Bilingual Administrative Assistant

Important messages

We are committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free work environment, starting with the hiring process. If you need to be accommodated during any phase of the evaluation process, please use the Contact information below to request special accommodation. All information received in relation to accommodation will be kept confidential.

Information on accommodation for persons with disabilities

When you apply to this selection process, you are not applying for a specific job, but to an inventory for future vacancies. As positions become available, applicants who meet the qualifications may be contacted for further assessment.

TRANSPORT CANADA (TC) - IMPORTANT NOTES
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Please see INVENTORY/POOL definitions under section «Other information» at the end of the advertisement.

As positions become available, a volume management strategy will be invoked to determine who will be selected to undergo the assessment process.

As we expect a high volume of applications, after submitting your application online, your candidacy may not be selected due to the volume management strategy. However, as employment opportunities arise, you may be randomly selected at a later date.

Candidates who are not randomly selected will not receive any communication, neither a response on the status of your application.

Duties

A successful Administrative Assistant is driven to go above and beyond for the team, someone who is dedicated to delivering quality administrative/client service and support.

On any given day, you will have the opportunity to work on a variety of tasks and develop your skills in many areas. You will work to build relationships, have the chance to collaborate with talented people and develop a rich network of colleagues with different backgrounds.

Someone who has experience working with the latest efficient technologies and/or software to improve the way work is done would be an asset for this position.

Work environment

The ideal candidate is dynamic and thrive working in a fast pace work environment where priorities and deliverables are constantly changing.

You must be comfortable managing a high volume of work in order to maintain a good flow of the activities and carrying them through to completion by prioritizing tasks.

You must have excellent bilingual written and verbal communication skills, will enthusiastically support and collaborate with others, at every level of the organization, be action oriented and a problem solver.

Intent of the process

The intent is to create an inventory that will be used to staff various AS-01 bilingual positions on an indeterminate basis, located in the National Capital Region (RCN) in Ottawa, Ontario.

The assessment will be in-person and will take place in Ottawa, Ontario. Candidates will be required to pay for their own travel expenses.

A pool of qualified and/or partially assessed candidates may be established to staff similar bilingual positions with various tenures (indeterminate, term, deployment, or acting opportunities) within Transport Canada (TC).

ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS
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You must meet all essential qualifications in order to be placed in the pool of fully qualified candidates and be considered for current or future appointments.

It is your responsibility to provide appropriate and concrete examples that illustrate how you meet each qualification.

Failing to do so could result in your application being rejected.

ASSET QUALIFICATIONS
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You do not need to answer the screening questions for the assets qualifications.

However, if you meet one or more, you are strongly encouraged to answer Asset Qualifications questions in your online application as they may be used at any stage in the process or be a deciding factor in choosing the person to be considered for an appointment.

Not answering them will not result in your application being rejected.

PRESCREENING - RÉSUMÉ / SCREENING QUESTIONS
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Take the time to answer the questions with as much detail and examples as possible. This is your chance to shine, to tell us what you have to offer and why you would be the ideal candidate.

Be specific about projects you’ve worked on, where (occupational title, organization), when (from, to), what was your role, fully explain the actions, considerations and steps you completed in order to gain the experience you are describing. What was the final outcome/result?

For example, when responding to a criterion which reads: “Experience reading, writing AND publishing instructions for a selection 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 required.

On the other hand, if criterion 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 selection 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.

Should you indicate in your responses “See my résumé”, “I have 5 years’ experience in the field”, “I acquired this experience working at XYZ Store”, “I meet this qualification” or similar statements will not be accepted. Candidates will not be solicited for incomplete or missing information.

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.

Lack of concrete examples and details will result in your application being rejected.

Positions to be filled: Number to be determined

Information you must provide

Your résumé.

A response to a text question addressing the following:

• Please describe in 500 words or less.

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

EDUCATION
ED: A secondary school diploma or employer-approved alternatives.

The employer-approved alternatives to a secondary school diploma are:
a. A satisfactory score on the Public Service Commission test approved as an alternative to a secondary school diploma; OR
b. An acceptable combination of education and experience, including at least one (1) year experience in administrative support or client service.

Degree equivalency

EXPERIENCE
EX1: Experience providing administrative support and/or client service*.

*Client service is defined as an environment in which you are in direct contact with clients and provide quality service in a timely fashion.

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

EDUCATION - ASSET QUALIFICATION
AED1.1: Successful completion of vocational program, certificate or diploma from a recognized institution in secretarial studies, office administration, business administration, finance/accounting or other field related to the position; OR
AED1.2: Secondary school diploma and two (2) years’ experience in office administration/client service.

Degree equivalency

EXPERIENCE - ASSET QUALIFICATIONS
AEX1: Experience proofreading, editing or formatting various types of correspondence.

AEX2: Experience applying administrative policies, procedures or directives.

AEX3: Experience providing advice and making recommendations to clients.

AEX4: Experience using Microsoft Office Suite software (Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint)

AEX5: Experience organizing meetings or conference calls / videoconferences.

AEX6: Experience supporting human resources activities.

AEX7: Experience providing budget and financial support services including procurements and contracts.

AEX8: Experience using a financial management system (e.g. SAP, Oracle).

AEX9: Experience preparing and organizing travel arrangements or processing claims.

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

Bilingual - Imperative (BBB/BBB)
NOTE: Candidates need to be able to work in English AND in French (reading, writing and oral proficiency) in order to be found qualified and be considered for appointment.

