basis to international students and graduates
- Connect students and graduates to other community services and resources and employment and business opportunities
- Assist students and graduates (and their families) in navigating and settling on the Island
Surveys/Research/Tracking
- Design and deliver annual surveys to international students and graduates at CBU to discover: intentions to stay, sectors of study and interest, family connections/interest, investment opportunities, factors in decision to settle, immediate, medium- and short term needs, etc.
- Create report from annual survey data to inform programming structure and content
- Design survey for past participants to gauge impact on programming on ability to settle on the Island: where they have decided to settle why, where they are working, why they left (if this is the case), etc.
Communications/Advertising
- Working with New Dawn’s Marketing and Communications services, design and execute a strategy for the retention initiative to include traditional media, social media and earned media
- Development relationships at Cape Breton University and NSCC to enable the efficient and ongoing connection with target audiences
- Design promotional materials for day-to-day services and special events and programming
- Design and execute the creation and maintenance of initiative website (website to serve as Island navigational tool for international students and graduates; based in part on feedback from surveys)
Business/Agency Relations and Integration
- Engage Island development agencies in planning and executing retention work (CBU, NSCC, ICEAP, Cape Breton Partnership, Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce, RENs, municipalities)
- Connect international students to the programs, events, and offerings of these agencies
- Act as hub/connector/resource person between international students and these agencies
- Work closely with select agencies on the design and delivery of Island tours, employment workshops, and surveys
As needed
- Other duties and responsibilities as assigned.
Core Competencies
- Communication
- Responsibility
- Trustworthiness & Ethics
- Results orientation
- Organization
- Teamwork
Required Skills
- Self-motivated and able to work semi-independently
- Able to plan within and report on project budget
- Well-developed interpersonal and communications (oral and written) skills
- Experience and/or comfort with community engagement and conversation
- Highly organized, able to plan and execute multiple projects simultaneously
- Experience with students and/or newcomers and/or international students
Assets
- Post-secondary degree/diploma and or experience
- Outreach/engagement experience
- Settlement/navigation experience
- Business degree/experience
Work Conditions
- Long periods of sitting/concentrating
- Maybe be required, from time-to-time to assist with event set-up (moderate lifting/moving)
- Willingness to work evenings and weekends as needed
- Willingness to travel as needed