Health Canada is recruiting Data Scientists!

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

Are you interested in working at a cutting-edge organization that values both your physical and psychological health and wellness, provides rich career development opportunities and rewards innovation? Health Canada is among Canada’s Top 100 Employers for 2021 in addition to being recognized as Top employer for Young People since 2015 and as Best Diversity Employer since 2010! Don’t miss your opportunity to not only enjoy the unparalleled benefits of the public service, but to get so much more on our award-winning team!

WHO ARE WE?

Health Canada’s Regulatory Operations and Enforcement Branch (ROEB) informs and protects Canadians from health and safety risks associated with regulated products, substances and the environment.

ROEB strives to achieve excellence in all compliance and enforcement activities such as field inspection, product sampling, compliance verification, enforcement measures and investigation.

Want to learn more about us? Please visit https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/corporate/about-health-canada/branches-agencies/regulatory-operations-enforcement-branch.html

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?

• An employer who values work life balance
• An employer who embraces continuous learning, training and career advancement
• Competitive leave entitlements including vacation, sick leave and family related leave
• Pension plan
• Full family benefits, including dental and health care plans

WORK FROM WHERE YOU ARE

Our team has been working remotely since March 2020. While we don’t know what our “office of the future” will look like, we do know that remote work works. That means you don’t need to be in any of our NCR or Regional Offices to be considered for a role on this team.

Please note it could be possible to telework from anywhere within Canada.

EVERYONE IS WELCOME

Health Canada is dedicated to building an inclusive workforce that comprises individuals who have an array of identities, abilities, background, culture, skills, perspectives, and experiences that are representative of Canada’s current and evolving population. We are passionate about fostering a workplace where all people feel welcome, can reach their full potential, and contribute their unique perspectives and experience to the success of the team.

Health Canada welcomes applications from Veterans. We recognize your contribution to Canadians and would like to offer you the opportunity to continue your career in an environment where multi-talented employees with diverse skills are appreciated and supported.

BRING YOUR WHOLE SELF TO WORK

We encourage all qualified candidates to apply, regardless of race, colour, religion, sex (including gender identity and/or expression), national origin, sexual orientation, civil union or relationship status, disability, age, parental status, military service, or other status protected under federal law.

HOW TO APPLY

You must clearly demonstrate in your cover letter how you meet the essential education and experience criteria, and asset education and experience criteria (where applicable). Do not assume that the screening board has any previous knowledge of your background or qualifications. You must provide concrete examples that illustrate how you meet each requirement. Résumés may be used as a secondary source to validate the qualifications described. Failure to provide sufficient information may result in your application being screened out of the process. Please note that your cover letter may be used to evaluate your ability to communicate effectively in writing.

If you are ready to unleash your potential, it is time to start your career with Health Canada! Apply now!

Duties

What will you be doing?
• Work within a data driven organization that identifies opportunities to support compliance and enforcement programs, and provides solutions and capabilities to address them.
• Working with modern tools like Python, R to develop analytics products.
• Conduct research and recommend potential initiatives to analysts, and management.
• Act as a representative on joint projects related to data science and participate in collaborative efforts where applicable.
• Regularly update knowledge of academic and industry data science practices and standards.
• Effectively communicate and present findings to specialists, management and non-technical audiences. Clearly document methodologies employed in research and data exploitation solutions.

What will you learn?
• Innovative methods such as machine learning to solve business problems
• Experience in implementing large-scale solutions for data storage and manipulation
• Experience identifying business challenges and recommending solutions to solve them
• Collaboration with different partners from many divisions
• Researching and recommending new, innovative, tools to enhance program delivery

Intent of the process

Although the immediate intent of this Job Opportunity Advertisement is to staff indeterminately, applicants should be aware that a pool of qualified candidates (fully assessed or partially assessed) may be established and may be used to staff similar positions at this group and level with various language requirements listed in the Language Requirements section. In addition, this process may be used for various tenures (acting appointments, assignment, deployment, indeterminate, specified period, secondment), security requirements and conditions of employment within Health Canada. As a result of the potential and possible use of the selection process and subsequent pool by hiring managers, we encourage all employees seeking this type of opportunity to apply.