Second Language Writing Skills Self-Assessment
In order to help you decide if you should apply to a bilingual position, an optional self-assessment of your writing skills in your second official language is available for you to take before completing your application.

For more information, please consult: Unsupervised Internet Test of Second Language Writing Skills

Information on language requirements

ABILITIES
A1: Ability to set priorities and manage workload.
A2: Ability to work well with others.
A3: Ability to solve problems and be action oriented.
A4: Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing.

PERSONAL SUITABILITIES
PS1: Reliability
PS2: Judgment
PS3: Attention to detail
PS4: Work under pressure

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

1. Work overtime with little or no advance notice.
2. Must have a flexible schedule.

Other information

The Public Service of Canada is committed to building a skilled and diverse workforce that reflects the Canadians we serve. We promote employment equity and encourage you to indicate if you belong to one of the targeted groups when you apply.

Information on employment equity

COMMUNICATION
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Communication with candidates will be by email. It is your responsibility to provide a valid e-mail address that you frequently verify and that accepts e-mail from unknown users (some e-mail systems block these types of e-mail).

All written and verbal communication obtained throughout the selection process, from the time of application to close of process, may be used to evaluate your ability to communicate effectively in writing and orally.

If a candidate do not respond to certain communications, their application may be interpreted as automatically withdrawn from the process.

NEWLY GRADUATES / LIMITED EXPERIENCE / VOLUNTEER WORK
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If you are a recent school graduate and/or have limited work experience, include school-related projects or coursework that demonstrate relevant skills and competencies. In this case, we may request you provide the name of a former teacher as a reference to validate the information submitted.

If you contributed to volunteer work, you are encouraged to demonstrate how any relevant volunteer work (e.g., working on committees, union activities, employee networks, community work, etc.) has contributed to the development of your experience, skills and abilities, personal suitability, etc., and how they are linked to the position being staffed.

ASSESSMENT – GENERAL INFORMATION
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Random selection will be used in conjunction with other volume management strategies that can be applied at any stage in the staffing process.

Various methods of assessment will be used, such as, but not limited to: submission of a video for screening purposes, written exam, oral presentation, phone, individual and/or group interview, simulation exercise, reference checks, etc.

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

Consideration for assessment may be given to candidates based on:
a. SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCE - Depth and breadth of experience; OR
b. EDUCATION - Having studied in a field related to the position; OR
c. PUBLIC SERVICE RENEWAL - Former FSWEP, COOP or RAP students who graduated in the past five (5) years and are not employees of the Public Service; OR
d. EMPLOYMENT EQUITY - Being a member of one of the following Employment Equity groups: Indigenous persons, persons with a disability and visible minorities.

ASSESSMENT – PULL FROM INVENTORY
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The first round of candidates for in-person assessment will be invited to a group interview on Friday, July 6, 2018 in Ottawa, Ontario.

Candidates who are invited to participate in the group interview are expected to make all reasonable efforts to make themselves available.

WHEN: all day Friday July 6, 2018
WHERE: 255 Albert street, suite 301, Ottawa, Ontario
WHAT: AM - Group interview / PM - Second Language Evaluation (SLE)
*SLE - If you already have valid SLE results, please bring a copy the day of the assessment*

When employment opportunities arise, we will proceed with another pull of candidates to undergo the assessment phase at a later date.

ASSESSMENT – AVAILABILITY
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The assessment may be administered outside of regular working hours including evenings and weekends. If you are unavailable, you must inform us immediately as each request will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Supporting documentation will be required.

ASSESSMENT – TRAVEL EXPENSES
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Candidates will be responsible for travel expenses related to evaluation purposes.

If applicable, candidates may be required to pay for their relocation expenses.

ASSESSMENT – REFERENCE CHECKS
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Those selected for a group interview should be prepared to provide the names and contact information of recent* references (recent* is defined as within the last year):
a. 2 supervisors (Present and previous supervisors); AND
b. 1 colleague (work / volunteer activities); OR
c. 1 teacher (newly graduate only).

By providing their names, you give your consent to TC to contact them directly. Some or all of these individuals may be contacted.

References must be available, have an in-depth knowledge of your work/projects, and must be able to answer specific questions pertaining to your experience, achievements and strengths.

References that are not reachable and/or not available are lowering the candidates’ chances to be found fully qualified and be considered for appointment.

When providing names of references, it is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure they are available to respond in a timely manner.

DEFINITIONS
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An inventory is a group of applicants that could be used for assessment purposes in order to staff positions as they become vacant, but who have not been assessed. If found qualified following assessment against the merit criteria, these individuals can be considered for future appointments to an AS-01 position.

Pools differ from inventories in that individuals within pools have been assessed to some degree. In the case of a fully assessed pool, all merit criteria have been assessed.

For partially assessed pools, some merit criteria have been assessed, requiring that individuals be further assessed prior to being eligible for appointment.

PREFERENCE FOR APPOINTMENT - VETERANS AND CANADIAN CITIZENS
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As per the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA), section 39:
« Any of the following who meet the essential qualifications shall be appointed ahead of other candidates, in the following order:
a. A person who is in receipt of a pension by reason of war service, within the meaning of the schedule;
b. A veteran or a survivor of a veteran, within the meaning of the schedule; and
c. A Canadian citizen, within the meaning of the Citizenship Act, in any case where a person who is not a Canadian citizen is also a candidate.»

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.