Communications Manager

Intent of the process

The immediate intent of this poster is to fill one term position. A pool of qualified candidates will be created and may be used to staff similar positions at this and other groups and levels with various tenures (i.e. acting, assignment, deployment, term, indeterminate, and secondment). Results of this process may also be used by other organizations with the federal public service.

Positions to be filled: 1

Information you must provide

Your résumé.

A covering letter in 5,000 words (maximum)

You must meet all essential qualifications in order to be appointed to the position. Other qualifications may be a deciding factor in choosing the person to be appointed. Some essential and other qualifications will be assessed through your application. It is your responsibility to provide appropriate examples that illustrate how you meet each qualification. Failing to do so could result in your application being rejected.

In order to be considered, your application must clearly explain how you meet the following (essential qualifications)

EDUCATION:

Graduation with a degree from a recognized post-secondary institution in an area related to Public Relations, Journalism, or Communications.

Or

A degree from a recognized post-secondary educational institution in an area related to the position, with an acceptable combination of experience related to the duties of the position. An acceptable combination is defined as work experience related to communications normally acquired during a period of five (5) years (full-time).

Degree equivalency

EXPERIENCE:

Significant* experience executing media relations and issues management functions.

Experience** in developing and implementing communication approaches and strategies.

Experience** providing Communications advice on complex and sensitive matters to managers, executives (director and above) and/or ministerial staff

Experience in writing and editing a variety of communications products such as, but not limited to articles, news releases, media lines, speaking notes, and/or web materials for a variety of stakeholders. Examples of stakeholders may include industry stakeholders, the general public, and staff.

Note:
*Significant experience is understood to mean the depth and breadth of the experience normally associated with having performed a broad range of various, complex related activities.

**The depth and breadth of this experience may be used as a screening mechanism.

If you possess any of the following, your application must also clearly explain how you meet it (other qualifications)

EDUCATION:

Graduation with a degree from a recognized post-secondary institution in an area related to Public Relations, Journalism, Communications, or some other specialty relevant to information services.

Degree equivalency

EXPERIENCE:

Experience supporting and contributing to organizing news conferences and/or special events in relation to Ministerial activities and/or other senior officials.

Experience in preparing spokespersons to provide media interviews.

Experience working in an issues or crisis driven environment.

Experience working with and providing advice on social media platforms.

Experience managing people.

The following will be applied / assessed at a later date (essential for the job)

English essential

Information on language requirements

COMMUNICATIONS COMPETENCIES:

Ability to communicate orally
Ability to communicate in writing

BEHAVIOURAL COMPETENCIES:

Adaptability
Analytical Thinking
Decisiveness
Team Leadership
Relationship/Network Building
Strategic Outlook and Alignment

ABILITIES:

Ability to multi-task
Ability to work under tight deadlines
Ability to work under pressure.

The following may be applied / assessed at a later date (may be needed for the job)

OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

For some positions: Able and willing to work overtime including weekends and evenings, often with short notice.

For some positions: Able and willing to act as IS-06 which requires being able to work significant amounts of overtime, including weekends and evenings, often with short notice and without additional remuneration beyond regular Acting Pay.

Able and willing to travel for up to one week at a time.

Conditions of employment

Reliability Status security clearance

Other information

Candidates must clearly demonstrate IN THEIR COVER LETTER how they meet the education and experience factors listed in the essential and asset qualifications. Candidates must use the education/experience factors as a header and then write one or two paragraphs for each demonstrating how they meet them with concrete examples.

You must meet all essential qualifications in order to be appointed to the position. Other qualifications may be a deciding factor in choosing the person to be appointed.

Failure to clearly demonstrate how you the Educational, Language and Experience criteria, both Essential and Asset will result in the rejection of your application. Candidates will not be solicited for incomplete or possible missing information.

When providing examples in your letter, remember that the assessment board cannot make assumptions about your experience. It is insufficient to say that you have the required qualifications or to list your current or past duties. Candidates must demonstrate how they meet the education and experience criteria listed in the job opportunity advertisement by providing clear and concrete examples.

Clear and concrete examples are defined as illustrations in which you fully explain the actions, considerations and steps you completed in order to gain the experience you are describing. This detailed contextual information will be used by the board members reviewing your submission to assess whether you have sufficient experience in a relevant field to complete the tasks which will be assigned to you should you be considered for this position. This is similar to what would be expected of you when asked to provide a concrete example of a particular situation in the context of an interview. In order to facilitate this process, you may wish to start your submissions with a sentence similar to: “A clear and concrete example of a situation where I did X is a situation which occurred on Y date and my role in this activity was to...”.

Resumes will be used as a secondary source of information and strictly to validate the concrete examples you will have described in this tool.

