Issues Manager

Role Responsibilities

Do you thrive in a fast-paced environment where every day brings new challenges? Are you energized by building strong relationships, juggling multiple tasks and driving continuous improvement? If you excel at collaboration, navigating ambiguity, taking on projects and working with others, the Issues Manager position, supporting the Assistant Deputy Minister’s Office (ADMO), could be the perfect fit for you!

Reporting to the Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) of PPHC and operating as a trusted member of the Divisional Leadership Team, the Issues Manager (IM) serves as the ADM's principal strategic advisor, confidant, and coordinator on issues management. The role exists to ensure the ADM and the division are consistently positioned to anticipate, prioritize and respond to emerging operational, strategic, economic and political issues in a timely, coordinated and valuable way.

As the successful candidate, your main responsibilities will include:

• Manage the flow, tracking and coordination of information, inquiries and decision items within the ADMO to support timely decisions.
• Liaise across the ministry to ensure internal communications are aligned, consistent and responsive to organizational needs.
• Provide the ADM with clear, timely briefings on emerging issues, risks, options and implications for government.
• Review and coordinate approvals for briefing materials and correspondence prepared by partner units.
• Lead preparation and coordination of Executive Team and MDM meeting materials, ensuring quality inputs and timely decision-making.
• Represent the ADM’s direction and provide leadership on corporate initiatives, internal communications and department-wide engagement efforts.
• Support issues management by collaborating with the Minister’s Office, ADMOs and Communications to ensure alignment and consistent messaging.
• Build relationships and coordinate with cross-ministry and cross-departmental partners on current and emerging issues.
• Provide credible, diplomatic challenge to requests misaligned with division or departmental priorities.
• Lead tracking and reporting on ministry priorities, planning cycles and government agenda items using established tools and systems.
• Provide oversight and guidance to ADMOs and related teams to ensure deliverables are timely, accurate, and strategically aligned.
• Improve and maintain systems, processes, and workflows while monitoring divisional capacity and advising on reprioritization when required.

Please click on this link to view the job description for this position.

APS Competencies

Competencies are behaviors that are essential to reach our goals in serving Albertans. We encourage you to have an in depth understanding of the competencies that are required for this opportunity and to be prepared to demonstrate them during the recruitment process.

This link will assist you with understanding competencies: https://www.alberta.ca/system/files/custom_downloaded_images/psc-alberta-public-service-competency-model.pdf.

Agility – In our fast-paced environment, you can anticipate, assess, readily adapt to changing priorities and work effectively with shifting priorities.
 

Systems Thinking – You anticipate outcomes and potential impacts across inter-related areas and factors this into planning and problem solving.
 

Creative Problem Solving – You can assess options and implications in new ways to achieve outcomes and solutions.
 

Drive for Results – You know what outcomes are important and maximize resources to achieve results aligned with the organization's goals, while maintaining accountability to each other and external stakeholders.  
 

Build Collaborative Environments – Creates opportunities for project teams and stakeholders to share information; respects others' point-of-view, encourages or facilitates conflict resolution, recognizes performance of all groups involved.

Qualifications

University graduation in a related field plus 4 years progressively responsible related experience; or equivalent as described below.\

Equivalency: Directly related education or experience considered on the basis of:

• 1 year of education for 1 year of experience; or
• 1 year of experience for 1 year of education.

Assets:

• Ability to demonstrate political acumen and provide strategic decision-making, while exercising delegated authority to ensure continuity in the ADM’s absence.
• Experience with designing and maintaining streamlined information‑management systems to support timely routing, tracking, and approval of decision items, briefings and correspondence.
• Skilled in preparing high‑quality executive briefing products, including risk assessments, options analyses, and decision‑ready materials for senior leadership (ADM, DM, Minister).
• Experienced in coordinating governance and meeting packages for Executive Team and MDM meetings, ensuring strategic, accurate materials are delivered on schedule.
• Strong understanding of internal and external communication practices to ensure clarity, alignment and consistency with ministry and government priorities.
• Knowledge of issues‑management frameworks and ability to identify, escalate, track and resolve emerging issues proactively.
• Proficient in developing and maintaining reliable reporting and planning tools, including initiative trackers, annual calendars and government‑mandated reporting systems.
• Skilled in optimizing divisional workflows and capacity management, including process improvements, workload monitoring and prioritization approaches.

Minimum recruitment standards outline the minimum education and experience required for appointment to a job classification. Refer to https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-public-service-minimum-recruitment-standards.

Notes

A cover letter is required. In your cover letter, please provide information that clearly demonstrates how your qualifications meet the advertised requirements for this position.

Hours of Work: 36.25/week.

In your resume, please include dates (including months and years) associated with all education and work experience. As well, please indicate whether your work experience is casual, part-time or full-time. For example, January 15, 2006 - June 25, 2009: Assistant (PT three 8 hrs. shifts/week). Please indicate who you provided support for Example ”Director, CEO or other”.

Pre-employment checks will be completed to assess the candidate’s suitability for a role. These checks can include (but are not limited to): references, criminal record check, and academic verification. Any costs associated with obtaining the required documents/checks as noted or interview travel expenses, will be the responsibility of the candidate. Out-of-province applicants can obtain the required documents/checks from the province they currently reside in.

Any costs associated with obtaining the required documents/checks as noted or interview travel expenses, will be the responsibility of the candidate. Out-of-province applicants can obtain the required documents/checks from the province they currently reside in.

What we offer:

• Working for the Alberta Public Service – https://www.alberta.ca/advantages-working-for-alberta-public-service.aspx
• Management Employees Pension Plan (MEPP) – https://www.mepp.ca
• Alberta Public Service Benefit Information – https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-public-service-benefits
• Professional learning and development – https://www.alberta.ca/professional-development-support-directive
• Research Alberta Public Service Careers tool – https://researchapscareers.alberta.ca
• Positive workplace culture and work-life balance.
• Leadership and mentorship programs.