Following six resignations at a director level or higher this year, the AMS is making changes. As of the 2018-19 school year, a new corporate structure will fundamentally alter the society’s employee makeup.
According to an email sent to all staff by AMS Vice-President (Operations) Chelsea Hollidge, the AMS has decided to “reorient the reporting structure of the AMS services presently reporting to the Media Services Director, Retail Services Director, and Hospitality and Safety Services Director to instead report directly to the Vice-President (Operations).”
Hollidge explained in the email that consultation occurred with the Service Director along with various head managers and permanent staff members. Following this, the plan was created and approved by the Board of Directors.
These changes won’t impact those currently holding these positions but will affect the upcoming hiring period for next year’s jobs. As a result of the change, the three director positions will be cut and replaced with two new salaried roles as Operations Analysts.
Individuals in these positions will work with budgets and finances, as well as engage in project management, research and data compilation. In a later email to The Journal, Hollidge said these roles “will be moulded by the current and incoming Executives, permanent staff, and the current directors.”
She wrote the decision was “not an easy one,” but is a necessary and adaptive change. Over the past three years, these director roles have seen at least one unfilled spot for a significant amount of time.
During this school year, Hollidge left her position as Media Services Director in the summer to become the Vice President (Operations). On Dec. 8 of 2017, Retail Services Director Monica Przyborowski vacated her position. Both positions went unfilled.
The aim of this restructuring is to ensure that services can function without service directors.
“This is a transition period for the AMS in which long-term priorities need to be evaluated, including the impact of a rising minimum wage and our strategy for how the AMS would operate during JDUC redevelopment,” Hollidge wrote.
The Operations Analysts are meant to supplement this transition and will report to the entire executive rather than solely the Vice-President (Operations). Since the roles are flexible in nature, Hollidge hopes more students will consider applying. She described them as a “departure” from the usual upper-level management structure traditionally followed by the AMS, and believes they will attract students who wish to learn more about the society as a whole.
“This change is an opportunity for growth and exploring how we can best support the Vice-President (Operations) and the service management teams in their roles,” she said via email. “Our mandate is to provide meaningful opportunities to students.”
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