Career Opportunities
Programme Assistant (Maternity Leave Contract- 12 Months)
Description
Commonwealth of Learning (COL) helps governments and institutions to expand the scale, efficiency and quality of learning by using new approaches, appropriate technologies, and open and distance learning (ODL) methodologies. Headquartered in British Columbia, Canada, COL promotes innovation and works with Member States to facilitate learning for sustainable development. It is financed by voluntary contributions from Commonwealth governments.
Position Title: Programme Assistant
Employment Type: Full-time, Pay Grade E
Position Location: Vancouver, Onsite
Reports to: Director/Education Specialists/Advisers
Overview of the Position:
The Programme Assistant provides administrative and programme assistance to assigned Directors/ Education Specialists/ Advisers in their respective initiatives and activities that are guided by COL’s strategic plan for programme development.
- Assists at least two supervisors to prepare and monitor the annual budget and process and tracks payments related to the budget in a timely manner and in accordance with COL policies and procedures; drafts contracts and agreements with partner institutions and consultants/service providers using established templates; and follows up on contract deliverables and invoices as required.
- Makes travel and other logistical arrangements for staff, consultants, event participants and visitors, including ensuring a suitable and economical itinerary, preparing per diem requests, applying for travel visas, making hotel bookings, preparing expense claims and arranging for the shipping of materials.
- Coordinates the organisation of meetings, workshops, and other events, including the booking and setting up of venues and circulation of briefing materials.
- Responds to routine enquiries and requests; works within established parameters when preparing responses on complex matters and assists in all matters related to general correspondence including preparing minutes, drafting responses and compiling information from print, files and online sources as needed.
- Maintains a tracking system to bring meetings, issues, deadlines and all other matters to the attention of assigned supervisors in a timely manner.
- Assists in preparing, updating and maintaining various documents and databases including for the online Results Based Management (RBM) system.
- Undertakes any other tasks as assigned from time to time.
Knowledge, Skills & Experience:
- Post-secondary education at a college diploma level or higher.
- Five or more years of experience in a range of administrative roles.
- Experience working in the education, government or international development sector is highly desirable.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite at an advanced level and project management applications at a basic level are required.
- Formal training in the use of online tools for data and information management.
Skills/Abilities:
- Communication – Ability to communicate both verbally and in writing with a wide network of contacts in a clear and concise manner that displays sensitivity to ethnic and gender issues. This includes the ability to communicate and work with others, both within and outside of COL, by promoting co-operation and collaboration to achieve collective outcomes, gathering, sharing and disseminating information with others, and appropriately giving and being open to feedback from team/co-workers.
- Attention to Detail – Conscious of maintaining high standards of quality and accuracy with a good sense of follow through on tasks with the ability to consistently produce error-free output.
- Online Productivity Tools – Skills to use online productivity tools at an advanced level to create, retrieve, store and exchange information and with the ability to learn and adapt to new systems with ease.
- Organisation and Time Management – Ability to organise, prioritise and complete assignments in a manner that efficiently utilises resources and optimises efficiency and to be flexible in accepting variable and diverse job assignments.
- Contract Coordination – Ability to draft contracts and agreements as per established contract templates and track deliverables and payment within the allocated budget.
- Financial Awareness – Ability to prepare financial budgets in an effective, efficient and judicious manner and track related expenditure in accordance with policies and procedures.
Personal Attributes:
- Commitment to the ideals of COL, notably to the role of education and learning as the key to sustainable development.
- Capacity to work in a multicultural office environment with a readiness to adapt to the work culture: time management, collegiality, quality, attention to detail and mutual respect.
To Apply: Interested applicants must apply online at the latest by February 28, 2026. While we appreciate the interest of all applicants, those who have not been contacted by March 31, 2026 should consider that there will be no follow-up to their application for the above position.
Compensation
$54,000.00 - $69,000.00 per year