Inventory for various IS-05 Strategic Communications Advisor positions @ ECCC

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

When you apply to this selection process, you are not applying for a specific job, but to an inventory for future vacancies. As positions become available, applicants who meet the qualifications may be contacted for further assessment.

The first pull of applications will be on April 4, 2022. Candidates who wish to be considered immediately have until midnight, April 3, 2022 (Pacific Time) to complete and submit your application. Future extractions may be conducted according to operational needs however, the dates are not known at this time.

If your application is not selected for one job, it remains in the inventory and can be selected again for the entire duration that the inventory remains open OR as long as you have not been eliminated at the screening stage.

The inventory will be updated every 90 days. You will receive a notice in your applicant account 7 days before the end of your active period to determine whether or not you wish to keep being considered for another period of 90 days.

Work environment

At Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), we work in a dynamic environment leading on many key policy priorities and issues of concern to Canadians, protecting and enhancing the natural environment for generations to come.

Our mandate is broad, including everything from managing pollution and waste, fighting climate change, protecting nature, doing cutting-edge scientific research, enforcing environmental laws and regulations, and producing and distributing timely and accurate weather forecasts to keep Canadians safe.

We are an inclusive organization that embraces diversity, strives for a respectful workplace that enables everyone to do their best work and achieve their career goals. Our objective is to provide an opportunity for meaningful contribution to an equitable society, while supporting mental health and wellness through ongoing open discussions within our teams.

The Communications Directorate is an energetic, highly collaborative team that implements often allowing many opportunities. We are seeking people who can help us develop innovative ways to inform and engage Canadians on issues of concern to them.

Intent of the process

This inventory will be used to staff immediate and future IS-05 vacant positions. Depending on the needs of the organization, applicants who meet the qualifications identified for the position to be staffed may be contacted for further assessment. The inventory could be used to establish pools of partially qualified candidates to staff identical or similar positions, within ECCC with various language requirements, security requirements and tenures.

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)

***IMPORTANT*** In addition to the essential and asset education and experience criteria screening questions, some essential competencies and abilities will also be evaluated throughout the application process. Please ensure to plan enough time to answer all the questions that are included in the online application process. You must answer all of the essential qualifications questions or your application will be rejected.

TIPS FOR APPLICANTS: When answering the pre-screening questions, you must provide concrete and detailed examples to clearly demonstrate (1) when, (2) where, and (3) how you gained the experience needed to meet the qualifications. The pre-screening questions are your opportunity to tell us about the skills and experience you bring. Your résumé is only a secondary source of information.

For example, it is not enough to tell us that you have strong writing skills; you have to specify the type of documents you have written and provide context such as the nature of the activity, the target audience, and the results achieved, etc. Provide specific dates or time periods, if asked to do so.

Failure to answer the questions or provide sufficient information for the essential qualifications will result in your application being screened out of the competition.

EDUCATION
A degree from a recognized post-secondary institution.

Notes:
1. 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.
2. At the manager's discretion, an acceptable combination of education, training and/or experience, may serve as an alternative to the minimum education standard.

Degree equivalency

EXPERIENCE
• Experience in developing, writing and implementing a variety of communications products.
• Experience in providing strategic communications advice to senior officials*.
• Recent** and significant experience*** developing and implementing communications strategies in support of complex**** programs or projects.
• Significant experience*** in building collaborative working relationships with clients and other partners, stakeholders and/or organizations as part of the implementation of communications strategies or public engagement activities.

*Senior official is defined as Director and above.
**Recent experience means within the last two years.
***Significant experience is defined by the depth and breadth of experience that is normally acquired by the full time performance of a broad range of duties over a period of two years or more. The amount, the complexity and the diversity of activities, as well as the autonomy level will be taken into consideration.
****Complex is defined as including at least two (2) of the following characteristics: Multidimensional; sensitive; confidential; impacting several partners / stakeholders; precedent setting; significantly impact the program delivery for the organization; and yielded a potential for significant media coverage.

ABILITIES
• Ability to communicate effectively in writing.

COMPETENCIES
• Strategic Thinking
• Detail oriented

KNOWLEDGE
• Knowledge of communications trends and tools.

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

Depending on the position to be filled, one or more of the following qualifications could be deemed as an essential, a "must have" in order to perform the main duties of the position or remain as an asset that would be "nice to have" to complement the duties of the position.

This does not mean that you must possess all the asset qualifications; however, they may be a deciding factor when selecting candidates for further assessment. Please focus on the ones that capture the experience and skills you bring to the team. If you answer all the questions for which you meet the requirements in great detail, you will increase your chances of having an opportunity.

