Hello. I am Jason Jones, Director, Total Compensation & Systems in the Human Resources Department.
I have over 20 years of experience working in Human Resources. Most of those working in Higher Education or Post Secondary Education. My career started off at a small non-profit organization that helps kids who have survived trauma, neglect, and abuse confront serious mental health challenges. I was fresh out of college and aspired to be a Clinical Psychologist. After working in the field for a few years I realized it was not for me. The organization asked me if I was interested in HR and a new journey began. This led me to the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center where I assisted the Vice Chancellor of Human Resources and the Director of Human Resources in the day-to-day operations of the department. That was my first exposure to working in a university setting and I was hooked. In 2005 I moved from Colorado to New York City and was fortunate to land a job at Columbia University, Teachers College. Most of this time was spent working on and eventually leading the HRIS function in digital transformation. Over nearly 15 years there, I worked my way up from an HRIS Analyst position to Director of HRIS and eventually Director of HR Operations. I absolutely loved being part of the community there and would still be there today had my wife and I not made the decision to leave the “rat race” behind. My wife being born a Vancouverite, felt it was time to move closer to family and in 2018 we relocated to Vancouver, BC.
As an American, I did not have work authorization to work in Canada when I first landed. My wife, being a Canadian citizen, was able to sponsor my application for permanent residency. As this process takes time, and the cost of living being what it was, I needed to get creative. I took on a role working for Ellucian as they offered the flexibility of working remotely. In this role I further developed my expertise with the Banner ERP. Once granted permanent residency, I felt it was time to get out of my home office and assimilate into Canada. It did not take long to find employment in the lower mainland, and I landed at BCIT working on their Total Compensation Team. I worked there for nearly four years leading their HRIS Team. This role provided me experience working in the public post-secondary environment and the chance to further assimilate into life here. I was eager to get back to a more strategic position when opportunity knocked and I was contacted about the Director, Total Compensation & Systems role at the University of the Fraser Valley. I am thrilled at the opportunity to be back in a university setting and working here. I look forward to contributing to our mission of engaging learners, transforming lives, and building community.
My personal life now mostly revolves around my family or should I say our twelve-year-old son’s extra-curricular activities. When we are not shuttling him and his mates around for soccer training/matches or ski club training and races, we enjoy time outdoors in beautiful BC. We enjoy hiking, skiing, snowboarding, paddleboarding and fishing. I love music and during the pandemic I started collecting vinyl records. On a rare occasion, I can be found at a live music event and have resolved to dragging myself out for these even if they fall on a weeknight.