Manager, Community Economic Development and Senior Business Officer, Community Economic Development

Important messages

Have you always been curious about the fabric of great communities? Have you always wanted to be a community leader, support community-driven interests and make Saskatchewan a great place to live and work? Well now is your chance! Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan) is looking for a Manager and three Senior business officers to increase our presence in Regina and Prince Albert.

These are new positions where you will play a key role in supporting PrairieCan’s renewed emphasis and focus on community economic development. You will excel in this role if you have an in-depth understanding of the Saskatchewan economy and the roles economic development stakeholders play in Saskatchewan. These positions will appeal to those who are genuinely curious people, who can lead from behind just as well as out front. Someone who has a strong economic development network, who thrives in a fast-paced, flexible environment, and demonstrates a commitment to teamwork and positive relationships. We encourage highly motivated individuals with excellent communication skills to apply!

Please note: as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are primarily working remotely for the time being. Interviews and related assessments will be conducted virtually throughout this staffing process. Applicants are responsible to ensure they have a reliable internet connection and access. If you are appointed to a position, PrairiesCan will provide tools and/or equipment to support remote work. As public health restrictions ease, the successful candidate will be expected to report to the PrairiesCan offices in Regina and/or Prince Albert.

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 process, please contact Jamie Warywoda by email at . All information received in relation to accommodation will be kept confidential.

Duties

About the role:
As a Senior Business Officer, you will be expected to understand the evolving economic environment of your region and foster relationships that will help build on the community economic development priorities of southern (Regina) and northern (Prince Albert) Saskatchewan. You will use your knowledge and networks to facilitate economic development through the following roles:

💼 Convenor – a trusted federal partner that understands local and regional circumstances and can make linkages within and outside of government to drive strategic investments and joint economic ventures.

💼Pathfinder – connect entrepreneurs, economic development organizations and communities with federal programming and services to improve economic outcomes in Saskatchewan.

💼Advisor – provide insights into regional economic issues to inform national policy and program decisions, and contribute to the development of regional engagement strategies and advice to the federal government.

💼 Investor – deliver programs or guide clients to access PrairiesCan’s funding programs to capitalize on strategic regional investment opportunities or identify other sources of funding to support economic growth, job creation, improved economic competitiveness and other related objectives.

As a Manager, in addition to the above roles,
We are looking for a leader who will work with a dynamic team to advance community economic development in Saskatchewan. You will be expected to oversee a team of 3 Senior Business officers, one located in Regina and two located in Prince Albert. You will work with communities and other economic development leaders to support inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

The manager will also support senior leadership by advising of emerging policy and program issues and making recommendations for change.

These roles will appeal to someone who thrives in a fast-paced environment, is self-directed and able to manage several different files at a time, embraces challenge and works equally well independently or within a team.

Work environment

PrairiesCan is one of Western Canada’s best employers because of its support for employees, innovative workplace and ability to make a difference in the lives of Western Canadians.

At PrairiesCan, we care about what we can accomplish as a team and we also care about each other. We consistently rank as a top federal department in employee engagement. To sustain this high-performing culture, we hire top talent and provide an employment experience that brings out the best in people. We want to achieve great results for Canadians and we want to be the best at what we do.

Why Choose PrairiesCan:
• Work with amazing people who support each other
• Meaningful work that makes a difference to the country
• Excellent compensation package
• Flexible work arrangements
• Modern work tools and technology

PrairiesCan offices are open environments with well-regulated air quality, ergonomic sit- stand workstations, and a combination of natural and fluorescent lighting. The physical demands of this position include spending a significant amount of screen time on a computer or equivalent, as well as reading documents in digital and/or print media. This role will also involve meeting with stakeholders virtually by video or telephone, and in-person as COVID-19 public health measures allow.

Intent of the process

The intent is to fill four indeterminate (permanent full-time) positions:

Position 1: CO-03 Manager, Community Economic Development, you will reside in the Regina area and oversee staff and activities across Saskatchewan.

Position 2: CO-02 Senior Business Officer, Community Economic Development, you will reside in the Regina area and primarily serve the southern region of Saskatchewan.

Positions 3 and 4: CO-02 Senior Business Officer, Community Economic Development, you will reside in the Prince Albert area and primarily serve the northern region of Saskatchewan.

This process may be used for various tenures (including but not limited to term and indeterminate appointments, internal assignments, secondments, deployments, acting appointments, casual. The pool of qualified candidates may also be shared and accessed by other federal government departments.

