Program Services Officer/ Service Canada Benefits Officer (Inventory)

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 specialized accommodation. All information received in relation to accommodation will be kept confidential.

Assessment accommodation

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.

No cover letter is required; candidates must ANSWER THE SCREENING QUESTIONS provided by clearly demonstrating how they meet each of the Essential qualifications relative to education and experience.

Please note when submitting an application to this selection process, you will be prompted to answer screening questions concerning the essential education, experience qualifications AND other qualifications. When answering these questions, please provide detailed, concrete examples that clearly demonstrate HOW YOU meet the requirement. Failure to clearly substantiate how you meet the screening criteria may result in the rejection of your application.

Your application in this inventory will be active for 180 days. A notice that your application is about to expire will be posted to the My jobs menu of your account 21 days before the end of your active period. If you do not take action, your application will no longer be active and therefore no longer considered for this inventory. Should your application become inactive while the process is still open, a notice will be posted to your account indicating that your application has expired; you may select the link Update my Inventory Status to reaffirm your interest.

Please note that this process will ONLY be used to staff positions in St. John's, Newfoundland.

INSTRUCTIONS:
When recording your examples be sure that:
• Provide concrete, specific examples of actions that speak directly to the experience sought.
• Choose examples with sufficient complexity, impact and degree of difficulty that will allow you to illustrate to what extent and depth you have shown the behaviours expected for each qualification.
• Focus on what you did. In referring to an experience achieved in the context of a team, set your role apart from the role(s) of others.
• Please describe the achievements in the past tense. This will help to ensure that you are providing concrete examples, rather than making general statements (e.g. instead of saying “I work well within a team….” you can say “I worked well with a team when….”).
• Use action verbs when describing your experience i.e. lead, managed, organized, planned, prepared, informed, determined, etc.
• Provide all examples in sentence format.
• Each example must include when the example took place, background of each situation, what you did, how you did it, what your role was in the situation, and what was the outcome.

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.

Work environment

Are you interested in being a part of a team that is committed to helping Canadians? Can you build trusting and respectful relationships with clients and co-workers? Can you make decisions based on a thorough analysis of facts and policies?

We are looking for individuals who share our enthusiasm for serving Canadians.

The Office Environment:
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) ensures employees have a safe, inclusive and innovative work environment where they feel valued and motivated. Although we may work in a cubicle city, it’s an open and vibrant one of like-minded people that encourages collaboration and support among employees. There are social committees, events, and many ways to get engaged. ESDC is a large, yet connected organization of people dedicated to our clients and improving service delivery by constantly evolving with changes in technology, procedures and legislation…and we try to have as much fun as possible in the process.

The Benefits:
We offer flexible work arrangements along with a comprehensive benefits package to promote healthy and engaged employees. Benefits include: vacation leave, pension, health and dental benefits and support from Management Teams who encourage training and career development.

Intent of the process

The intent of this process is to create a pool of qualified candidates at the PM-01 (Program Services Officer) level, and a 2nd pool of qualified candidates at the PM-02 (Service Canada Benefits Officer) level to staff positions within Employment and Social Development Canada in St. John's, NL. This pool could also be used to staff similar positions of various tenures within Employment and Social Development Canada in St. John's, NL.

Various volume management strategies, such as random and/or top-down selection of candidates, and screening based on degree of experience, may be applied at any stage of the selection process.

Positions to be filled: Number to be determined

Information you must provide

Your résumé.

Contact information for 2 references.

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

EDUCATION

Secondary school diploma or employer approved alternatives (a satisfactory score on the PSC test approved as an alternative to a secondary school diploma; or an acceptable combination of education, training and/or experience)

The definition of acceptable combination of education, training and/or experience is completion of grade 11 in a grade 12 system or grade 10 in a grade 11 system, according to provincial standards, and 3 years of work experience.

NOTE:
-A Secondary School Diploma refers to a High School Diploma.
-Equivalencies granted by provincial and territorial authorities (e.g. - General Education Development (GED), Adult Basic Education (ABE) which is a secondary school equivalent), will be accepted.
-A degree from a recognized* post-secondary institution will be accepted in lieu of a Secondary School Diploma.
*A recognized post-secondary institution includes those categorized as “recognized” as well as “authorized” by the Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials (CICIC).
-The PSC Test approved as an alternative to a secondary school diploma is the Public Service Commission’s General Intelligence Test 320 (GIT-320)
-The acceptable combination will be evaluated by considering the highest level of education achieved and a minimum of 3 years work experience.

Note: You will be required to provide proof of education by providing a copy and/or showing the assessment team a copy of your High School Diploma or an official transcript (signed and dated) which clearly indicates the highest secondary school grade successfully completed. If you have completed post- secondary education, such as a degree or diploma, from a recognized post- secondary institution, then proof of completion may also be accepted as proof of education in lieu of a copy of your high school diploma. If the name on your education credentials is different from the name on your application, we will require proof that you are the same person.

