Employment Opportunity
Director of Quality Assurance
1 Year Contract
About FNTI (First Nations Technical Institute)
Since establishment in 1985, over 4000 students have graduated successfully from FNTI with certificates, diplomas and degrees, granted in partnership with Ontario’s Colleges and Universities. An Indigenous post-secondary institution, FNTI offers programs targeted at Indigenous learners across a wide range of post-secondary disciplines including aviation, health, business, and public administration. FNTI delivers programming locally through its main campus in Tyendinaga on Ontario’s beautiful Bay of Quinte, as well as in numerous community locations throughout Ontario.
Description:
The Director of Quality Assurance provides strategic and culturally grounded academic leadership in fostering excellence across FNTI. This role oversees institutional quality assurance, program development and review, accreditation, and the advancement of Indigenous pedagogical practices through the Indigenous Centre for Teaching and Learning and library services. The Director ensures that all academic activities reflect FNTI’s values and commitments to Indigenous knowledge systems while meeting regulatory and accreditation standards, including those set by Indigenous Advanced Education and Skills Council (IAESC); National Indigenous Accreditation Board (NIAB); and the World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Consortium (WINHEC). Additional relationship building will be required with regulatory bodies, including those associated with upcoming FNTI programs.
In addition, the Director leads process development for program evaluation, outcome assessment, audit cycles, and continuous improvement initiatives that enhance learner success, and coordinated faculty and staff development. The Director also represents FNTI in liaising with provincial QA bodies, accrediting agencies, and external partners to uphold and strengthen institutional credibility.
Responsibilities:
Quality Assurance
- Institutional Quality Frameworks and Policy Leadership:
- Lead the development and implementation of a comprehensive Indigenous-informed Institutional Quality Assurance Framework (I-QAF).
- Align FNTI QA systems with requirements from Indigenous Advanced Education and Skills Council (IAESC), Ministry standards, regulatory and accrediting bodies.
- Create and manage academic policy frameworks (e.g., academic integrity, assessment policies, cyclical review schedules).
- Collaborate with the Dean, Stand Alone Programs, Dean, Aviation, Dean of Partner Programs to ensure QA policies are implemented consistently across all programs.
- Provide institutional leadership for QA activities across all academic programs.
- Identify, advise, and/or develop policies to support effective QA processes.
- Recommend changes to academic structures, resource allocation, or teaching practices based on QA findings.
- Compliance, Audit, and Accreditation:
- Lead internal academic audits across all programs including Stand Alone, Partner Programs and Aviation, focusing on compliance with Indigenous and provincial QA standards.
- Prepare and coordinate documentation for external QA reviews, audits, and institutional accreditations.
- Liaise with IAESC, quality review panels, and post-secondary partners on institutional accreditation or audit processes.
- Monitor institutional risk related to academic compliance, providing timely reports and recommendations to the Senior VPA.
- Oversee cyclical program reviews, new program approvals, and academic audits.
- Monitor and report on QA actions and outcomes to senior academic leadership.
- Guide the institution in meeting audit readiness standards from external QA bodies.
- Oversee internal and external accreditation processes, including professional accreditations.
- Monitor changes in accreditation requirements and ensure institutional readiness.
- Serve as primary liaison with provincial, national, and international accrediting agencies.
- Coordinate preparation of self-study reports, evidence-based submissions, and reviewer engagement.
- Institutional Planning and Strategic Collaboration:
- Serve as a key advisor to the Senior VPA on institutional planning related to academic quality, compliance, and innovation.
- Work collaboratively with the Deans to ensure that academic delivery is meeting QA standards.
- Represent FNTI in external networks and forums on Indigenous post-secondary QA systems.
- Lead the development and implementation of QA and academic program evaluation strategy.
- Support institutional innovation and improvement through evidence-based insights.
- Data-Driven Continuous Improvement:
- Design and implement systems to track academic performance indicators across programs (e.g., learner success, faculty effectiveness, assessment outcomes).
- Oversee learner satisfaction surveys, faculty performance data, and program review metrics.
- Analyze trends and advise Deans and Senior Leadership on areas for quality enhancement.
