Herald (Anticipatory)

Important messages

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Assessment accommodation

Work environment

Working within the Chancellery of Honours at the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General, each herald at the Canadian Heraldic Authority (CHA) is responsible for managing several dozen files related to the creation of new heraldic emblems for Canadian citizens, institutions and the Canadian Armed Forces. The technical knowledge of heraldry is a definite asset but not a requirement, as the successful candidate will be trained on the job.

The management of the Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges of Canada is central to the activities of the CHA. The position of herald requires the writing of correspondence and other legal texts on a daily basis, critically reviewing artwork and texts, and maintaining archival and online records. With a linguistic profile of CCC, a herald works with the public in both official languages and actively participates in the creation and revision of bilingual documents.

Contact with clients, senior government officials and with the general public is a daily part of a herald’s responsibilities; as a result, tact and the ability to speak in public are important skills to possess. In order to develop design concepts for heraldic emblems, a herald needs to work closely with clients by researching, summarizing and sharing historical background, identifying essential design themes, and striving to obtain consensus on symbolic colours and figures for inclusion in the design. With members of the public, a herald is responsible for answering questions related to heraldry as well as emblems in general. A keen interest in family, institutional and general history, as well as in the study of emblems, will be of great assistance in the herald’s professional development.

Intent of the process

The results of this process are intended to be used to fill anticipated vacancy(ies) and/or used to create a pool of qualified candidates for various tenures, such as: Indeterminate, deployment, Term, Acting Assignment or Assignment at level, depending on status of the selected candidate.

Positions to be filled: Number to be determined

Information you must provide

Your résumé.

A covering letter in 1,000 words (maximum) "Explaining why you are interested in this position."

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 university with an acceptable specialization in history or other relevant specialty supplemented by courses or training in archival practices and heraldry.

Degree equivalency

EXPERIENCE
- Experience in communicating with the public in writing and orally;
- Experience in editing and proofreading texts;
- Experience in writing scholarly articles for publication or academic theses;
- Experience in working on projects related to heraldry.

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

Bilingual - Imperative (CCC/CCC)

Information on language requirements

KNOWLEDGE
- Knowledge of the development of the art and science of heraldry;
- Thorough knowledge of the structure, mandate and granting process of the Canadian Heraldic Authority;
- Knowledge of principal sources for heraldic research.

ABILITIES
- Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing;
- Ability to edit and proofread texts;
- Ability to plan work and meet deadlines and to deal quickly and effectively with many concurrent priorities;
- Ability to work with minimal supervision and under pressure.

PERSONAL SUITABILITY
- Attentive to detail
- Shows initiative
- Flexible
- Creative
- Effective in interpersonal relations

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

EDUCATION
- Master’s or Doctorate in history.

Degree equivalency

ABILITIES
- Ability to describe coats of arms using the specialized heraldic language (blazon);
- Ability to create design concepts for heraldic emblems

Conditions of employment

Confidential security clearance

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

1. Acknowledgement of receipt of applications will not be sent.

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

3. For this selection process, the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General will communicate with candidates by email. Applicants must include in their application a valid email address that is functional at all times and accepts messages from unknown users as some email systems block certain types of email.

4. Candidates who have valid second language evaluation (SLE) results are to provide proof of their test results. It is the responsibility of those candidates who do not have their results to obtain them from the Public Service Commission (PSC). http://www.psc cfp.gc.ca/ppc-cpp/test-examenresult/result-eng.htm.

5. Please note that all Notifications related to this process will be posted on the Public Service Resourcing System (PSRS). It is your responsibility to check for notifications on the PSRS site to avail yourself of the right to informal discussion with the manager and/or recourse to be submitted to the Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board.

6. Various assessment tools may be used in this selection process, such as a written exam, an interview, references check, etc.

7. INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED:
Candidates must provide the following information when submitting their application on jobs.gc.ca (Public Service Resourcing System, PSRS):
- A résumé;
- A covering letter in 1,000 words (maximum) "Explaining why you are interested in this position.";
- Responses to all required questions pertaining to Essential Qualifications (Education and Experience), Asset Qualifications as well as complementary questions.

8. When submitting an application to this selection process, you will be prompted to answer screening questions concerning the essential education and experience qualifications.

9. It is NOT sufficient to only state that the qualifications are met or to provide a listing of current or past responsibilities. Rather you must clearly demonstrate HOW, WHEN, and WHERE the qualification was met through substantiation by examples. Information on your described skills, experience, etc. provided in the screening questions should be supported by your resume. Failure to provide the above information in the format required may result in your application being rejected from the process. Candidates may not be solicited for incomplete or possible missing information.

10. Resumes may be used as a secondary source to validate the experience and education described in the screening questions.

11. Although the asset qualifications are not mandatory, they may be an important factor that will be considered for specific positions being staffed. Therefore, if you meet the asset education and experience, it is to your advantage to demonstrate this in your application as well.

12. Please ensure that your personal record identifier (PRI) or Service Number is included in your resume and/or application form.

13. TRAVEL RELATED TO THE SELECTION OR APPOINTMENT PROCESS
Please note that candidates (including employees of the Public Service) will not be considered to be in travel status or on government business and that travel costs will not be reimbursed. Consequently, candidates will be responsible for their travel costs.

14. A security check will be administered and proof of citizenship, education, and at least 2 work references with names and applicable phone numbers will be required. Security Check will include a credit check and fingerprinting. Successful candidate(s) must meet and maintain the Conditions of Employment throughout their employment.

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.