Communications Officer/Senior Communications Officer

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

STREAM 1: IS-03 Communications Officer
STREAM 2: IS-04 Senior Communications Officer

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.

When you apply for this process, please keep in mind that most essential merit criteria (education, experience, some abilities and personal suitabilities) will be assessed by the answers you provide in your online application. As a result, please ensure you allow yourself a significant amount of time to complete this application.

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.

Contact information for 2 references will be required. One reference must be a recent supervisor. Please provide email addresses for your references.

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

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.

Veterans Affairs Canada takes pride in being a workplace of choice and promotes a flexible work environment.

Work environment

Canada's development as an independent country with a unique identity stems partly from its achievements in times of war. Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) exists to assist and help those whose courageous efforts gave us this legacy and contributed to our growth as a nation.

Veterans Affairs Canada's mandate is to support the well-being of Veterans and their families, and to promote recognition and remembrance of the achievements and sacrifices of those who served Canada in times of war, military conflict and peace.

The Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) Communications team is second to none. It is a relatively small (yet infinitely mighty) shop of communications professionals that spans from strategic planning to web design and everything in between. The impact of the communications team’s work on the daily lives of Veterans and their families is real and it is significant. This is your chance to join a healthy and productive culture where laughter can be heard and big results are achieved. Don’t miss out.

Intent of the process

The immediate need is to staff the following positions:
(1) IS-04 Indeterminate Bilingual Imperative CBC/CBC in Ottawa, ON
(1) IS-04 Indeterminate Bilingual Imperative CBC/CBC in Charlottetown, PE.

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, workplace arrangements, language requirements, locations and/or security clearance levels in various Federal Government Departments or Agencies.

Positions to be filled: 2

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)

Stream 1 & Stream 2

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

* An acceptable combination of education, training and/or experience is defined as successful completion of a program from a recognized post-secondary institution and the essential experience qualifications itemized below.

NOTE: Based on their education, training and/or experience, indeterminate incumbents of positions in the IS classification are deemed to meet the minimum education standard whenever a bachelor's degree without specialization is called for in a position classified as IS.

Degree equivalency

Stream 1: IS-03 Communications Officer

Experiences:
• *Experience developing, coordinating and implementing projects or events.
• *Experience preparing a variety of written communications products**: speaking notes or speeches, briefing documents, reports, backgrounders, factsheets, questions and answers, news releases, social media plans, brochures, presentations, key messages, event proposals, scenario notes, scripts, communications or project plans etc.
• *Experience providing strategic advice to managers or internal clients.

*Experience normally associated with having performed a broad range of related activities in a working environment for 6 to 12 months.
** At least 3 of the written products listed

Stream 2: IS-04 Senior Communications Officer

Experiences:
• *Experience developing, coordinating and implementing projects or events.
• *Experience preparing a variety of written communications products**: speaking notes or speeches, briefing documents, reports, backgrounders, factsheets, questions and answers, news releases, social media plans, brochures, presentations, key messages, event proposals, scenario notes, scripts, communications or project plans etc.
• *Experience providing strategic advice to managers or internal clients.

*Experience normally associated with having performed a broad range of related activities in a working environment for one year within the last three years.
** At least 5 of the written products listed

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

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

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

Stream 1 & Stream 2:

Abilities:
• Ability to communicate effectively orally.
• Ability to communicate effectively in writing.*
• Ability to work effectively under pressure with tight deadlines and conflicting demands.*

*Please note: These abilities will be assessed through the online application and a response is MANDATORY.

Stream 1 & Stream 2:

Personal Suitabilities:
• Effective interpersonal skills*
• Initiative
• Judgement*
• Dependability

Please note: These personal suitabilities will be assessed through the online application and a response is MANDATORY.

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

Stream 1 & Stream 2:

Asset Qualifications:
• Experience as a member of the Canadian Armed Forces
• Experience working at Veterans Affairs Canada, or working on Veterans’ issues or files.
• Experience organizing and coordinating events.
• Experience in consultation or public opinion research.
• Experience in statistical or data analysis.

Organizational Needs:
In support of achieving a diversified workforce, consideration may be given to candidates self-identifying as belonging to one of the following Employment Equity groups: Aboriginal peoples, Persons with a disability, Visible Minorities, Women.

Operational Requirements:
• Willingness and ability to carry a cellular device
• Willingness and ability to travel
• Willingness and ability to work long hours and overtime on short notice, including during evenings or on weekends.

Conditions of employment

Condition of Employment:
• Secret Security Clearance or Reliability Status

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/or 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/or experience asset qualifications.

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 at a later date.

An interview and/or written exam may be administered.

Reference checks may be sought.

The Assessment Committee reserves the right to contact references other than those provided by the candidates (within the Public Service only) in order to adequately assess the candidates.

PLEASE NOTE: 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.

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.