- Integrate QA data into institutional strategic planning and reporting cycles.
- Guide the collection and analysis of data related to program performance, learning outcomes, and student success.
- Monitor QA indicators and KPIs and use them to assess institutional effectiveness.
- Ensure compliance with data integrity and reporting standards for external audits and public disclosure.
Indigenous Centre for Teaching and Learning
- Academic Capacity Building and Internal Development:
- Supervise the Manager of Teaching and Learning to ensure faculty development aligns with institutional quality goals.
- Develop workshops, toolkits, and training resources to build internal capacity in quality assurance, academic integrity, and Indigenous-informed pedagogy.
- Support leadership training for program leads and faculty on data literacy, curriculum mapping, and evidence-based improvement planning.
- Develop training and development opportunities for faculty and academic staff involved in QA and accreditation.
- Maintain resources such as QA handbooks, templates, and procedural documentation.
- Facilitate workshops and consultations on curriculum design and improvement.
- Academic Program and Curriculum Development
- Collaborate with faculties and departments on program creation, renewal, and closure.
- Oversee curriculum quality, learning outcome alignment, and standards compliance.
- Ensure programs are aligned with strategic academic plans and student learning objectives.
Library and Archival Support
- Provide strategic oversight of institutional library and archival services that prioritize Indigenous perspectives, knowledge systems, and cultural protocols.
- Ensure the library’s collections are inclusive of Indigenous authorship, languages, oral traditions, and multimedia resources, while maintaining balance with conventional academic content.
- Develop and implement culturally appropriate policies for the organization, access, and stewardship of archival and learning materials, including adherence to Indigenous data sovereignty principles.
- Coordinate the management of video and audio learning resources, including their proper cataloguing, digital storage, and integration into academic programming.
- Implement Indigenous knowledge labeling systems (e.g., Local Contexts or Traditional Knowledge [TK] Labels) to identify restrictions on access, usage rights, and cultural sensitivity of materials.
- Collaborate with Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and community representatives to determine appropriate access levels for sensitive materials, including who may or may not engage with specific resources.
- Ensure respectful processes for obtaining community consent and acknowledgment when collecting, preserving, or sharing Indigenous knowledge and community-contributed content.
- Support the ethical digitization and archiving of cultural materials, ensuring protocols are followed for materials that require restricted, gender-specific, or ceremonial access.
- Promote equitable access to learning technologies and digital literacy support for learners and faculty, with sensitivity to varying access needs and cultural boundaries.
Qualifications:
- Lived experience as an Indigenous person, knowledge of Indigenous culture and Indigenous ways of knowing including considerations of best practices.
- Master’s degree required, Doctorate or equivalent preferred in Education, Indigenous Studies, or Quality Assurance.
- Five plus years in academic quality assurance, audit, accreditation, or academic policy leadership.
- 8–10 years of progressive academic leadership experience.
- Demonstrated knowledge of Indigenous post-secondary education systems, particularly related to Indigenous Advanced Education Skills Council or Intuitional Quality Assurance Framework.
- Experience in academic performance measurement, institutional reporting, and QA frameworks.
- Experience liaising with government bodies, external reviewers, and accreditation agencies.
- Demonstrated ability to manage complex projects, timelines, and regulatory reporting.
- Proven ability to lead across functions with diplomacy and cultural sensitivity.
- Strong skills in research, data analysis, policy writing, and compliance reporting.
- Excellent interpersonal, communication, and facilitation skills.
- Valid Ontario G-class driver’s license and willingness to travel.
Conditions of Employment:
- Willing and able to travel on occasion as well as work overtime as required
- Successful candidates must provide a satisfactory CPIC.
Notes:
- All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply, however FNTI provides preference to those applicants with Indigenous ancestry who self-identify.
- Must be legally entitled to work in Ontario, Canada
- This is a new position posting, with a starting hourly pay rate of $52.48.
Thank you for your interest. Please note only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
FNTI is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive organization. In accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and the Ontario Human Rights Code (OHRC), applicants may request accommodation related to the protected grounds at any stage of the hiring process.