Senior Advisor, Advisory Councils

Role Responsibilities

Are you passionate about building meaningful relations with communities across Alberta and positively impacting the health care system? Are you a people person who has a knack for strategic thinking and thrives in a fast-paced environment? If so, we are looking for senior advisors to be assigned to 14 regional advisory councils to help them achieve their goals and engage with Alberta communities about ways of improving the health care system. 

Reporting to the Manager, Advisory Councils Secretariat, the position supports the Advisory Councils Secretariat branch, in the Health System Refocusing Division. 

The work includes secretariat work, planning and supporting meetings, developing relationships with council members, working directly to support council operations, leading and facilitating public and stakeholder engagement activities in council region, establishing and maintaining effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders, developing work plans, drafting annual reports, presentations, fact sheets and other materials, and recruiting members.

Specific responsibilities for the position include: 
1) Secretariat to advisory councils 

     a)  Establishes and maintains effective relationships with council members and responds to their inquiries. 

     b)  Plans council meetings and collaborates with the Chair to develop agendas and identify information needs.

     c)  Develops supporting materials through research or consultation with experts and delivers presentations to support strategic discussion.

     d)  Gathers input to inform actions to improve health care delivery across the province.

     e)  Liaises with provincial health organizations and Alberta Health to ensure flow of information.

     f)  Identifies and manages emerging issues.

Role Responsibilities (Cont'd)

2) Manages stakeholder engagement

     a)  Leads, plans, and facilitates engagement activities with a wide range of both internal and external stakeholders to identify, elevate, and address community issues and opportunities.

     b)  Establishes and maintains effective relationships with stakeholders and communities.

     c)  Provides strategic advice and analysis to support engagement activities and develops engagement summary reports. 

     d)  Exercises a high degree of interpersonal skills with stakeholders to support the success of the councils.

3) Manages administration of the councils 

     a)  Provides logistical support for the regional councils' meetings which will be taking place in various regions (e.g., booking meeting rooms, catering, note-taking). The majority of meetings are held after hours

          to accommodate the daytime schedules of our council volunteers.

     b)  Support onboarding and orientation activities for council members. 

     c)  Manages expenses of council members e.g., supports council members accessing the expense system and inputting information. 

     d)  Identifies needs and supports recruitment activities of council members to represent a wide and diverse range of expertise and perspectives. 

4) Provides strategic advice, policy support, and develops a wide range of strategic and programmatic communication materials. 

     a)  Identifies, analyzes and assesses information to develop accurate, strategic and comprehensive advice to achieve council objectives. 

     b)  Prepares reports, recommendations, briefing materials for management and/or external stakeholders for information and/or decisions. Responds to action requests as required. 

     c)  Analyzes information and assesses alternative means of meeting policy objectives, including jurisdictional scans, and evaluating the various implications of these options.

     d)  Manages projects within tight deadlines to support the health system refocusing division.

     e)  Leads divisional and strategic program and/or policy content and pro-actively mitigates concerns and advocates program priorities.

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.
 

• Creative Problem Solving: The individual in the position must be open to the thoughts and suggestions of all team members, respectfully ask questions and use wide variety of techniques to break down problems and identifies new solutions for the organization. 
• Agility: The incumbent would need to be flexible and adapt to constant changes while anticipating obstacles and staying focused on goals. 
• Drive for Results: This role will be part of a high performing team and would need to deliver results and achieve the set goals for the division and meet government commitments. 
• Build Collaborative Environments: The role requires working closely and build relations with stakeholders from communities across Alberta, and support their needs.
• Systems Thinking: Creating and supporting regional advisory councils is part of the larger plan to refocus the healthcare system. The individual in this position has to be able to understand how the healthcare system is interconnected, and has to stay up to date with regional health issues.  

Qualifications

University graduation in a related field (Public Engagement, Public Relations, Public Policy, Public Health, Social Sciences, Public Administration, Communications, Political Science or Business) plus 4 years progressively responsible related experience; or equivalent as described below.  

Related experience or education may be considered as an equivalency on a one for one basis.

The following experience is required: 

• Stakeholder or public engagement (planning, facilitating).
• Extensive and expert knowledge and experience in public and stakeholder engagement. 
• Strong communication skills (verbal and written).
• Extensive experience in understanding and analyzing competing interests of stakeholders to develop program policies.
• Experience in planning, leading, and managing projects.
• Experience in research methodologies, data analysis, and preparing recommendations.
• Advanced skills in MS Office including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Must have a valid Class 5 Driver’s license.
• Must be available to travel independently throughout the province and able to work evenings and weekends as required.

The following are considered assets: 

• Certified Public Participation Professional (IAP2 Certificate).
• Understanding of the health care system in Alberta.
• Knowledge of Government structures and procedures.
• Understanding of Government of Alberta decision making processes and practices.
• Experience working with a diverse range of stakeholders including rural, remote, and Indigenous communities.
• Experience researching, writing and editing a wide range of materials including reports, information sheets, presentations and speaking notes.
• Excellent analytical, facilitation, and leadership skills.
• Proven experience and advanced knowledge in public engagement and stakeholder relations.
• Strong understanding of public engagement theory, methods, trends, and best practices in public engagement.
• Excellent political acumen. 
• Knowledge of the relationship between public engagement and decision making.

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

This competition will be used to fill multiple full-time positions, working 36.25 hours per week. 

We are open to candidates across Alberta with flexible office locations across the province.

Candidates with lesser qualifications may be considered at a lower classification and salary. This competition may be used to fill future roles at the same or lower classifications.

The final candidates may be required to undergo pre-employment checks (Reference check/Criminal record and/or academic).

A cover letter outlining how your experience relates to the qualifications outlined in this job ad is required. 

In your resume, please include dates (including months and years) associated with all education and work experience. Also, 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).

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.
• Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) - https://www.pspp.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.
• Opportunity to participate in flexible work arrangements such as working from home up to two days per week and modified work schedule agreements.
• Leadership and mentorship programs.