Advanced Policy Analyst Program (APAP) - Post-Secondary Recruitment

Important messages

The Public Service of Canada is the largest employer in the country, employing more than a quarter of a million employees in areas such as: health, technology, administration, environment, applied sciences, law enforcement and much more.

DO YOU SHARE OUR VALUES?
The Government of Canada is committed to fostering a public service culture grounded in diversity, inclusiveness and accessibility. An inclusive workplace in which individual differences are recognized, appreciated and respected, and where each person’s talents and strengths are fully developed and utilized. Representation matters!

Creating an environment where diverse perspectives are valued begins with self-declaration. Help us to achieve this goal by identifying your employment equity group(s).

COVID-19 IMPACT
In the context of a pandemic, the temporary or permanent measures put in place to ensure the health and safety of employees as well as the continuity of operations may vary, depending on the mandate and priorities of each federal organization. If you have any questions regarding these measures, they can be addressed with the department(s) that contact you about a specific employment opportunity.

NEED ASSESSMENT ACCOMMODATION?
We are committed to providing an accessible and barrier-free work environment, starting with the hiring process. If you require an accommodation to alleviate a condition or personal situation that could impact your participation during any stage of the hiring process, please consult our "other information" section below.

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY
Please ensure you read the poster thoroughly as the instructions contain important information that will be required in the application process. Failure to read the notes and follow the instructions could result in your application missing critical information thus providing for insufficient information for the assessment board to complete your assessment and resulting in your elimination from the process.

Work environment

The Advanced Policy Analyst Program (APAP) is seeking twelve highly motivated individuals who have an interest in Canadian public policy and governance, and who possess sound judgment, analytical skills, leadership potential, and the ability to work in a team. Successful applicants will be matched with a sponsoring department that will represent the participant’s home organization for the duration of the program. For a list of the participating departments, please visit the Advanced Policy Analyst Program website. The Program offers four challenging six-month assignments in the three central agencies (Privy Council Office, Finance Canada, and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat) and a sectoral department (typically the participant’s sponsoring department) in the National Capital Region.

Participants will have the opportunity to analyze and contribute to a variety of social, economic, and international policy issues. The combination of hands-on work experience and training provides participants with a unique introduction to a challenging and rewarding career, and a chance to serve Canada and Canadians. Upon completion of these program assignments and with a fully satisfactory performance rating, participants are eligible for graduation at the EC-05 level and will be placed in their sponsoring organization.

Intent of the process

A pool of qualified candidates WILL be created and WILL be used to make indeterminate (permanent) appointments with various language requirements at the EC-03 group and level within the Advanced Policy Analyst Program (APAP) in the National Capital Region.

This pool MAY also be used by all federal organizations to make appointments outside the APAP in a similar position with various tenures and language requirements at the EC-03 group and level across Canada.

Positions to be filled: 12

Information you must provide

Your résumé.

A response to a text question addressing the following:

• You will be required to answer an essay question of a maximum of 800 words on the topic of the COVID-19 pandemic that will be used to assess your Written Communication competency, as well as your Analytical Thinking and Judgement competencies.

A list of the courses you have taken as well as any courses that you are taking now, or that you will be taking this academic year

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

EDUCATION:

a) Degree:
Graduation with a university degree (undergraduate or graduate) from a recognized post-secondary institution.

AND

b) Master's degree:
Applicants must have recently* obtained or will obtain by June 30, 2022, a Master's degree from a recognized post-secondary institution in any discipline.

*Recently is defined as within the last two calendar years (2018 and 2019 inclusively). This clause is only applicable to the Master's degree.

Graduate coursework must be successfully completed* prior to June 18, 2021.

*Please note that successfully completed means completed with grades officially posted by the academic institution.

AND

c) Acceptable specialization or courses in Economics:

By June 18, 2021, applicants must have completed:

- At least one half-year course in Micro-economics AND at least one half-year course in Macroeconomics (or an equivalent full-year course with both Micro- and Macro-economics);
- and at least two additional half-year OR one full-year course in economics**;
- and at least one additional half-year course in statistics or quantitative analysis or research methods.

**Acceptable courses in economics include, but are not limited to: Canadian Economy/Provincial Economics (e.g. Economy of Quebec), International Trade and Finance, Health Economics, Managerial Economics, Labour Economics, Economic Development, Economic History, Political Economy, Econometrics, and Public Sector Economics. These courses must be at the graduate or undergraduate level.

AND

d) Academic Excellence:
Applicants must have maintained an excellent grade point average (at least 75% or B+) at their last completed degree, either undergraduate or graduate level.

AND

e) Academic scholarship(s) or Award(s) received:
Applicants must have received academic scholarship(s) or award(s), such as admission scholarships, international scholarships, or other excellence scholarships or awards. Please note, bursaries do not constitute an academic scholarship or award of excellence.

Note: You will need to provide ALL of your university transcripts (indicating university, course titles, number of credits, grades, year taken); including a list of all courses you will be taking this academic year, if applicable. Proof of Canadian equivalency for degrees obtained outside of Canada must be provided before the interview.

Degree equivalency

EXPERIENCE:
Experience which demonstrates leadership through volunteer work, extracurricular activities, or employment (including student employment) involving a continued commitment, effort, or significant achievement performed outside of the applicant's studies.

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

Various language requirements
English or French Essential
Bilingual Imperative BBB/BBB, CBC/CBC, CCC/CCC

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

KNOWLEDGE
- Knowledge of public policy issues facing Canada
- Knowledge of economic implications of public policy issues

COMPETENCIES
- Analytical thinking
- Judgment
- Effective people skills and collaboration
- Effective oral communication
- Written communication
- Managing workload
- Values and ethic
- Respectful of diversity

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

Selection may be limited to members of the following Employment Equity groups: Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, visible minorities, women

Information on employment equity

OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Depending on the position to staff, operational requirements could apply such as:
- Willingness and ability to work overtime
- Willingness and ability to travel in Canada and abroad

Conditions of employment

Secret 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

If you require accommodation when applying, please contact us at the email address below. For accommodation requests at the time of the assessment, you can contact the person who will contact you for the various stages of the hiring process. You may be asked to provide relevant information to determine the appropriate accommodation measures. For more information on assessment accommodation, visit our website at https://www.canada.ca/en/public-service-commission/services/assessment-accommodation-page.html

Your application must include the following:

- A curriculum vitae which will be used as a secondary source to validate the information provided in the questionnaire which you must fill out as part of your application. It must clearly demonstrate how you meet the requirements (education and experience(s)).

- References: the name, title, organization, phone number, and e-mail address for two (2) references - one being an academic reference and the other an employment or volunteer work reference (supervisor/manager).

We will accept on-line applications only.

Only the top 40 to 70 candidates, assessed on a combination of factors, will be considered for an interview based on the number of available positions.

Management may use scores obtained at various stages in the process to determine which candidates advance to the next stage. Selection decisions may be based on results achieved for one or more qualifications; for example preference may be given to the candidate that has scored the highest on a specific qualification.

Should you be considered for an interview, you will be contacted in December 2020. All communications with candidates will be by e-mail only. Please include a valid e-mail address and check your mailbox frequently. Interviews are tentatively scheduled for the week of January 11, 2021.

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.