Communications Advisor

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

If you are a motivated professional with a keen interest in working with diverse clients and partners focused on innovation and creativity, you should be part of our communications team at the Public Service Commission of Canada (PSC).

Your mission at the PSC will be to promote the work of the Commission to help build tomorrow’s public service that is based on excellence and is representative of Canada’s diversity. We are looking for talented and passionate candidates to be our next communications expert. Don’t miss your chance if you believe in developing an authentic and inclusive dialogue with government employees and the Canadian public from coast to coast, because we need your input, your ideas and your talent.

The ideal candidate will have strong interpersonal skills, excellent writing skills and the ability to develop engaging communication strategies and products for a variety of audiences. A typical workday can be very varied and fast-paced, so someone who can adapt to unexpected situations and handle pressure well will be considered ideal for the job.

Please ensure that your work experience is clearly detailed in your resume and that you provide the following information:
1) Name of department or organization
2) Job title, level and duration.

You must submit a complete application, including screening questions and your curriculum vitae.

Pre-screening questions:
When answering the pre-screening questions, you must provide specific examples to clearly demonstrate how you meet the qualifications. We can’t make any assumptions about your experience. Simply saying you have the required qualifications or listing your current duties is not enough. Instead, provide concrete and detailed examples that clearly explain where, when, and how you gained the experience. It is your responsibility to provide appropriate examples that illustrate how you meet each qualification. Your resume will be used to evaluate the assets if needed.

Your application will be used to assess your ability to communicate effectively in writing.

Duties

You will work closely with a variety of internal and external stakeholders and be involved in many exciting projects. Here are some of the main tasks you might have to perform in a day as a communications advisor:

• Develop strategic communications plans to support various clients, partners and PSC senior management;
• Write and edit creative and innovative communication products;
• Coordinate challenging projects and diverse communication activities to inform different audiences;
• Work with clients and partners who are committed to building a diverse and inclusive public service;
• Translate organizational priorities into compelling and engaging messages.

Work environment

At the Public Service Commission of Canada, we foster a healthy, modern, diverse and inclusive workplace. We have been recognized for our efforts to create and maintain an outstanding work environment. Forbes magazine has named us one of Canada’s top employers for 2021. Join a great team!

The Public Service Commission (PSC) is a small organization with a broad mandate: to protect a merit-based, non-partisan public service that serves all Canadians.

The well-being of our employees is part of our commitment and we value diversity and the use of both official languages. You’ll enjoy a healthy work-life balance, and flexible work arrangements are available.

Why choose the PSC?
• To be part of a big family;
• To get central agency experience;
• To be recognized and valued by a growing team;
• To work with modern work tools and new high-performance technologies;
• To have a good work-life balance.

Intent of the process

The intent is to staff one (1) indeterminate position with an imperative bilingual BBB/BBB profile. The position can be carried out in one of the PSC offices in Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver or Gatineau. As a result of the global pandemic, PSC employees are currently working from home. Should the current telework environment no longer apply, and contingent on the operating model adopted by the PSC, you may be required to report into and work onsite from one of our PSC offices. However, as our telework arrangements are evolving, we encourage you to apply.

A pool of qualified candidates may be established and may be used to staff similar positions on an indeterminate or term basis with various linguistic requirements/profiles and/or security requirements within the public service.

By applying to this process, you consent to the sharing of your personal information with other departments interested in filling similar positions.

Positions to be filled: 1

Information you must provide

Your résumé.

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

EDUCATION

A degree* from a recognized post-secondary institution.

Remarks:
1. The term “degree” refers to a baccalaureate or higher degree as established by the educational authorities.
2. At the discretion of the manager, an acceptable combination of education, training and/or experience may be used as an alternative to the minimum education standard. For example, a college certificate in a field related to the position with several years of experience could be considered to meet the minimum education standard.

Degree equivalency

EXPERIENCE:

Significant experience* in developing and implementing communications plans or strategies on complex initiatives or issues.

Significant experience* in providing advice and services to management** as a communications specialist in support of major initiatives.

Experience in managing projects involving collaboration with multiple clients or stakeholders.

Experience in writing a wide range of communications content and materials to enhance the visibility of departmental, organizational or government-wide initiatives. These communications materials include products intended for a broad audience, such as (but not limited to) articles for an organization’s newsletter, web content, social media products, speeches and speaking notes, press releases or media lines.

* Significant experience is defined as experience normally acquired through work in related activities for a cumulative period of three (3) years or more in a business environment. The volume, complexity and diversity of the activities and the level of autonomy will be taken into consideration.
**Management is defined as director level and above.

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

Bilingual - Imperative (BBB/BBB)

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:

- Ability to provide strategic advice pertaining to communications issues
- Ability to write communication products for a wide audience
- Ability to work under pressure and deal with changing priorities and tight deadlines
- Ability to communicate effectively in writing
- Ability to communicate effectively orally

PERSONAL QUALITIES:

- Thinking things through
- Be results-oriented
- Promote innovation and guide change
- Working effectively with others
- Provide high quality customer service

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

ASSET EXPERIENCE:

Significant experience* in providing internal communications services in an organization.

Significant experience* in speech writing.

Significant experience* in planning and organizing large-scale events for an organization.

Significant experience* in planning, developing and implementing social media campaigns.

Significant experience* in media relations and/or parliamentary affairs.

*Significant experience is defined as experience normally acquired through work in related activities for a cumulative period of three (3) years or more in a business environment. The volume, complexity and diversity of the activities and the level of autonomy will be taken into consideration.

ORGANIZATIONAL NEEDS

To achieve its mandate, the Public Service Commission is committed to building and maintaining a diverse workforce that is representative of the Canadian population. For example, preference may be given to qualified candidates who have self-identified as Indigenous persons, visible minorities, persons with disabilities and/or women.

We encourage you to indicate on your application if you belong to one of these designated groups.

OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Consent and ability to work overtime on short notice.

Conditions of employment

Reliability Status security clearance

All employees of the core public administration are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and attest to their vaccination status unless accommodated based on a medical contraindication, religion, or another prohibited ground for discrimination as defined under the Canadian Human Rights Act.

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

On October 6, 2021, the Government of Canada announced details of its plans to require vaccination across the federal public service.

As per the new Policy on COVID-19 Vaccination for the Core Public Administration Including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, federal public servants in the Core Public Administration and members of the RCMP must attest to their vaccination status. The requirement for employees to be fully vaccinated applies whether they are teleworking, working remotely or working on-site. This is a condition of employment and it applies to indeterminate (permanent), determinate (term), casual, and student hiring. Should you reach the point in the selection process where it is necessary to verify terms and conditions of employment then the hiring manager or a human resources representative will contact you in order to complete an attestation.

The application of asset qualifications, random selection or top-down selection can be used at any stage of the selection process. Please note that achieving a passing score on one of the assessments does not mean that you will proceed to the next stage in the selection process. Management may decide to use a cut-off score higher than the pass mark for any assessment used in the process.

Preference

Preference will be given to veterans first and then to Canadian citizens and permanent residents, 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.