University Students’ Council and The University of Western Ontario
KING’S UNIVERSITY COLLEGE HEAD SOPH APPLICATION
DUE: November 11 at 4:00 pm
INTERVIEWS: November 18- 25, 2015
SUBMIT APPLICATION ON: www.westerncareercentral.ca
APPLICATION SUMMARY
Applicants will be required to submit a completed written application and resume at
https://www.westerncareercentral.ca/student/studentLogin.htm
The intake of all Head Soph applications will be through Western`s CareerCentral portal.
Individual job postings have been created for each position. Applicants will be required to log on
to CareerCentral using their Western username and password. Applications can be found by
clicking on `Head Soph Applications` under `My Account` IN THE LEFT COLUMN.
Successful applicants will be contacted for an interview to be held from November 18- 25, 2015.
If you have any questions about the position please contact Doreen Vautour, Residence Manager
and Coordinator of Conference Services and Student Activities at the King’s University College,
at [email protected] or by telephone at 519 433-3491x4393 for more information.
If you have any questions about the written application framework please contact Rich Caccamo,
Coordinator, Orientation Initiatives at [email protected] or by telephone at 519 6612111 x84399 for more information.
INTRODUCTION
The King’s University College Head Soph is responsible for providing academic support and
coordinating programs for first year students during Orientation Week and throughout the
academic year through their Soph Team and the KUCSC.
A detailed position description of the King’s Head Soph role is available as a supplement to this
application. The position description can be found online on www.oweek.ca and on
CareerCentral with the “job posting.”
This application is comprised of two sections. The first section will focus on competencies.
Applicants will be assessed on their ability to demonstrate and provide evidence for relevant
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University Students’ Council and The University of Western Ontario
KING’S UNIVERSITY COLLEGE HEAD SOPH APPLICATION
position competencies through past performance and experience. The second section will allow
the applicant to expand on their ideas for the role.
ELIGIBILITY
Applicants for the King’s Head Soph position must be dutifully enrolled as an undergraduate
student registered at King’s University College for the 2015/16 & 2016/17 academic year.
All Orientation Leaders must attain a 65% academic average in their course marks in the school
year ending in April 2016. Summer courses do not count towards the calculation of this average.
A successful applicant`s eligibility will be confirmed through the University Registrar.
PART ONE: POSITION COMPETENCIES
A successful Head Soph will be expected to demonstrate the following competencies in the
position (in no particular order) as identified by the Orientation Planning Committee (OPC):
Leadership
Indicators:
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Communicate a clear and compelling vision for a team’s work.
Effectively build trust among team members and lead by example.
Assess situations and make decisions using critical thinking and problem solving skills.
Develop effective program/event planning and facilitation skills.
Share the responsibilities of leadership with others and provide the support and resources
required for others to succeed.
Communication
Indicators:
 Engage in active listening, accepting information without bias and seek to understand
different perspectives.
 Effectively facilitate mediation, conflict resolution, and/or consensus building.
 Facilitate engaging and productive meetings that allow for diverse opinions and focus on
action plans.
 Ask questions that increase insight, generate new information, or enhance dialogue.
 Deliver clear and engaging presentations that enhance audience understanding and
participation.
Diversity
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University Students’ Council and The University of Western Ontario
KING’S UNIVERSITY COLLEGE HEAD SOPH APPLICATION
Indicators:
 Value differences in gender, culture, sexual identity, religious beliefs, spirituality, and
more.
 Demonstrate a willingness to create fair and accessible environments, in personal and
professional situations.
 Advocate for the respect and inclusion of marginalized and/or disenfranchised
individuals/groups.
 Understand the principles and dynamics of power and privilege.
 Develop strategies for developing more inclusive communication styles, forms, and
language.
APPLICATION FORMAT
Applicants are asked to produce personal evidence (i.e. behaviours, past events, experiences,
activities) for the indicators associated with competencies listed above. Personal evidence must
demonstrate past performance of the related competency.
The best way to communicate how you have demonstrated a competency is in the following
way:
1. Identify a Concrete Experience: Recall a relevant personal experience, or several
experiences, which demonstrates the competency and its indicators.
- Write a detailed description of the event (i.e. as close as possible to a ‘play
by play’ that a video camera might have recorded).
- E.g. personal experiences or direct observations from others.
2. Reflect on your Experience: Reflect on what you learned from the experience(s).
- Discuss your analysis and judgments of the experience and the discussion
about the learning that you engaged in with others. Reflection is a middle
ground that allows you to come to conclusions about how and why you
think and behave in certain ways.
- E.g. judgments, feelings, and connections with earlier experiences, and
conclusions reported from others.
3. Apply Your Learning: Make generalizations and formulate practical applications
which can be related to the Head Soph position
- Share the conclusions you formed from your reflection stage which form
the basis by which you can plan future action. Indicate situations when
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University Students’ Council and The University of Western Ontario
KING’S UNIVERSITY COLLEGE HEAD SOPH APPLICATION
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you would implement what you learned from your past experience(s) in
the role of Head Soph.
E.g. application planning articulated as specifically as possible for
practice in the position.
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Please address each competency separately, as opposed to combining multiple
competencies in a single paragraph.
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Please select ONLY 2 indicators per competency.
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Applicants are expected to demonstrate ONLY 2 out of the 3 competencies (i.e. 4
indicators).
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Please use only 1 example of a personal experience per indicator.
PART TWO: POSITION VISIONING
Applicants should provide detailed and clear responses to the following:
1. Please describe three (3) new initiatives or changes to current team programming you
would like to accomplish during your term as Head Soph. Describe the steps you would
take to implement these initiatives. (1000 words maximum).
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