National Consultant

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

Please note when submitting an application to this selection process, you will be prompted to answer screening questions concerning the essential education and experience qualifications and, if applicable, other (nonessential) qualifications.

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.

INSTRUCTIONS

When recording your examples, be sure you:
• 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.

FOR EACH EXPERIENCE CRITERIA, please provide the following MANDATORY information:

1 - Name of the department or organization where the experience was acquired;
2 - Title of the position occupied and duration for which you exercised the functions; and
3 - Specific details of tasks or projects demonstrating how the experience was acquired.

All information must be provided through the “apply online” application process. Do not fax, mail, email or drop-off a hard copy application as these will not be accepted. To apply in an alternate format due to disability, you must contact the email address indicated in the "Contact information" section below PRIOR to the Closing Date.

Duties

The WP05 National Consultant roles within Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) are responsible for the provision of consultative services, professional guidance, functional direction and training to Veterans Affairs Canada client service delivery staff in support of the delivery of programs, benefits and services to promote the well-being of VAC clients in one or more of the following areas of expertise: program management, operational support, quality management, transition, disability benefits, income support and rehabilitation.

This process will be used for potential staffing of National Consultant roles (National Consultants in Income Support Programs, Transition Programs, Rehabilitation Programs and similar positions) within Veterans Affairs with various tenures, various linguistic profiles, and/or security clearances.

Intent of the process

The intent of this process is to establish a pool of qualified candidates which could be used to staff similar or identical positions with various tenures, language requirements, and/or security clearance levels in various Federal Government Departments or Agencies, in various locations.

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
ED1 - Graduation from a recognized post-secondary institution or an employer approved alternative (two years post-secondary education combined with two years' experience as noted in experience factors below).

Degree equivalency

EXPERIENCE
EX1 - Significant experience* in providing direction and advice to stakeholders** regarding programs, benefits or services.
EX2 - Experience developing and presenting a variety of materials (e.g., briefing notes, analysis documents, media responses, research reports, issues report or presentations).
EX3 - Experience collaborating with partners and leading or supporting working groups or project teams or managing teams.
EX4 - Experience in making recommendations or decisions that require the application of legislation, policies, procedures or guidelines.

*Significant experience refers to the breadth and depth of experience and is defined as a combination of time spent doing the activity, as well as type (range, scope, and complexity) of work handled related to the experience criteria. This refers to having this experience over a period of approximately one year within the last 3 years.

**Stakeholder refers to any individual or group, within or outside your organization, that has a vested interest in the project, program or issue (e.g. client, colleague, manager, or external organization).

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

Various language requirements
English Essential
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

ABILITIES
AB1 - Ability to effectively manage teams, initiatives or projects. ****
AB2 - Ability to analyze complex* issues, identify findings and propose solutions to your manager**. ****
AB3 - Ability to prepare and deliver presentations to inform senior management*** about important matters or elicit decisions.
AB4 - Ability to communicate effectively in writing.****
AB5 - Ability to communicate effectively orally.

*Complex : Defined as the depth and breadth of issues associated with a topic – may involve multiple complicating factors or considerations, stakeholder perspectives, critical timelines, high degree of visibility or sensitivity or having a major impact on a Department or Government Agency, organization or the public.

**Manager is defined as one level above your position.

***Senior management is defined as Director level or above within federal government, Lieutenant Colonel or above within Canadian Armed Forces, or equivalent senior positions in the private sector.

****These abilities will be assessed through the online application.

PERSONAL SUITABILITY
PS1 - Strategic Thinking.*
PS2 - Interpersonal skills.
PS3 - Initiative.*
PS4 - Leadership.

*These personal suitabilities will be assessed through the online application.

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

EDUCATION
AED1 - Bachelor’s degree with a specialization in social or health sciences.

Degree equivalency

EXPERIENCE
AEX1 - Experience as a member of the Canadian Armed Forces.
AEX2 - Experience working with Veterans Affairs Canada, in Service Delivery positions in particular.
AEX3 - Experience in managing the work of contractors or consultants.
AEX4 - Experience in facilitating group activities/meetings or delivering training sessions in an adult learning environment.
AEX5 - Experience in delivery or management of services to support transition from the military, disability benefits, income replacement support or rehabilitation programs.
AEX6 - Experience in the design, delivery, management, or evaluation of social programs (e.g., rehabilitation services, transition, income support programs, disability benefits programs).
AEX7 - Experience in project management, quality management or quality assurance.
AEX8 - Experience working on a VAC operational team (e.g., Benefit Operations teams processing benefit claims and/or payments).

OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Willingness to travel.
Willingness to carry a cellphone or other hand-held device.
Occasional overtime may be required sometimes with little notice.

Conditions of employment

Reliability Status - Some positions may require a Secret security level.

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

It is your responsibility to ensure that your email and contact information are maintained with the hiring board. All communication for this process will be sent by email and it is your responsibility to verify your messages regularly.

Education and Experience factors in the asset qualifications may be used for screening. Applicants should clearly demonstrate on their application if they meet any of the education and experience asset qualifications. Failure to do so may result in the rejection of your application.

One or more asset qualifications may be used during the screening to manage the volume of applications.

Candidates will be asked to provide proof of their education credentials, and proof of citizenship at a later date.

An interview and/or written exam may be administered.

You must pass each essential qualification to be found qualified.

Candidates must meet the essential qualifications to be appointed to a position.

Reference checks may be sought.

Indeterminate employees at the same group and level or equivalent may be considered for deployment.

The Public Service of Canada is committed to building a skilled, diverse workforce reflective of Canadian society. As a result, it promotes employment equity and encourages candidates to indicate voluntarily on their application if they are a woman, an Aboriginal person, a person with a disability or a member of a visible minority group.

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.