ASSETS
COMMUNICATIONS
AEX1: Experience in strategic communications.
AEX2: Experience in media monitoring and analysis.
AEX3: Experience in public environment analysis.
AEX4: Experience in internal or corporate communications.
AEX5: Experience in media relations or public relations.
AEX6: Experience in marketing or advertising.
AEX7: Experience in organizing and coordinating events.
AEX8: Experience in consultation or public opinion research.
AEX9: Experience in crisis and issues management.
AEX10: Experience in speechwriting.
AEX11:Experience in performing comparative revision and revising or translating general or specialized documents in various fields.

DIGITAL EXPERTISE
AEX12: Experience developing content or coordinating projects for social media or the web in a professional context.
AEX13: Experience in social media or web publishing.
AEX14: Experience in social media or web analytics.
AEX15: Experience in social media monitoring and analysis.
AEX16: Experience in photography in a professional context.
AEX17: Experience in videography – production, editing and other related skills.
AEX18: Experience in graphic design.

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

Various language requirements
English or French essential or various Bilingual - imperative profiles

Information on language requirements

ABILITIES
• Ability to communicate effectively orally.
• Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines.
• Ability to lead projects teams**** and coach team members.

****Project teams could include employees or colleagues from other teams, directorates, disciplines or geographic locations.

COMPETENCIES
• Judgment
• Initiative
• Teamwork oriented

KNOWLEDGE
• Knowledge of policies and best practices relating to communications.

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

ORGANIZATIONAL NEEDS:

Environment and Climate Change Canada is committed to having a skilled and diversified workforce representative of the population we serve. In support of our Engagement Strategy to achieve employment equity goals, selection may be limited to qualified candidates self-identifying as belonging to one of the following Employment Equity groups: Aboriginal peoples, Persons with a Disability, Visible Minorities and Women.

OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Depending on the position to staff, operational requirements could apply such as:
Ability to travel and use of a Blackberry or similar mobile device may be required for some positions.

Conditions of employment

Security : Reliability status or Secret Clearance

Some positions require overtime on short notice.

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

The hiring Department will only accept on-line applications. All job applications must therefore be submitted through the Public Service Resourcing System (PSRS). Following are some of the benefits associated with applying on-line.
• Applicants can create a profile and a resume that can be used when applying for other processes without having to recreate a new application each time.
• Applicants can modify their application/resume at any time BEFORE the closing date indicated on the job advertisement.
• Applicants can verify the status of their applications, at any time.
• Applicants can be notified electronically of tests or interviews and results.
For some jobs, applicants will find important information, namely the job questionnaire and a complete statement of merit criteria that are only available when applying on-line.

No acknowledgement related to inquiries on the status of your application will be sent. If you are selected for further consideration, we will communicate directly with you. It is your responsibility to ensure that your email and contact information are maintained with the Assessment board AND in your Public Service Resourcing System (PSRS) account. As all of the communication for this process will be conducted via the email address provided in your application AND/OR via your PSRS account, it is your responsibility to ensure that you check for messages regularly and to ensure that your email address accepts messages from unknown users (some email systems block these types of email or filter them to a junk mail folder). Failure to respond to key messages may result in your being eliminated from this process.

Qualifications will be assessed by a variety of tools and methods. Therefore, a written exam, an interview, reference checks or other assessment methods may be used in this process. Candidates are expected to make a reasonable effort to make themselves available for assessments as scheduled.

Please note that any information provided through this selection process may be considered in the assessment of any of the essential and asset qualifications, including the ability to communicate effectively in writing.

If you are already working for the Public Service, please clearly identify your substantive group and level, your employment status, and PRI on your application. An assignment or an acting appointment is a temporary resourcing option. The approval of your substantive supervisor may/will be required before an offer can be made.

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

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.

Candidates will be required to provide proof of their education credentials, in the form of a diploma or official transcript (original documents only). Candidates with foreign educational credentials are required to provide proof of Canadian equivalency. You may consult The Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials at http://www.cicic.ca for further information.

Persons are entitled to participate in the appointment process in the official language of their choice. Applicants are asked to indicate their preferred official language in their application.

On October 6, 2021, the Government of Canada announced details of its plans to require vaccination across the federal public service. (https://www.canada.ca/en/treasury-board-secretariat/news/2021/10/backgrounder-covid-19-vaccine-requirement-for-the-federal-workforce.html)

As per the new Policy on COVID-19 Vaccination for the Core Public Administration (https://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=32694) 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.