Dr. Rafia Faiz
Dr. Rafia Faiz serves as an Associate Professor at University Canada West (UCW). She holds a PhD in Management from the University of Hertfordshire (UK), where she also earned a Fellowship in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Prior to joining UCW, Dr. Faiz taught and conducted research at institutions in Pakistan and the United Kingdom. Her academic journey reflects a deep commitment to inclusive leadership, cross-cultural understanding and the development of human capital in global settings.
Since joining UCW in 2019, Dr. Faiz has received commendations for her teaching excellence, including the Always Chasing Excellence (ACE) Award in 2023. She has designed and delivered graduate and undergraduate courses in leadership, change management and human resource management. Her teaching philosophy emphasizes reflective and creative methodologies that help students engage critically with organizational, cultural and societal challenges.
Expertise and Experience
- Human Resource Management & Organizational Behaviour: Leadership theories, atypical leadership, work-life balance, emotional labor, mentoring, and identity work, with particular emphasis on marginalized or under-researched contexts.
- Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: Workplace diversity, inclusive leadership, intersectionality, and feminist mentoring. Dr. Faiz’s work explores how to foster belonging and authentic engagement in multicultural or global organizations.
- Cross-Cultural Management: Strategies for global leadership, navigating cultural differences, managing diversity across the Global South and Global North, and developing cultural competence in organizations.
- Researching and Writing Differently: Creative and reflective methodologies such as poetic inquiry, autoethnography, duo-ethnography, and storytelling to challenge conventional academic norms and promote pluralist, inclusive scholarship.
Dr. Faiz’s international experience includes teaching in Pakistan (University of the Punjab; Bahauddin Zakariya University) and the United Kingdom (University of Hertfordshire), where she designed and delivered management courses at various levels. She has supervised numerous graduate students (PhD, MPhil, MBA) and served in various administrative and curriculum development roles.
Publications and Awards
Dr. Faiz has published in reputable journals such as Culture and Organization (SJR Q1), Gender, Work & Organization (SJR Q1), Gender in Management: An International Journal (SJR Q1), and the Journal of Interpersonal Violence (SJR Q1), among others. Many of her recent works explore mentoring for marginalized communities, poetic inquiry, and reflections on gender, race, and identity in academia. She has also co-authored or contributed chapters in forthcoming volumes with Palgrave Macmillan and Edward Elgar Publishing. Her Google Scholar profile can be viewed at https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=jt_C2UUAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra
Recent awards, honours and nominations
- Wiley Research Hero Prize – Nomination (2024)
- Always Chasing Excellence (ACE) Award – Faculty Category (2023)
- Research Performance Incentive Awards (multiple, University of the Punjab, Pakistan)
- Best Research Paper Awards (2016, 2017) at South Asian International Conference
- Scholarship for overseas PhD by Higher Education Commission of Pakistan
- Gold Medal (Distinction) for outstanding academic performance in BBA (Honours) at Bahauddin Zakariya University, Pakistan
Certifications
- Fellowship (Higher Education Academy, UK)
- Post Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (University of Hertfordshire, UK)
Courses Taught at UCW
- MGMT 601 – Leadership in the Global Context
- MGMT 643 – Change Management
- MGMT 660 – Decision Making
- HRMT 624 – Recruiting & Retaining Talent
- BUSI 497 – Business Capstone
