Administrative roles are important in the overall management, functioning, and strategic direction of educational institutions. These roles can encompass a wide range of responsibilities that may involve overseeing operations, implementing policies, or managing resources to ensure the overall success of the educational programs and institutions.
Whether you are an educator seeking to broaden your impact on a larger scale, drawn to leadership and mentorship for educators, or motivated for professional growth, embarking on the path from educator to administrator is a journey that demands both ambition and strategic navigation.
In this unique blog series, we explore the pursuit of administrative roles in the field of English Language Training (ELT). TESL Ontario collaborated with six (6) hiring managers representing various sectors of the Ontario ELT landscape, who stand ready to share their experience, advice, and wisdom along this transitional journey. This first installment of the series is designed to introduce you to the available roles and potential pathways into administration.
What administrative roles are there?
Administrative and managerial roles can take place in a variety of institutions including school boards, post-secondary institutions (colleges, universities) and language schools. Some sample occupations identified by our hiring managers include:
- Program Manager
- Associate Director
- Director of Studies
- Assistant Director
- Chair
- Dean
- Academic Administrator
- Consultant
- Program Assistant
- Admissions Counselor
- International Recruitment Specialist
- Homestay/Residence Life Coordinator
- Communications Assistant
- Campus Events Coordinator
- Financial Officer
- Accountant
Sample pathways into education administration
ESL-LINC Coordinator
“The steps I took to achieve my current role were to seek continued opportunities to develop my skill set, to accept opportunities for and positions of greater responsibility and to ensure I was continually upgrading my training in the field.”
Associate Chair
“I accepted a variety of roles throughout my career. The experience all culminated to my present role.”
Manager, Continuing & Community Education
“I’m very fortunate to have had opportunities to grow, to try new things and to learn from others in management. I moved to my current role where I had to learn a lot about day-to-day program operations but had good mentoring and teams around me which helped me.”
Visit the TESL Career Centre for essential resources designed to help you navigate the English language education employment landscape.
The Career Connections: 2023 Career Fair, and Career Booster forum took place as part of the 2023 TESL Ontario Annual Virtual Conference was held on November 9th. While you may have missed it this year, please consider joining us next year for our TESL Ontario Annual Conference and Career Fair.
Kiara Kim is the Resource Development Assistant at TESL Ontario for summer 2023. She is a recent graduate from the University of Toronto, Mississauga, with an HBSc in Anthropology. Throughout her undergrad, she worked actively within university programming and various community research projects in fields of anthropology of health, historical archeology and English language education. She is looking forward to furthering her intersecting interests in research and education.
