Production Manager

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Job Requisition ID:
2026-03679

Time Type:
Full time
Employee Group:
Staff
Job Category:
Analytics and Reporting
Employment Type:
Permanent
Department:
Co-operative and Experiential Education - Business Services
Hiring Range:
$95,538.29 - $119,422.87
Posting Information:
This posting is for an existing vacancy.
Internal posting expires Thursday November 19th at 11:59 PM

Job Description:
Primary Purpose
The Production Manager is critical to the management and execution of processes within the entire CEE portfolio (Industry Relations, Student Faculty Relations, Centre for Career Development, Centre for WIL, WxL) to maximize the success of employers, students and staff. The Production Manager ensures the successful execution of the core employment processes, work-integrated learning processes, and career support programs. The incumbent ensures that employers, students and all staff supporting CEE and WIL processes are supported effectively, while maintaining high standards of stakeholder satisfaction delivered in a cost-effective way.

The Production Manager leads and contributes senior analytical support to projects and performs research, make appropriate recommendations, ensure alignment of strategy, ensure best practices, and serve as a senior resource to the CEE leadership team.
The Production Manager leads the development of new capabilities required by the introduction of new systems, tools or processes. Develop productive, collaborative working relationships across Co-operative Education and UW. Lead the identification, development and implementation of projects to improve service quality, relationships, stakeholder satisfaction, timeliness, staff capability and performance. Develop internal/external customer service standards, monitors satisfaction with service delivered and take action to restore and enhance service quality
The Production Manager is also responsible for the strategy around the CEE portfoliocalendar of activities and ensures execution is accurate and timely. Manages Production Specialists to ensure data integrity and document retentions practices are adhered to and all student, employer and prospect records are maintained appropriately in the system. Also manages Production Specialists with oversight on all student driven employment, employer registrations and unpaid processing and risk management.
Key Accountabilities
Project leadership
• Act as project manager for key projects
Lead and manage key strategic projects through scaled project initiation, planning, execution, assessment and maintenance
• Establishes realistic plans that proactively plan for and manage risks, constraints (time, cost, quality), issues, tasks, schedules, communications, quality, benefits, procurement, and delivery of solution(s) throughout the project life cycle
• Identifies, manages and removes obstacles and escalates to management, when appropriate
• Ensures appropriate decision making occurs according to timelines and milestones
• Act as a knowledge expert on change management and any new processes
• Oversee the implementation into operational mode including defining processes, training, documentation and change management
• Determine resources/funding needed to support ongoing and build business case
Manages the effective planning and execution of a Program of projects
• Research, plan and execute an assigned program of projects involving technology and new processes/process re-design;
• Manage all aspects of project scope, schedule, resources and risks for assigned projects ensuring all deadlines are met;
• Actively monitoring and prioritizing work within each project and across the projects within the program
• Ensure appropriate consideration, consultation and analysis for go/no-go decisions
• Ensure technology is leveraged to support business processes
• Ensure effective and appropriate stakeholder engagement and consultation
Process Improvement - As an individual contributor provides senior analytical expertise supporting business units in identifying project opportunities, developing business cases and execution of projects in support of business objectives. This includes:
• Developing strong relationships with project stakeholders which could include CEE teams, students, employers, faculty and other support units on campus.
• Liaise among stakeholders to elicit, analyze, communicate and validate requirements for changes to business processes, policies or practices.
• Provide guidance to the various stakeholders to devise effective and efficient approaches to achieve project objectives.
• Provide consultative and analytical support including facilitating requirements gathering sessions, risk assessments or process design and improvement.
• Act as a change agent ensuring appropriate change management is in place.
• Identifies synergies across CEE units and ensures these are operationalized and benefits are achieved.
• Ensures service is delivered to clearly defined and agreed-to standards (e.g. impression management, ease-of-interaction, triage excellence, one-and-done, response time, accuracy, completeness, consistency).
Records Management – provides management support and expert knowledge related to records management, document retention, and policy pertaining to employer, student, and staff records.
Fosters an open and transparent dialog between the Register Office, the Faculties, and the Production Specialists.
Manages Production Specialists accountable for:
• Maintaining and managing employer, student, and staff records
• Integrity of policy management as it pertains to employer, and staff records
• Oversight of Policy 70 student cases from a records perspective to ensure data integrity
• Data integrity as it applies to employer, student, and staff records
• Production system administration including permissions, updating employer, student and staff records and providing tier 2 and tier 3 support for many CEE applications (e.g. WaterlooWorks, SharePoint).
• Ensures system set up is complete for each term, for each business unit
• Updates employer, student, and staff records
• Term set up and system configuration
Production Management
• Generation of tasks to direct co-op staff activities, distribution of bulk messages to employers and students - attention to detail is critical as this work is high risk and significantly impacts all CEE stakeholders including employers, students and staff
• Managing and developing health checks - to ensure process, system and data integrity - proactively identifying potential trouble areas and developing corresponding system health checks
• Coordinates production calendars across the CEE units ensuring there are no conflicts or overlaps
• Ensures timely and accurate execution of centralized components of the production calendar
• Approves Ad Hoc production items to ensure alignment with existing calendar components
• Executes system configuration as per term requirements as well as any changes as a result of initiative work
• Optimizes the application of technology supporting business processes for CEE
o Ensure business systems are defined, documented and produce repeatable, reliable results.
o Ensure change control systems are understood and adhered to
• Ensuring appropriate back up, support and cross training to manage capacity.
• Responsible for the execution of pre-match checks, running the match and post-match activities
• System configuration support for academic program and program enhancements as required (e.g., Adding/removing programs, Co-op Education Research Certificate, FlexTerms)
Student Driven Employment
• Extensive understanding of the student driven employment processes (Arranged Own Job/Employer Student Direct/Student Employment Acknowledgement/ Unpaid Returning) to provide direction and support to Production Specialists
• Advanced knowledge of the unpaid process to mitigate risk for unpaid and underpaid work terms
• Supports the creation and improvement of process documentation to ensure all student driven employments are treated equitably
• Ensure consistent application of processes by Production Specialists on all aspects of student and employer interaction
• Reporting on student driven employment processes to ensure appropriate resourcing
• Support of employer registration practices and monitoring of service delivery standards
• Advanced knowledge of Policy 70 to support the processing of student driven employment exception cases.
Lead and manage direct reports and ensure the delivery of results in support of CEE’s mission, vision and guiding principles including:
• Providing information and context needed for employees to be effective.
• Hiring, developing and retaining the best qualified staff available from inside or outside UW.
• Setting goals and expectations and helping employees create clear paths to success.
• Developing effective team dynamics.
• Ensuring appropriate back up, support and cross training to manage capacity.
• Holding employees accountable for performance including consistent application of business processes.
• Managing performance through both formal (performance appraisal) and informal methods such as regular feedback, coaching and one-to-ones.
• Identifying development opportunities in others and co-creating with the employee a development plan; regularly following up on the progress of development.
Provide overall leadership to the organization by:
• Personally championing mission, vision and guiding principles and playing a leadership role in bringing them to life.
• Providing leadership, direction and strategic planning for CEE team with a specific focus on cooperative education.
• Identify opportunities and implements solutions for improving services and practices in the co-op employment processes. This may include continuous process improvement, best practices, new interview methods, screening tools or any solution that helps employers and students connect.
• Monitoring business practices to ensure that CEE has the appropriate practices and processes to work effectively for all stakeholders both within and external to the University.
• Leading strategic development of new capabilities required by the introduction of new systems, tools or processes.
• Ensures strategic liaison between the CEE Strategic Enablement team and all units within CEE portfolio (Industry Relations, Student Faculty Relations, Centre for Career Development, Centre for WIL, WxL)) to ensure units are aware of strategic and operational impacts from changes to system configuration, process, communication, calendar, event etc
• Strategically designs and implements business processes for service excellence, fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Working with the CEE stakeholders, provides strategic guidance to the CEE leadership team on matters relating to systems, process and service.
• Developing productive, collaborative working relationships across CEE and the University
• Leading or contributing to the identification, development and implementation of projects to improve service quality, relationships, stakeholder satisfaction, timeliness, staff capability and performance.
• Developing internal/external customer service standards, monitoring satisfaction with service delivered and taking action to restore and enhance service quality.

