Company Overview:

Professional Linguistic Upper Studies (PLUS) operates English as a Foreign Language (EFL) programs across the world. PLUS U.S. Corporation, headquartered in New York City, runs summer English language study and travel programs for international high school students in across North America. The programs allow students the opportunity to take English classes and explore the surrounding regions while staying at U.S. colleges and universities.
 

Position Overview:

The Centre Manager position is a seasonal, salaried and full-time position during July 2019. PLUS offers summer study travel programs to international high school students at college campuses across North America. The Centre Manager oversees all aspects of the PLUS program at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario for PLUS participants, including coordinating the academic program, arranging housing and dining for the group, and planning off-campus excursions and on-campus activities. The Centre Manager directly supervises the Assistant Activity Manager. The Centre Manager works under the direct supervision of the Director of North American Operations and the Program Manager. 

In addition to a salaried wage, full room and board is provided for the duration of employment; residing on campus is required. PLUS employees are expected to work a flexible schedule. Night and weekend work is expected to meet the demands of the program, and regional travel is required. PLUS employees are responsible for all travel and moving costs to and from campus location prior to and at the conclusion of their contract. Travel to excursion destinations and any work travel during the contracted period will be covered by PLUS.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The following is expected of the Centre Manager:

Standard Expectations

• Interact with groups of international high school students and their group leaders in a professional, enthusiastic, and customer service-oriented manner
• Be familiar with, adhere to, and enforce PLUS policies and procedures
• Ensure the safety of all participants, including taking them to the hospital, if necessary, and documenting all hospital visits for insurance purposes
• Be familiar with campus-specific information, including everything in the PLUS Guide
• Maintain frequent communication with PLUS staff
• Be on call every night for the duration of the program
• Assist with emergency situations, as needed
• Complete all PLUS assessments received during employment period
• Assist in duties other than the aforementioned and the following, as assigned and as they arise

Supervision

• Directly supervise the Assistant Activity Manager
• Oversee all Activity Leaders and EFL instructors
• Train all Activity Leaders and EFL instructors
• Create a weekly schedule for all activity leaders
• Hold daily staff meetings to ensure that all program and position needs are met
• Conduct regular performance evaluations of the Assistant Activity Manager and activity leaders
• Motivate the Assistant Activity Manager, activity leaders, and instructors throughout the duration of the program.

Customer Service

• Provide superior customer service to group leaders: monitor group leader feedback reports and liaise with group leaders to understand and address any concerns
• Be readily available and present whenever participants are on campus to speak with group leaders and students
• Conduct group leader meetings at the beginning of each session, welcoming them and providing an overview of the program
• Liaise with group leaders in the planning of extra excursions; submit all extra excursion requests to the PLUS  Head Office
• Schedule and hold daily office hours
• Liaise with overseas PLUS offices, as needed
• Compile a list of student and group leader birthdays, by session, and organize a birthday card signed by all staff members

Off-Campus Activities (Excursions)

• Coordinate, lead, and ensure the proper execution of all off-campus excursions for PLUS students and group leaders, including being the point-person on all day and overnight excursions
• Plan and ensure the proper execution of activities to engage students during off-campus excursions
• Communicate regularly with transportation companies to ensure all transportation needs are met for PLUS excursions and airport transfers
• Confirm all excursion-related bookings with ticket vendors and off-campus meal providers
• Coordinate all airport arrival and departure schedules
• Provide hotel(s) for any overnight excursions with a finalized rooming list upon check-in
• Coordinate hotel check-ins and check-outs for overnight excursions

On-Campus Activities

• Oversee the planning and proper execution of all on-campus activities, such as but not limited to recreation, evening programming, workshops, etc.
• Confirm bookings for all multipurpose rooms, fields, theaters, and pool (if applicable) for on-campus activities/events
• Confirm bookings with outside vendors for on-campus activities
• Plan and in conjunction with the Assistant Activity Manager, conduct a “Welcome Night” presentation that orients students to the PLUS program
• Attend and participate in talent shows and graduation ceremonies