Candidates with foreign educational credentials are required to provide proof of Canadian equivalency. You may consult the Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials at www.cicic.ca for further information.

Degree equivalency

EXPERIENCE - PM-01 AND PM-02 POSITIONS

Experience in using technology (e.g. e-mail, Internet and word processing)
Experience in delivering services or programs to the general public involving obtaining and providing information requiring explanation or clarification

EXPERIENCE- PM-02 POSITIONS ONLY
Experience in interpreting and applying legislation or policies

ABILITIES AND PERSONAL SUITABILITY (PM-01 AND PM-02 POSITIONS)

-Communication (written)

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

Various language requirements
Common to both PM-01 and PM-02
English Essential
Bilingual Imperative CBC/CBC

Information on language requirements

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

ABILITIES AND PERSONAL SUITABILITY (PM-01 and PM-02 POSITIONS)

-Communication (oral)
-Thinking Skills
-Diagnostic Information Gathering
-Interpersonal Awareness
-Client Focus
-Dependability

ABILITIES AND PERSONAL SUITABILITY (PM-01 POSITIONS)

-Verification and Accuracy

ABILITIES AND PERSONAL SUITABILITY (PM-02 POSITIONS)

-Decisiveness

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

ORGANIZATIONAL NEEDS:

At Employment and Social Development Canada, diversity is our strength. If you’re a woman, an Aboriginal person, a person with a disability or a visible minority and are interested in bringing in different perspectives and insights, let us know by completing the Employment Equity (EE) section in your application. Appointments of members of these EE groups could be made to ensure our workforce is inclusive and representative of the Canadian public we serve.

OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENT (Common to both PM-01 and PM-02)

Willing and able to work overtime as required

Conditions of employment

Reliability Status security clearance

Common to both PM-01 and PM-02:
Willing and able to travel for training purposes

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 designated groups when you apply.

Information on employment equity

***CANDIDATES WILL NOT BE SOLICITED FOR INCOMPLETE OR POSSIBLE MISSING INFORMATION.***

If you do not fully complete the screening questions as instructed, you will be screened out.

Acknowledgement of receipt of applications will not be sent.

It is imperative that you provide a current email address that accepts email from unknown users (some email systems block these types of email). Candidates are strongly encouraged to check their email on a regular basis. It is your entire responsibility to inform us at all times of any changes regarding your contact information.

If candidates are pulled from this inventory and are unsuccessful, their application will not be given any further consideration. We encourage candidates to continue to consult the other external job opportunities posted by the Public Service Commission of Canada at following address: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/jobs/opportunities/government.html.

Written test(s) may be administered.

Reference checks will be sought.

An interview may be administered.

All information obtained throughout the selection process, from the time of application to close of process, may be used to evaluate the candidates.

Screening questions: Candidates must fully respond to the essential education and experience screening questions in the space provided for each question. Please ensure that your responses clearly demonstrate how you meet the qualification by describing personal job accomplishments, projects and activities relating to them.

NOTE: Communication (written) will be assessed based on your application.

Please note that Written Communication is defined as: The ability to prepare written material in a clear and concise manner that appropriately addresses the needs of the particular audience

We will be looking for the candidate to demonstrate the ability to:
• Express ideas in a clear and succinct manner
• Organize ideas in a logical manner
• Use correct spelling, grammar and punctuation.
• Use an appropriate business style
• Use language, concepts and ideas appropriate to the intended audience
• Format material in a manner that provides optimal impact

You will not be screened in merely by virtue of occupying a current position whose work description meets the experience criteria. You must provide sufficient details to demonstrate that you meet all the requirements.

Persons are entitled to participate in the appointment process in the official language of their choice. Applicants are asked to indicate on their application their preferred official language for each of the following: a) written correspondence, b) written exam, c) oral interview.

Candidates must provide at least two (2) current work-related references with names and applicable telephone numbers of referees. References will be contacted.

If you require accommodation during the selection process, please indicate this on your application and/or resume.

Failure to participate in assessments as scheduled may result in the rejection of your candidacy.

Proof of Canadian citizenship will be required.

Candidates from outside the public service will be required to pay for their own travel for various assessment phases.

The hiring organization will accept applications online only. All job applications must therefore be submitted through the Public Service Resourcing System. To submit an application online, please select the button “Apply Online” below. Persons requiring accommodation preventing them from applying online are asked to contact 1-800-645-5605.

ESDC is committed to providing a workplace environment that supports productivity and the personal goals, dignity and self-esteem of every employee. In the workplace, you have the right to be treated fairly and with respect, in an environment free of discrimination, harassment and offensive behaviour. Employees will be expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, being respectful in all interactions and promoting civility in the workplace. The Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector as well as the ESDC Code of Conduct outline expected behaviours for all staff. Please copy and paste the following link into your browser to view the Code of Conduct:
https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/corporate/code-conduct.html

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, with the exception of a job located in Nunavut, where Nunavut Inuit will be appointed first.

Information on the preference to veterans

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