Vice-President, Student Affairs, Mount Allison University
Sackville, NB
Mount Allison University is seeking a visionary and strategic leader to serve as its next Vice-President, Student Affairs. As a visible and engaged member of the university’s senior leadership team, the role provides an opportunity to shape and enhance the student experience, ensuring an inclusive, supportive, and engaging environment for all students.
The Organization
Mount Allison University is located within the territory of Mi’kma’ki, the unceded, ancestral territory of the Mi’kmaq. Our relationship and our privilege to live on this territory was agreed upon in the Peace and Friendship Treaties of 1752. Because of this treaty relationship it is to be acknowledged that we are all Treaty people and have a responsibility to respect this territory.
The University has been recognized by Maclean's annual university rankings as the top primarily undergraduate university in Canada 25 times in the past 32 years — a record unmatched by any other institution. Mount Allison offers more than 50 programs to choose from so students can create their own unique bachelor's degree. The University has a history of top-quality scholarship, with 57 graduates having been awarded Rhodes Scholarships, the highest per capita of any university in the Commonwealth of Nations. Mount Allison prides itself on providing a high-quality academic and co-curricular student experience, combined with a variety of hands-on learning opportunities in a close-knit community.
The Role
Reporting to the President and Vice-Chancellor, the Vice-President, Student Affairs (VPSA) is a key member of the University’s senior leadership team, responsible for shaping and executing a strategic vision for student success, wellness, and engagement that is second to none. The VPSA provides strategic direction and oversight for student life, athletics and recreation, residence life services, student health and wellness, spiritual care, equity and inclusion initiatives, international student support, and career development. The VPSA is instrumental in ensuring that Mount Allison’s student services and co-curricular programs align with institutional priorities and the evolving needs of students.
This is a transformational leadership opportunity for an individual passionate about student well-being and success in one of Canada’s most recognized and celebrated undergraduate universities. With an emphasis on innovation and collaboration, the VPSA will lead efforts to ensure Mount Allison’s student experience is best in class, building an integrated student support framework, enhanced mental health and wellness initiatives, and strengthening engagement strategies that contribute to its vibrant campus community.
Key Areas of Responsibility:
- Strategic Vision and Leadership – Develop and implement a multi-year strategic action plan for Student Affairs, ensuring alignment with institutional goals. Lead and inspire a diverse team to deliver high-quality student services and programs.
- Student Success and Engagement – Foster an inclusive and supportive student environment through proactive engagement strategies, residence life programming, athletics, co-curricular learning initiatives, and first-year experience programs.
- Wellness and Mental Health – Oversee the development of a proactive, campus-wide approach to student mental health and wellness, integrating early intervention strategies, recreation, well-being education, and responsive care models. Supervise student conduct procedures and ensure appropriate responses to complex cases.
- Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Anti-Racism (EDIAR) – Champion EDIAR initiatives across Student Affairs, ensuring a supportive environment for all students, including Indigenous racialized, 2SLGBTQIA+, religious and international students.
- Operational Management – Provide leadership for a broad portfolio, ensuring efficient resource allocation, staff coaching and development, assessment of services and achievement of desired outcomes.
The Ideal Candidate
As the successful candidate, you are a strategic and innovative leader, and a change maker. You have a demonstrated commitment to student affairs and the evolving landscape of higher education. You bring a collaborative and student-centered approach, fostering partnerships across the University and with external stakeholders to enhance student success. You are energized by interacting with young adults and know how to communicate and support them in reaching their full potential.
Qualifications and Experience:
While the Search Committee recognizes that no one candidate is likely to meet all qualifications in equal measure, those listed below are desirable and will be used to compare candidates.
- A graduate degree in a relevant field (e.g., education, student affairs, counseling, leadership) or another equal demonstration of the necessary conceptual knowledge and experience. A doctoral degree is considered an asset.
- Significant leadership experience supporting students within a post-secondary setting, with a track record of driving strategic initiatives, leading diverse teams, and engaging successfully with a diverse array of students.
- Demonstrated commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and anti-racism with experience implementing EDIAR-focused programs and policies.
- Knowledge of sexual violence response and education best practices.
- Demonstrated experience supporting student mental health and well-being, with an understanding of best practices in campus wellness models and crisis response strategies.
- Strong operational and human resources management skills, with experience overseeing budgets, staff development, and strategic planning in a complex organization.
- Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build relationships across diverse stakeholder groups.
- A data-driven, student-focused approach to decision-making, ensuring services and programs effectively support student engagement, success, and well-being.
- Examples in your career that showcase your success as a positive change agent in organizational settings
You are someone with:
- Creativity, empathy, and curiosity as a leader.
- You excel at bringing people together around a purpose and motivating the adoption of necessary and transformational change within an organization.
- A relentless optimist – striving to innovate and seeing possibilities where others see problems.
- The ability to face challenges and to exercise integrity, flexibility, wisdom, and good judgment in meeting them.
- The ability to work collegially and effectively within a unionized environment, building strong, trusting relationships.
- An exceptional listener who prioritizes human-centred practice, acting as a steward of positive culture and upholding Mount Allison’s values and principles.
- A future-focused leader that takes time to understand their team and tap into institutional memory, valuing the work that has come before them.
- Decisiveness combined with a facilitative style and the ability to effectively explain decisions.
- A high energy level and the capacity to balance multiple priorities.
Why Join Mount Allison?
Mount Allison has recently completed a review of its division of Student Affairs and this leader will have an exceptional opportunity to join the university and lead the implementation of recommendations meant to establish the best student affairs portfolio in Canada. This is a rare opportunity to make a lasting impact on student life at Canada’s top undergraduate university. The VPSA will play a pivotal role in fostering a dynamic and inclusive student experience, ensuring that Mount Allison continues to provide an exceptional academic and co-curricular environment.
Employment Equity
The University is committed to social justice principles of equity, access and participation and to promoting opportunities in hiring and promotion for systemically marginalized groups including Indigenous Peoples, Black, racially marginalized, disabled persons, women, and those who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+ (Two Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, questioning, intersex, asexual and other diverse sexual identities).
An inclusive, open, and diverse community is essential to excellence and the University aims to foster voices that have been ignored or discouraged in the past. To support the University’s commitment to equity, access, and participation, and in recognition of the underrepresentation of members of historically and currently excluded groups, the Committee has taken proactive measures including implicit bias training. We strive for diversity and cultural safety throughout the hiring process (hiring panels, short-list of candidates, interviews). We encourage you to self-identify any aspect of your identity in your cover letter.
Submitting an Application
Mount Allison University is committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free experience to applicants with accessibility needs. Requests for accommodation can be made at any stage during the recruitment process. Please contact accommodations@kbrs.ca to request accommodation.
Mount A recognizes is committed to supporting our employees with flexibility, understanding, and a welcoming and inclusive work environment. We offer robust onboarding to set you up for success, ongoing professional development to help you grow, and a supportive workplace culture that values balance and well-being. Join us and be part of a community that invests in your professional and personal success.
The Search Committee will begin reviewing applications for this role on April 17, 2025.
If you are interested in this opportunity, contact Abbey MacLeod at amacleod@kbrs.ca, Kyle Steele at ksteele@kbrs.ca, or Dr. Jennie Massey at jmassey@kbrs.ca or submit your full application package online at: https://www.kbrs.ca/Career/17373929595220000008wfn