Academic

• Manage all logistics of the site-specific academic program
• Manage all instructors, including coordinating their schedules, reviewing and approving time sheets, supervising instruction, and assigning them classrooms based on the list of available classrooms provided by PLUS
• Together with instructors, create a safe, comfortable, and engaging learning environment for all students
• Review the curriculum provided by PLUS to be adequately familiar with lesson plans. Instructors may supplement the curriculum with their own materials, as appropriate.
• Download and review all online placement test scores per session; sort students into levels and classes based on test scores
• Consult with EFL instructors after the first lesson to ensure students have been placed into the correct level; conduct assessments of students’ oral proficiency, as needed
• Provide superior customer service to students and their chaperones
• Confirm all classroom bookings with host institution and communicate any changes to the PLUS Head Office
• Copy all worksheets needed per class and distribute to instructors daily
• Communicate with the host institution regarding classroom needs and technology issues, as needed
• Fill in as substitute teacher as needed
• Collaborate with the instructors and PLUS Head Office regarding instructional methods and the PLUS curriculum
• Maintain frequent and professional communication with instructors
• Perform other duties, as assigned

University Liaison

• Serve as primary point of contact for all on-campus university departments
• Responsible for the following Housing, Dining, and Office responsibilities: 

Housing

• • Coordinate all groups’ check-in and check-out from campus with the host institution
  • Coordinate weekly room cleanings with host university and/or cleaning company, as needed
  • Oversee room checks prior to participant arrivals to ensure all rooms are clean and ready for participants’ arrival
  • Oversee room checks prior to student departures to determine any room damages
  • Create rooming lists for each session, and communicate changes to rooming lists to University and central PLUS office, as needed
  • Serve as primary point of contact to the linen supply company (if applicable)
  • Coordinate linen distribution, changeover, and pick-up (if applicable)
  • Responsible for communicating with Facilities/Maintenance to fix any problems that arise in the residence halls

Dining

• • Regularly update on-campus meal spreadsheet and submit to host institution
  • Confirm on a daily basis all on-campus meals and boxed meals, including numbers, meal times and pick-up times (for boxed meals) with dining hall on campus
  • Provide dining hall with a list of food allergies per session; ensure all food allergy requests are met for on-campus and boxed meals
  • Coordinate and participate in the distribution of boxed meals prior to participants’ departure from campus
  • Communicate any last-minute changes to on-campus meals to dining hall and the Program Manager

Office & Miscellaneous

• Responsible for telling students and group leaders to complete weekly satisfaction surveys and following up with them to ensure completion
• Responsible for collecting and recording all fees for lost keys, room damages, and extra excursions
• Responsible for depositing all money collected for lost keys, room damages, and extra excursions within 24 hours of collection
• Responsible for ensuring the safekeeping of all participant passports and all money collected for lost keys, room damages, and extra excursions
• Utilize Plus Vision Software and the PLUS Master Program to properly understand participants’ arrivals and departures from the program
• Coordinate participant arrival and departure days from the program
• Participate in weekly meeting with the PLUS Head Office and Assistant Activity Manager
• Responsible for appropriate use and documentation of company card
• Review campus-specific incident reports and duty logs
• Oversee bi-weekly inventory checks of PLUS wristbands or other collateral materials, and communicate with Program Coordinator in a timely fashion if running low

Qualifications and Desired Skills:

• Authorization to work in Canada required
• Must be 18 years or older
• University degree required
• Event planning or coordination experience required
• Customer service experience required
• Prior teaching experience strongly preferred
• Experience in the hospitality and tourism industry strongly preferred
• Experience with summer or study travel programs strongly preferred
• Command of Microsoft Excel and Google Drive strongly preferred
• International and intercultural experience strongly preferred
• Prior supervisory experience strongly preferred
• Administrative experience strongly preferred

The successful candidate will have strong coordination and organizational skills and be able to work with diverse groups of people in a high-pressure environment. He/she will be detail-oriented, self-motivated, adaptable, professional, enthusiastic, and always have a positive attitude. The successful candidate will also have strong problem-solving, customer service, multi-tasking, communication, management, and interpersonal skills.
 

Physical Demands:

Do the essential functions of this job require lifting? Yes

If yes, how many pounds? 25 lbs.

Do the essential functions of this job require standing? Yes

Do the essential functions of this job require walking up stairs? Yes

Do the essential functions of this job require stretching? Yes

Do the essential functions of this job require bending? Yes