Positions to be filled: Number to be determined

Information you must provide

Your résumé.

A covering letter

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

MUST-HAVE (Essential qualifications):

EDUCATION
EED1. Graduation with a degree from a recognized post-secondary institution with an acceptable specialization in economics, sociology or statistics.

Note: Candidates must always have a degree. The courses for the specialization must be acceptable and may have been taken at a recognized post-secondary institution, but not necessarily within a degree program in the required specialization. The specialization may also be obtained through an acceptable combination of education, training and/or experience.

Degree equivalency

EXPERIENCE
EEX1. Experience in large scale* data analysis including at least two of the following elements: i) data management (including validation, cleaning, categorizing), ii) database development, iii) data mining, iv) data visualization, v) machine learning vi) text analytics and natural language processing.
EEX2. Experience working in a team environment to support the development and deployment of new technologies
EEX3. Two (2) or more years of experience using programming languages (such as, but not limited to, Python, R, JavaScript, Ruby, SQL, or SAS).

* Large scale is based on data records numbering in the thousands or more.

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

NICE-TO-HAVE (Asset qualifications):
EDUCATION
• Graduation with a degree from a recognized post-secondary institution (the term “degree” refers to a baccalaureate as established by educational authorities) with acceptable specialization in Economics, Sociology or Statistics and an acceptable specialization in one or more of the following areas: accounting, actuarial mathematics, applied finance, computer science, data science/data analytics, demography/population studies, engineering, environmental sciences, epidemiology, finance, geology, mathematics.

Degree equivalency

EXPERIENCE
• Experience in using Business Intelligence (BI) tools such as Cognos or Power BI.
• Experience in using machine-learning to solve problems.
• Experience presenting complex data analysis and outputs to non-technical audiences.

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

Various language requirements
English Essential
Bilingual Imperative BBB/BBB

Information on language requirements

KNOWLEDGE
K1. Knowledge of data retrieval methods, data analysis, and presentation.

ABILITIES
Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines with conflicting priorities from clients, management, and stakeholders.

Ability to communicate effectively orally.

Ability to communicate effectively in writing.

PERSONAL SUITABILITIES
EPS1. Reliability
EPS2. Initiative
EPS3. Judgement
EPS4. Respectful of Diversity

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

OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Willing and able to work occasional overtime

Conditions of employment

Reliability Security Clearance or Secret Security Clearance depending on the position being staffed. We will help you attain this during the hiring process.

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

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.

Give yourself the best chance to succeed! As the objective of this process is to assess qualifications needed for the position(s) to be staffed, let us know if you have a functional limitation/disability, which may affect your performance. For example, contact us if you need assistance in completing and submitting your application. Should you then proceed to the next assessment stage, such as an exam or interview, we will send you an e-mail with additional information on the assessment format so that you can determine if you may require an accommodation (such as a different test format, an adaptive technology, or additional time). Assessment accommodations are designed to remove the obstacles without altering the criteria being assessed so candidates with functional limitations can fully demonstrate their abilities.

Health Canada is committed to increasing representation of Black employees and other racialized groups, Indigenous People, women and persons with disabilities. Health Canada would like its workforce to be reflective of the population it serves. Therefore, we encourage candidates to indicate voluntarily on their application if they are a member of one of these groups.

You may also review jobs open to the public through INFOTEL at 1-800-645-5605. The INFOTEL number for persons using a TTY/TDD is 1-800-532-9397.

Reference checks may be sought.

An interview may be administered.

A test may be administered.

Candidates may be required to meet the asset qualifications or the organizational needs, depending on the requirements of the specific position being staffed. Meeting one or many of the asset qualifications may be a deciding factor in appointing a particular candidate amongst the qualified candidates. Please note that some or all of the asset qualifications could be used at the screening phase.

Candidates must provide their proof of education credentials, in the form of a diploma or official transcripts (original documents only) at a later time in the process.

Candidates with foreign credentials must provide proof of Canadian equivalency. Consult the Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials for further information at http://www.cicic.ca/

We thank all those who apply. Only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.

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.