Positions to be filled: 4

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)

When you apply you will be asked a series of screening questions based on the education and experience criteria below. When answering the screening questions, please provide:
► Concrete and detailed examples to demonstrate how you meet the qualifications;
► Where, when and how the experience was acquired.

Essential Qualifications common to both CO-2 and CO-3 positions:
Education:
• Graduation with a degree from a recognized post-secondary institution with acceptable specialization in a field relevant to the duties of the position. OR a combination of education, training and professional experience.

Degree equivalency

Experience
✔️ *Significant experience developing and sustaining collaborative working relationships with diverse stakeholders - such as community leaders, various levels of governments, business, industry groups, economic organizations, postsecondary institutions, Indigenous and other underrepresented groups - to advance economic projects or initiatives.
✔️ Analyzing complex** economic development programs or issues, including preparing briefing materials and providing strategic advice to senior management.
✔️ Leading engagements, projects or initiatives with a team to deliver results.

*Significant experience is defined as the depth and breadth of experience normally associated with full-time performance of duties for a minimum of three years.
**Complex issues are defined as economic issues that are ambiguous, poorly defined, and require input, expertise, and analysis from multiple sectors, organizations, or disciplines.

Additional Essential Experience required for C0-3, Manager position:
✔️ Building successful organizations, or successful initiatives that support organizational improvement or change.
✔️ Managing human and financial resources.
✔️ Developing and providing advice to senior management on complex matters in support of policy, program, business processes and/or issues management.

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

The following criteria will be assessed using the online screening questions. However, they are assets, so you do not need to meet them to be selected, but preference could be given to those who have them.

Here are the assets we are looking for:

Education:
✔️ Graduation with a master’s degree from a recognized post-secondary institution with a specialization in Economics, Business, Finance, Public Administration or other field which may be relevant to the position being staffed.

Degree equivalency

Experience:
✔️ Administering grants and contributions programs and assessing results.
✔️ Developing or negotiating agreements and monitoring progress throughout the lifecycle of a project or initiative.
✔️ Providing pathfinding advice/guidance to companies and organizations seeking funding support, or to navigate complex programs.
✔️ Working with economic development networks in either southern or northern Saskatchewan.
✔️ Supporting the economic inclusion of Indigenous communities and other underrepresented groups in the economy.
✔️ Working at a distance from colleagues and supervisors, managing day-to-day requirements of the position.
✔️ depth, breadth and scope of experience in any one or combination of the experience requirements.

Operational Requirements:
• Willingness and ability to work overtime when required.
• Willingness and ability to travel

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

English essential

Information on language requirements

Knowledge:
✔️ Knowledge of how regional development agencies and other federal, Indigenous, provincial and regional/municipal organizations support economic development and diversification in Saskatchewan;
✔️ Knowledge of key factors influencing the Canadian economy and of the current economic and business trends, opportunities and challenges in Saskatchewan.

Competencies:
✔️ Critical thinking and analysis
✔️ Showing initiative and being action-oriented
✔️ Collaboration for impact
✔️ Demonstrating integrity & respect
✔️ Communication (Oral and Written)
✔️ Adaptability

Additional Competencies for CO-3, Manager position:
✔️ Create Vision/Strategy
✔️ Mobilize People
✔️ Achieve Results

Conditions of employment

• Various security clearance
• Mobility normally associated with a Driver Licence
• Fully vaccinated for COVID 19 unless being accommodated based on a certified medical contraindication or a 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

TIPS FOR APPLICANTS: When answering the screening questions ensure that you provide complete and thorough details of your experience. Do not assume that the screening board has any previous knowledge of your background, qualifications, or work history. You must be specific and provide concrete examples/details for each Experience element, as applications will be screened only on the information provided. Failure to provide sufficient information may result in your application being screened out of the competition.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are primarily working remotely for the time being. Interviews and related assessments will be conducted virtually throughout this staffing process. Applicants are responsible to ensure they have a reliable internet connection and access. If you are appointed to a position, PrairiesCan will provide tools and/or equipment to support remote work.

For this selection process, our intention is to communicate with the candidates by email. Candidates who apply to this selection process must include in their application a valid email address and make sure that this address is functional at all times and accepts messages from unknown users (some email systems block these types of email).

Depending on the number of applicants, the needs and/or Human Resources plans, volume management strategies such as random selection, top-down approach and/or establishing cut-off scores to determine who will continue in the staffing process, MAY BE USED for the purpose of managing applications.

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.

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.