Senior Advisor, Advisory Councils

Role Responsibilities

The Senior Advisor reports to the Manager, Advisory Councils Secretariat Branch and is adept at planning and implementing council activities while building strong relationships with members and other stakeholders. You are a strategic thinker who thrives on continuous learning and problem-solving. Working collaboratively on a team comes second nature to you. At the same time, you know how to lead a project or complete a task independently. As senior advisor, you are responsible for:

1. Secretariat and administrative services

• • Establish and maintain effective relationships with council members.
  • Collaborate with the chair and vice-chair to develop agendas, plan council meetings and draft minutes.
  • Handle logistics for in-person and hybrid meetings including booking venues, sourcing catering, managing Zoom delivery, and note-taking.
  • Support council meetings at various times, as they can take place during the day, in the evening, or on a weekend to accommodate members’ schedules.
  • Assist the chair in facilitating meetings and guiding strategic discussions.
  • Work with the council to identify information and research that is needed for annual planning, engagement activities and developing recommendations to government and the provincial health agencies.
  • Consult with experts and compile research findings to support the council’s work.
  • Develop communications materials such as presentations, correspondence to stakeholders, annual reports and web content.
  • Identify and manage emerging issues.
  • Assist council members with submitting expense claims.
  • Support recruitment activities to help ensure council members represent a wide and diverse range of expertise and perspectives.
    
    

2. Stakeholder engagement services

1. • Plan and implement engagement activities with a diverse range of internal and external stakeholders to enable the councils to identify, elevate, and address community issues and opportunities.
   • Develop engagement strategies and tactics such as focus groups, surveys, virtual town halls and information sessions.
   • Create engagement resources like presentations, survey questions, discussion guides and What We Heard reports.
   • Facilitate discussions to gather meaningful feedback, manage information flow and consider multiple perspectives.
   • Establish and maintain effective relationships with stakeholders and communities.
     
     

3. Strategic advice and operational support

1. • Identify, analyze and assess information to develop accurate, strategic and comprehensive advice for department management, government officials and/or provincial health agencies to make policy decisions.
   • Prepare briefing materials to request or share information with government departments and provincial health agencies, or to make recommendations or obtain decisions from government officials.
   • Manage projects within tight deadlines to meet business objectives.
   • Develop and implement plans, processes and documentation approaches to support branch operations.

Please click on the link to review 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.

• Creative Problem Solving: You engage with your colleagues and the council members, listening to all thoughts and suggestions while respectfully asking questions and using problem-solving techniques to identify solutions.
• Agility: You are flexible and easily adapt to ongoing changes while anticipating obstacles and staying focused on goals.
• Drive for Results: You are personally accountable and contribute to a high-performing team by achieving set goals and delivering results to meet government commitments.
• Build Collaborative Environments: You have strong interpersonal skills that enable you to build and maintain effective relationships with colleagues, council members and stakeholders to accomplish goals and priorities.
• Systems Thinking: You understand how the healthcare system is interconnected and stay up-to-date on regional issues, challenges and opportunities related to system restructuring.

Qualifications

Requirements:

A university degree in business, community engagement, public relations, communications, public administration, a relevant health-related field, or a related field plus 4 years’ progressively responsible related experience as described below. Related experience or education may be considered as an equivalency on a one-for-one basis.

Required:

• Strong verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills
• Strong judgement, political awareness, and ability to handle sensitive information
• Advanced skills in MS Office including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
• Ability to travel independently throughout the province and work evenings and weekends as required

Assets: 

• Experience providing secretariat support for a board, council or committee and/or experience serving on a board, council or committee
• Skills to collaboratively develop strategic plans that guide an organization in establishing goals, objectives and activities to achieve targeted outcomes
• Planning, leading and managing multiple projects
• Experience working with and/or advising a diverse range of stakeholders including rural and remote communities
• Stakeholder or public engagement certification (e.g. IAP2) or experience planning, implementing and facilitating engagement activities
• Experience in research methodologies, data analysis, and preparing recommendations
• Knowledge of the Alberta government’s structures, procedures, decision-making processes and practices
• Understanding of the healthcare system in Alberta
• Valid Class 5 Driver’s licence

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

We are hiring one full-time position working 36.25 hours per week.

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 recommended. 

In your resume, please include dates (including months and years) associated with all education and work experience. For example, January 2006 – June 2009 (part-time). This example is provided for illustrative purposes only. Applicants are encouraged to present their information clearly and thoroughly, using a format that best conveys their experience.

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.

Links and information on what the GoA have to offer to prospective employees.

• 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.