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What are Administrative Support Services? 

Administrative support professionals provide a critical function within a college, school, or unit. They are responsible for:

• Navigating the organization's systems, policies, and relationships
• Providing office support and reception,
• Managing calendars
• Providing meeting and committee support, including document preparation
• Supporting personnel recruitment, including onboarding and offboarding
• Purchasing and processing payments
• Organizing catering and providing other event-related support, and much more

Administrative Network Project

The Administrative Network Project is focused on establishing operational teams of administrative support professionals from complimentary colleges, schools, and units, who report directly to an administrative network manager, but are physically located within a college, school, or unit. These operational teams (i.e., Admin Networks) are intended to provide administrative support professionals with:

• A professional network to draw from for expertise and assistance.
• Guidance on best practices and a consistent approach for administrative.
• Greater coordination with centres of expertise and transactional/service supports.
• Better work-life balance and greater opportunity for coverage and support from the administrative network, if away.
• Consistent and focused onboarding on institutionally supported policies, systems, and tools.
• Professional development opportunities, mentoring, and knowledge sharing.
• Clear career paths within the university.

Through the co-design process, the Administrative Network Project team will be working with administrative support professionals to refine and further define the parameters of what an Administrative Network is.

Where are Administrative Networks being considered across campus?

Many colleges, schools, and vice-presidential portfolios have been actively and independently working on their administrative services teams, and as such, various operational structures currently exist across campus. The Administrative Network Project is learning from those embedded in units, such as the admin networks supporting the provost and vice-president administration portfolios, to bring greater alignment across the institution.

Working in collaboration with leadership teams and senior administrative professionals in colleges and schools, admininistrative networks are being co-designed sequentially to align with the Deans’ Teams portfolios.

The three Deans’ Teams portfolios include:

Society Deans' Team	Planet Deans' Team	Health Sciences Deans' Team
College of Education College of Law Edwards School of Business Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy	College of Agriculture and Bioresources College of Engineering School of Environment and Sustainability	College of Dentistry College of Kinesiology College of Medicine College of Nursing College of Pharmacy and Nutrition School of Public Health Western College of Veterinary Medicine

NOTE: Due to the scope of the College of Arts and Science, this college is included in all three Deans’ Teams.

What are Communications and Marketing Services? 

Communications and marketing professionals provide core services to the campus community to ensure USask’s brand is reflective of its identity, mission, and values, and consistently communicated to all audiences. They are responsible for storytelling and implementing communications activities through a variety of channels including, but not limited to, the university’s digital presence, e-newsletters, magazines, media pitches and releases, social media, public engagements, advertising, and marketing and branded promotional materials. In many instances, they also provide strategic communications advice with regards to planning and issues and relationships management. Currently, communications and marketing professionals are employed centrally in University Relations or within colleges, schools, and units.  

What is the Communications and Marketing Project?

The Communications and Marketing Project is focused on co-designing and implementing a new enhanced operating framework to improve brand consistency and provide a continuum of high-quality communications and marketing support across the institution. Through this project, USask is: 

• Aligning communications and marketing functions with the Shared Services model. 
  
• Supporting “embedded” professionals through greater integration and access to expertise, guidance, and support, and USask-branded and approved tools and templates. 
  
• Ensuring the right people are doing the right work, using the right tools/templates, and following the right processes. 
• Building on the existing communications and marketing community of practice and working groups. 
• Encouraging greater collaboration and transparency across campus. 
• Supporting the career advancement of communications and marketing professionals through training and professional development.