Also, when reading the experience criteria for staffing processes, please pay close attention to action words contained within and ensure the examples you chose to include speak to all of them. Similar attention should be given to punctuation and connector words such as “commas”, “and” and “or” as these have a different function when used to describe an experience criteria. As such, action words or activities separated with a “,” and connected with an “and” must all be demonstrated with concrete examples as in this case, they are all deemed essential by the hiring manager. Conversely, when action words or activities are separated with a “,” and connected with an “or”, candidates may provide concrete examples for only one of the activities listed in the criterion as in this case, the hiring manager is looking for someone who has experience in at least one of the activities but not necessarily all of them.

For example, when responding to a criterion which reads: “Experience reading, writing and publishing instructions for a competitive process.” you must provide concrete examples of situations where you read instructions, concrete examples of situations where you wrote instructions as well as concrete examples of situations where you published instructions for a competitive process. These may be part of the same example however, you must ensure to provide sufficient details to cover the three actions as they are all critical.

On the other hand, when responding to an experience criterion which reads: “Experience reading, writing or publishing instructions for a competitive process” you must provide concrete examples for a minimum of one situation where you either read, wrote or published instructions for a competitive process as experience in a minimum of one activity is critical. This being said, when this structure is used, you may also provide concrete examples for all action words or activities as this approach will provide board members with additional information to assess the breath of your experience.

Finally, if the examples you provide speak of experience that was acquired in a team setting, please be specific as to your exact role within this team as it is your experience the board will be looking to assess and not that of your team.
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Reference checks may be sought.

An interview may be administered.

Interviews may be conducted via telephone or video conference.

A written examination may be administered.

Written Communication Proficiency Test (351) may be administered.

Candidates must meet the essential qualifications to be appointed to a position.

Candidates may be required to meet the asset qualifications depending on the requirements of the specific position being staffed.

Candidates are to note that all results and invitations will be sent electronically. We request therefore that you provide us with a valid electronic address when you apply.

Acknowledgment of receipt of applications will not be sent; we will contact candidates when the screening process is completed.

Please ensure that your Personal Record Identifier (PRI) is included in your application.
Failure to clearly demonstrate how you meet the screening criteria will result in the rejection of your application. Candidates will not be solicited for incomplete or missing information.

As an equal opportunity employer, Fisheries and Oceans Canada is committed to accommodating the needs of persons with disabilities. If you have any health or physical limitations, which may adversely affect your performance during any phase of the appointment process, please identify any accommodation needed.

Please note that it is the responsibility of the candidate to advise the Regional staffing representative of any requirement for accommodation. Should you decide to proceed with the assessment without due accommodation, there will not be an opportunity to request accommodation after the fact and you must accept the assessment results.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada recognizes that the diversity of its employees' population contributes to its strength and integrity. We are committed to achieving employment equity and developing a highly capable workforce that is representative of Canadian Society. We therefore encourage women (especially in non-traditional occupations), Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minority groups to apply and declare themselves as part of one or more of the above mentioned Employment Equity Designated Groups.

Persons are entitled to participate in the appointment process in the official language of their choice. Applicants are asked to indicate their preferred official language in their application.

You must provide proof of your education credentials and occupational certification.

Please provide a valid e-mail address as correspondence will be sent via e-mail whenever possible.

A Statement of Merit Criteria and Work Description are available upon request.

Please identify clearly your substantive group and level and your employment status on your resume and/or application form.

If you were educated outside of Canada, you must have your certificates and/or diplomas assessed against Canadian education standards. This will enable you to provide proof of Canadian equivalency when applying for a job in the public service. The public service will accept any Foreign Educational Credentials as long as they are deemed comparable to Canadian standards, through a recognized credential assessment service. For further information, please visit http://jobs-emplois.gc.ca/psr-rp/equiv-can-eng.htm

It is a recognized educational institution (e.g., community college, CÉGEP or university) that determines if the courses taken by a candidate correspond to the educational requirements of the program. It is the candidate’s responsibility to obtain the appropriate documentation from the recognized educational institution. Candidates will be required to submit proof of education during the assessment phase of the staffing process.

The Public Service of Canada is committed to building a skilled, diverse workforce reflective of Canadian society. As a result, it promotes employment equity and encourages candidates to indicate voluntarily on their application if they are a woman, an Aboriginal person, a person with a disability or a member of a visible minority group.

The Public Service of Canada is also committed to developing inclusive, barrier-free selection processes and work environments. If contacted in relation to a job opportunity or testing, you should advise the Public Service Commission or the departmental official in a timely fashion of the accommodation measures which must be taken to enable you to be assessed in a fair and equitable manner. Information received relating to accommodation measures will be addressed confidentially.

Preference

Preference will be given to veterans and to Canadian citizens, in that order.

Information on the preference to veterans

We thank all those who apply. Only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.