Work at Unity College

• Unity College’s leadership structure is built on an Enterprise Model developed and implemented under the leadership of President Dr. Melik Peter Khoury.
• The President/CEO leads the entire College.
• Vice Presidents or Deans lead individual Sustainable Educational Business Units (SEBUs) (the revenue generating entities).
• Chief Officers oversee centralized services called the Enterprise.

The Enterprise Model reduces the number of people in key leadership roles and allows for more direct access to decision makers, however we encourage all employees to communicate with their supervisors if they have any idea, questions, or concerns.

• Decisions are made by the President or Heads of SEBUs/Chief Officers with input from stakeholders.
• Within the Enterprise Model, leadership roles are interdependent while each leader has the authority to make decisions within their areas of expertise. There are no silos, no requirement for consensus, and one entity cannot override the decisions of another.

• Unity College embraces eight Core Values: Respect, Integrity, Social Responsibility, Community, Resiliency, Cultural Competency,  Innovation, and Accountability.
• In addition, the College values leadership at all levels. We lean in to the principles of Leadership in Abundance. These principles are:
  • Explore New Ideas
    • THINK OUTSIDE AND INSIDE THE BOX 
    • BE DELIBERATE AND DECISIVE 
    • THINK BIG
  • Collaborate
    • CHECK IN EARLY AND OFTEN
    • COMMUNICATE MORE RATHER THAN LESS
    • INCLUSIVITY IS THE RULE
    • TRANSPARENCY
    • TRUST
    • BE TRUSTWORTHY
  • Reflect
    • FOCUS WITH FLEXIBILITY
    • SHARE FAILURES AND SUCCESSES
  • Empathize
    • HAVE A SHORT MEMORY AND A LONG MEMORY

• At Unity College, the term employees includes all faculty and staff.
• All employees are expected to adhere to the Unity College Employee Handbook and code of conduct. Each SEBU has additional specific expectations of employees and unique staff and faculty handbooks.
• Employees are accountable to the supervisor identified in their job description, first and foremost; after that they will be accountable to either the Head of the SEBU or the Chief Officer of an Enterprise area depending on their assignment, and ultimately the President.

• Unity College identifies positions based on the viability of that position to the size, scale, or growth of the SEBU or Enterprise. For example, a SEBU might need one advisor position for every 100 students. Position viability is not used to evaluate individual performance, but rather to ensure rapid and objective scalability of staffing levels, up or down, to address changing needs.
• All employee hires are done by Human Resources in coordination with the respective hiring manager and the President.
• Employees are hired either to the Enterprise where they will serve multiple SEBUs or they are hired directly by a SEBU. In some cases Enterprise employees may be assigned or dedicated to a SEBU. An example of this is a person in the centralized Registrar unit who works exclusively with the Distance Education SEBU.

• We expect employees to achieve specific outcomes according to their job description, while working both individually and as part of integrated teams.
• We have an Audience First approach to education, and decisions are made based on how we can best serve our audiences.

• Benefits for eligible employees may include but are not limited to paid holidays, paid time off, health and dental insurance, life insurance and retirement contributions.
• Benefits are specific to a SEBU or the Enterprise. If an employee changes positions within the College, their benefits may also change accordingly.

Unity College has several locations throughout Maine. Employee locations are determined by the needs of the Enterprise or a specific SEBU. For example, a Sustainable Ventures employee at Sky Lodge would be required to report to the Moose River location.

Employees may be expected to travel among College locations depending on the position. Other travel depends on the position and the nature of the event.

A benefit of working within the Enterprise Model is the opportunity to work on special projects and teams that bring different employee talents together for collaboration. Employees may be tasked to projects or task groups depending on their level of subject matter expertise or the position they hold. For a specific project, an employee may report to someone who is not their direct supervisor for the purpose of accomplishing the project objectives.

Task groups are established to undertake specific tasks that cut across functions. The role of task groups is streamlined, and they serve as advisory and recommendation bodies to the leadership team.   

Unity College firmly believes in the value of professional development both to enhance employee skills and for compliance purposes. Professional development at Unity College includes specific days set aside for all employees to participate in pre-determined trainings and group meetings regarding the state of the College. In addition to scheduled professional development days, Unity College requires certain annual trainings as a condition of employment. Some employees (depending on their role) may also participate in courses, seminars, or conferences that enhance their professional careers.

• Yes, we promote from within as often as possible. When appropriate, we invite our employees to apply for open positions before we post them externally.
• Our organizational structure allows for upward and lateral moves. As the College grows and our needs change, we evaluate current employees for new positions and offer them the opportunity to take on new roles, including supervisory roles.

All Unity College employees observe 8 holidays. Additional paid holidays may be authorized for each SEBU and Enterprise employees based on business needs.

• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Day after Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day
• New Year’s Day
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• Memorial Day

Regular, full-time staff, and staff that are scheduled to work a minimum of 30 hours per week with a minimum of 1560 hours per year, are eligible to accrue PTO hours. PTO begins to accrue from the first day of employment and you are eligible to begin taking PTO on your 91st day. All staff begin accruing PTO at a rate of 6.15 hours biweekly if they work 40 hours/week annually up to 160 hours per year.

All full-time regular employees (30+ hours) are eligible for the following group insurance benefits. Coverages are effective on the first day of employment.

Health Insurance
Our current plan is sponsored by CIGNA and uses its physician network. Options include PPO in-network and PPO out of network and HSA. Vision coverage is also available under Cigna and a supplemental hardware plan through Delta Eyemed. Coverage is available in 4 tiers: employee, employee plus spouse, employee plus child (ren), and family. Unity College contributes to the premium cost and offers the option of your portion of the premium to be deducted on a pretax basis. Coverage is available for Domestic Partners.

Dental Insurance
Our current plan is sponsored by Cigna and uses its physician network. Coverage is for preventative care at 100%, basic restorative at 80%, and major restorative at 50% after the calendar year deductible. Our plan also offers some orthodontic coverage for children. Unity College contributes to the premium cost and offers the option of your portion of the premium to be deducted on a pretax basis. Coverage is available for Domestic Partners.

Short Term Disability
A voluntary benefit fully paid for by you. This program will provide income replacement at 60% of your pay should be unable to work due to illness or injury unrelated to your job for up to 11 weeks.

Long Term Disability
Paid for by Unity College, this program will provide income replacement at 60% of your pay should you be unable to work due to illness or injury unrelated to your job and is designed to cover you after your short-term benefits expire.

Ancillary Coverages
Employees have the option to elect Accident, Critical Illness, and Hospital Insurance through Cigna. These ancillary plans are 100% employee-paid.

Section 125 Flexible Spending Accounts
Allows employees to set up accounts to use pretax dollars to pay for medical and dental expenses not covered by their plans as well as for dependent care expenses.

Life Insurance
Paid for by Unity College, the plan offers $20,000 in life coverage with additional benefits available for claims resulting from accidents.

Supplemental Life Insurance
Additional life insurance for the employee up to $300,000. Employee may also insure the life of the spouse or domestic partner for up to the same as the employee amount and/or insure each eligible child for up to $10,000.

Retirement Plan
Unity College sponsors a 403b defined contribution plan and we offer the TIAA fund family for your investment choices. If an employee contributes 3% or more, Unity College matches your 6% effective on your date of hire, and you are vested immediately. Employees may contribute on a tax-deferred basis within the limits allowed by law.