Strategic Planner, APS Events

Role Responsibilities

Do you thrive in high-stakes environments where timing, tone, and trust matter? Are you skilled at navigating complex approvals, briefing senior leaders, and coordinating events that reflect the professionalism of the Alberta Public Service?

If so, we want you to lead our most visible and strategically important initiatives.

The Strategic Planner, APS Events is responsible for planning and implementing APS-wide initiatives that require precision and political acumen. You’ll ensure every detail is aligned, every risk is managed, and every event delivers impact.

The Strategic Planner is a core enabler for L&E programming across the APS. In this role, you will:
•    Navigate approvals with precision: Design clear, concise briefing materials that enable timely decisions, even when direct access to decision-makers is limited. 
•    Exercise political acumen: Anticipate sensitivities, manage reputational risk, and ensure events reflect the values and standards of the APS. 
•    Design event strategies: Plan and execute complex ceremonies and initiatives involving senior APS leadership and elected officials. 
•    Coordinate across ministries: Align planning and delivery with multiple teams, ministries, and external partners. 
•    Drive continuous improvement: Lead post-event evaluations, identify systemic challenges, and implement APS-wide enhancements.

To be successful in this role, you need to:
•    Communicate with influence: You write with clarity and purpose, tailoring your templates and messages for relevant audiences and contexts. 
•    Think strategically and plan proactively: You anticipate risks, weigh trade-offs, and make informed recommendations under pressure. 
•    Manage complexity with confidence: You juggle competing priorities, coordinate across teams, and keep events on track. 
•    Lead with collaboration: You build consensus, resolve conflicts, and foster strong relationships across the APS and with vendors/service providers. 
•    Deliver with precision: You bring rigor to planning, execution, and evaluation, ensuring every event reflects the professionalism of the APS.

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

APS Competencies

Competencies are behaviours 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.

Systems Thinking: Considers inter-relationships and emerging trends to attain goals.
Drive for Results: Actively sets goals and remains open to advice on reaching them.
Creative Problem Solving: Is open to new ideas and breaks problems down to identify solutions.

Qualifications

Minimum recruitment standard: University graduation and 4 years of progressively responsible related experience.

Equivalency: Related education or experience is considered on the basis of:
•    1 year of education for 1 year of experience; or
•    1 year of experience for 1 year of education.

Other requirements (i.e. “must haves” to be considered for the role):
•    Experience leading event design and/or stakeholder engagement in a public sector environment.
•    Experience preparing clear, concise briefing materials to secure decisions from senior leadership.
•    Knowledge of public sector policies, organizational structures and machinery of government decision-making.

Assets (i.e. “nice to haves”):
•    Experience planning events involving elected officials.

Your cover letter and resume will be used to assess your qualifications, including your written communication skills and your attention to detail.

Ensure your cover letter meets all of the following criteria:
•    Includes a professional salutation;
•    Identifies the relevant job opportunity (i.e. Strategic Planner, APS Events);
•    Is concise, without spelling/grammatical errors;
•    Clearly identifies the number of years of experience you have working in a public sector organization (e.g. federal/provincial/municipal government, school board, hospital, etc.); and
•    Provides a clear and concise example of a time you used written communication to secure an important decision/approval from leadership.

Ensure your resume meets all of the following criteria:
•    Includes the starting and ending month & year of each role;
•    Is concise, without spelling/grammatical errors;
•    Has a clear, consistent layout that demonstrates your attention to detail; and 
•    Provides information about each role using clear and concise bullet points.

Applications without a cover letter and resume that meet all of the above criteria will not be considered.

Note: Prior to selecting a shortlist of candidates for interviews, applicants will be requested to submit a short-written assignment.

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

To be considered for this competition, your application must include a well-written cover letter and resume. Carefully review the Qualifications section to see the specific requirements for the cover letter and resume that are unique to this role. If your application does not include a cover letter and resume that clearly meet these requirements, your application will not be considered. 

Location:  Our office is located in downtown Edmonton. Alternate work locations are not available at this time.

Occasional travel within Alberta may be required.

Business hours are Monday to Friday, 8:15 am to 4:30 pm. Hours of work are 7.25 hours per day/36.25 hours per week. Modified work hours may be available on a case-by-case basis, subject to government policy and operational viability. 

Final candidates will be required to undergo a security screening. 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.

Mor information about 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.
•    Leadership and mentorship programs.