COMMUNICATIONS ADVISOR

Important messages

DUTIES:

Are you passionate about communications? Do you want an exciting career doing what you love to do?

Imagine using your strong writing skills, digital savviness and/or creative thinking to make a difference in the lives of Canadians. Yes, it is possible!

The Government of Canada is looking for highly motivated, talented and experienced communicators!

We will be creating a pool of qualified candidates to fill opportunities in various departments and agencies of the Government of Canada across the country.

We are looking for candidates for a number of functions including web, social media, writing, creative services, media relations and more.

As a Communications Advisor, you will have the opportunity to:

• provide advice on important communication issues;

• develop and implement a variety of communication plans, products and activities;

• contribute to the creation, drafting and adaptation of content in multiple formats for various audiences;

• coordinate communications projects and liaise with key stakeholders and partners.

HOW TO APPLY

You will not need to provide a cover letter.

Please submit your résumé and answer the screening questions in the application process.

YOU MUST MEET THE ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS TO BE CONSIDERED IN THIS PROCESS.

You are required to provide concrete and detailed examples that clearly explain not only HOW you acquired the experience, but also WHERE and WHEN you gained the experience. Simply stating you have the essential education or experience is not enough. We will only use your résumé as a secondary source of information.

In your answers to the pre-screening questions, if you do not clearly demonstrate you have the required experience and education, we will not ask for additional information, which will result in you being screened out.

For example, it is not enough to tell us that you have strong writing skills; tell us what you’ve written (news releases, media lines, etc.) and provide context such as the nature of the project, the target audience, and the results achieved etc. That will help us determine whether you will be evaluated in greater depth. If you are asked to specify dates or time periods, remember to mention them.

HOW WE WILL EVALUATE CANDIDATES

We will review your responses to the essential education and experience pre-screening questions to verify that you have met each criteria.

We will only contact the candidates who meet the essential qualifications at the screening stage. If you meet the essential qualifications, you may then be invited to participate in a written exam. If you do not meet the essential criteria, your application will not be considered any further.

If you are successful on the written exam, you will be invited to an interview where we will probe the depth and breadth of your abilities and personal suitability and give you the opportunity to demonstrate your skills. You will also be asked to provide proof of your education credentials and three references.

Intent of the process

The intent of this selection process is to create a pool of qualified or partially qualified candidates. This selection process will be used to staff similar positions within the Government of Canada with various tenures, language requirements and security requirements.

If you are found to be qualified, your name will be placed in a pool of candidates for potential employment opportunities.

Departments and agencies across the Government of Canada could select you from the pool and appoint you to a specific position, when vacancies arise. You may be required to complete additional steps to see how well you will fit with their team. This will also give you a chance to assess whether you want to work on their team.

Positions to be filled: Number to be determined

Information you must provide

Your résumé.

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

EDUCATION

ED1: A degree from a recognized post-secondary institution or an acceptable combination of education, training and/or experience.

Degree equivalency

EXPERIENCE

EX1: Significant* and recent** experience in providing communications advice and recommendations to management***, as well as to clients or partners.

EX2: Significant* and recent** experience in developing and implementing communications strategies, plans, products or activities.

EX3: Significant* and recent** experience in researching, analyzing, interpreting and summarizing information.

EX4: Significant* and recent** experience in developing collaborative relationships with various partners.

* Significant experience is defined as the breadth and depth of experience normally associated with full-time performance of duties for a period of at least 2 years.

**Recent experience is defined as experience acquired within the last 5 years.

***Management is defined as supervisors or above.

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

ASSET CRITERIA

You must show how you meet the essential criteria to be considered in this collective staffing process. Once the assessment period is completed, the names of individuals who meet all of the essential criteria will be placed in a pool of qualified candidates.

You DO NOT HAVE TO POSSESS THE ASSET CRITERIA below to be considered in this process or be included in a pool of qualified candidates.

If you do possess any of the following asset criteria, please take the time to clearly explain your interest and how you meet them. This information may be helpful to hiring managers, as positions become available.

You may be assessed on these asset criteria DURING this collective process OR AT A LATER DATE, if managers are looking for candidates to fill positions that require any of these specific skills.

Please provide at least one example for any applicable asset criteria below (including where and when you gained that experience), to substantiate how you meet it.

COMMUNICATIONS PORTFOLIO

AEX1: Experience in strategic communications.
AEX2: Experience in media monitoring and analysis.
AEX3: Experience in public environment analysis.
AEX4: Experience in internal or corporate communications.
AEX5: Experience in media relations or public relations.
AEX6: Experience in marketing or advertising.
AEX7: Experience in organizing and coordinating events.
AEX8: Experience in consultation or public opinion research.
AEX9: Experience in crisis and issues management.
AEX10: Experience in speechwriting.
AEX11: Experience in editing documents in a professional context.
AEX12: Experience in translation in a professional context in both official languages.

DIGITAL EXPERTISE

AEX13: Experience developing content, coordinating projects or writing for the web.
AEX14: Experience developing and/or implementing digital campaigns.
AEX15: Experience in digital user experience and user testing.
AEX16: Experience in web publishing.
AEX17: Experience in photography in a professional context.
AEX18: Experience in videography – production, editing and other related skills.
AEX19: Experience in graphic design.
AEX20: Experience in developing content, coordinating projects or monitoring social media in a professional context.

OTHER

AEX21: Experience in supervising staff.

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

Bilingual - Imperative
(BBB/BBB, CBC/CBC, CCC/CCC, PPC/PPC, or other possible bilingual linguistic profiles.)

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

AB1: Ability to communicate effectively orally.

AB2: Ability to communicate effectively in writing.

AB3: Ability to provide sound advice and recommendations.

AB4: Ability to conduct research, analyze information and write concise summaries or reports.

AB5: Ability to develop communication products for a variety of audiences.

AB6: Ability to manage time effectively, set priorities and work under tight deadlines.

PERSONAL SUITABILITY

We need team players and individual thinkers who can work in a variety of situations with the following attributes:

PS1: Judgement
PS2: Initiative
PS3: Resourcefulness
PS4: Adaptability
PS5: Teamwork
PS6: Attention to detail
PS7: Dependability

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

OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

The operational requirements may vary depending on the department or agency. The hiring department or agency will discuss these requirements if they contact you about a specific position and could include, but are not limited to:

- OVERTIME
Overtime on short notice may be required for some positions.

- TRAVEL
Occasional travel, sometimes on short notice, may be required for some positions.

Conditions of employment

Secret security clearance - The security level (reliability status, secret or top-secret security clearance, etc.) may vary with the position to be staffed.

Other information

The Government of Canada is dedicated to building an inclusive workforce with a diversity of experiences, perspectives and backgrounds that represents Canada now and in the future. In order to achieve this goal, we strongly encourage you to indicate if you belong to one of the designated groups (women, people with disabilities, aboriginal peoples and visible minorities). We are passionate about fostering a workplace where all people feel welcome and can reach their full potential.

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.

All communications relating to this process, including email correspondence may be used in the assessment of qualifications.

Communication for this process will be sent via email or via the Public Service Resourcing System (PSRS). It is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure accurate contact information is provided and updated as required. Candidates who apply to this selection process must include an email address that accepts email from unknown users (some email systems block these types of email).

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.