Required Qualifications
Education
• University undergraduate degree in Business Administration, Operations Management or equivalent education and experience.
• Possess or pursuing PMP certification or CBAP certification or equivalent experience.
Experience
• Minimum of 4 years progressive experience supporting or leading continuous improvement initiatives in a large complex environment;
• Minimum of 5 years systems experience including supporting implementation of systems and continuous improvement, WaterlooWorks experience is highly desired;
• 3+ years' experience in a people management and leadership role, including a track record of performance management with direct reports
• Excellent analytical, attention to detail and problem solving skills are essential;
• Proven ability to understand complex situations, tasks or problems, analyse them using a systematic approach and identify patterns and connections between situations that are not inherently obvious;
• Proven ability to adapt and work effectively within a variety of situations including changes in job demands; changing priorities or competing priorities;
• Demonstrated track record of effective leadership and collaboration with various constituents at all levels and ranges of expertise
• Ability to engage and influence senior internal stakeholders and external stakeholders (student, employer, vendors) ensuring stakeholder adoption;
• Experience implementing large change projects;
• Experience with records management, document retention, and policy
Knowledge/Skills/Abilities
• Strong analytical skills with a specialty in an area of expertise such as business analysis, process improvement or project management
• Proven track record for a leading high performance delivery teams defined by a culture of excellence and responsiveness
• Proven ability to effectively manage multiple priorities and exercise independent, prudent judgement
• Innovative approach to problem solving
• Knowledge of CEE business processes is an asset
• Understanding of existing CEE applications is an asset

Equity Statement

The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is coordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations.

The University values the diverse and intersectional identities of its students, faculty, and staff. The University regards equity and diversity as an integral part of academic excellence and is committed to accessibility for all employees. The University of Waterloo seeks applicants who embrace our values of equity, anti-racism and inclusion. As such, we encourage applications from candidates who have been historically disadvantaged and marginalized, including applicants who identify as First Nations, Métis and/or Inuk (Inuit), Black, racialized, a person with a disability, women and/or 2SLGBTQ+.

Positions are open to qualified candidates who are legally entitled to work in Canada.

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