Psychologist (Psychological Assessment Services) and Assessment Specialist

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.

Please note that this inventory will be used for imminent or for future appointments. As positions become available, applicants who meet the qualifications may be contacted for further assessment. When you apply, your employment application is automatically considered for positions at both the PS-02 and PS-03 groups and levels.

For your application to proceed, you must first meet the education and respective experience requirements of at least one group and level.

Please note that while competencies are the same for both levels, a higher degree of proficiency is required at the PS-03 level.

Assessment Board Members will determine whether you have qualified at one or the other group and level.

Should you not meet the screening requirements, your name will be withdrawn from the inventory. As soon as you are notified that you do not meet the screening or assessment requirements, you will have to wait one year before submitting another application for this inventory.

Duties

Would you like to use your expertise and ideas to help assess, select and develop future public service employees or leaders? Are you passionate about assessment in the context of personnel selection? Do you value teamwork and do you want to evolve in a multidisciplinary, diverse and inclusive environment? If you answer "yes" to these questions, look no further, we may have a position for you!

DUTIES OF PSYCHOLOGISTS (PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT SERVICES):

Through interviews and psychometric tools, you will assess the psychological fitness of candidates for specific positions. Our services include psychological fitness assessments as a condition of employment for high-risk positions, such as positions related to public safety, as well as psychological fit assessments based on competencies require by the position.

DUTIES OF ASSESSMENT SPECIALISTS:

The Personnel Psychology Centre (PPC) offers federal government departments and agencies a range of professional assessment products and services that can be used for selection and development. The PPC is made up of 3 divisions where PS-02/PS-03 perform various duties such as those described below:

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
- Develop a range of standardized assessment instruments for use in the selection and development of federal public service employees.
- Conduct applied assessment research.
- Develop competency profiles and related assessment instruments.
- Support inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility through the development and publication of professional guidance on best practices in personnel assessment.

ASSESSMENT AND COUNSELLING SERVICES
- Through a range of methods and tools, assess candidates and provide feedback on competencies, attributes or personal characteristics for various management positions.
- Provide support services to executives and aspiring executives in the public service through career counselling, interview preparation or support in addressing leadership issues.
- Support an inclusive approach to assessment for hiring by adapting assessments and advising on best practices for assessing and mitigating biases associated with a variety of personnel assessment methods.

CONSULTATION AND TEST SERVICES
- Provide expert advice and guidance on the use of sound, professional and inclusive assessment instruments and practices, through consultation and outreach activities.
- Exercise quality control over test scoring and establish and manage a certification program for reliable test administration.

Work environment

At the Public Service Commission (PSC), we foster a healthy, modern, diverse and inclusive workplace. Did you know that Forbes magazine ranked the PSC as one of Canada’s Best Employers in 2022?

The PSC is a small organization with a large mandate: safeguarding a non-partisan, merit-based and representative public service. As such, we strive for innovation in the staffing system so that all Canadians can be better served by their government.

You will have the opportunity to grow and continue your professional development in an organization where official languages, diversity and inclusion are at the center of everything we do. We value employee engagement, career growth and innovation.

The PPC encourages all employees to share their ideas. With us, you will be able to see your ideas develop from concept to realization, alongside a professional team that will support you.

Intent of the process

The intent of this inventory is to staff various indeterminate positions within the PPC at the PSC.

Depending on workspace availabilities and positions to be staffed, the duties of the position could be performed from any PSC office (Halifax, Montreal, Gatineau, Toronto, or Vancouver).

The PSC has begun its Transition Plan to Hybrid Work. Employees are currently required to report at a PSC office building at least two days a week and will have the option to telework the rest of the week, subject to operational requirements. We will therefore continue to rediscover the value of shared in-person experiences that are essential to cohesive, collaborative, and high-performing organizations. Our work in person supports collaboration, team spirit, innovation, and a culture of belonging. It helps us build trust and learn from each other.

A pool of qualified candidates will be established and may be used to staff similar positions with different tenures (indeterminate, term, etc.) within the PSC. Please note that term appointments may be extended or may lead to indeterminate appointments.

Please note that persons found qualified at the PS-02 group and level and subsequently appointed indeterminately will be eligible to the Personnel Psychology Centre’s PS Professional Training Program (PS PTP). The Program provides employees appointed to the PS-02 group and level with the opportunity to gain skills required for promotion to the next level (PS-03) within a period of up to two (2) years. In order to be promoted to the PS-03 group and level, employees will need to demonstrate that they have the required competencies and skills. Persons initially appointed to a term position could also be considered for indeterminate appointments to the PS PTP.

Positions to be filled: Number to be determined

Information you must provide

Your résumé.

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

EDUCATION:
PS-02 and PS-03
Graduation with a master’s or doctorate degree from a recognized post-secondary institution with specialization in personnel psychology, psychometrics, industrial psychology, clinical psychology or some other specialty relevant to the position such as a master in measurement and evaluation or in neuropsychology (already obtained OR will be obtained in six months following the date the application is submitted).

Important notes:
1. The courses for the specialization must be acceptable and must have been taken at a recognized post-secondary institution, but not necessarily within a degree program in the required specialization.
2. Candidates who are registered in a combined MA - PhD Program in psychology, or registered in a doctorate's program in psychology, in a recognized post-secondary institution, may be eligible to apply if their university provides an attestation that the equivalent of a master's degree has been completed.

Degree equivalency

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

Bilingual - Imperative
Bilingual imperative BBB/BBB or CBC/CBC

Information on language requirements

EXPERIENCE:

PSYCHOLOGIST (PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT SERVICES)
PS-02
- Experience in conducting psychological assessment with adults.
PS-03
- Experience leading or managing projects.
- In depth* experience in conducting psychological assessment with adults.
*In depth experience means experience normally acquired over a minimum of approximately 12 to 18 months based on the depth and breadth of the experience.

ASSESSMENT SPECIALIST
PS-02
- Experience in a field of psychology that is relevant to the personnel assessment activities* conducted by the PPC.
*See the activities listed under section "Duties of the Assessment Specialists".
PS-03
- Experience leading or managing projects.
- In depth experience** in a field of psychology that is relevant to the personnel assessment activities* conducted by the PPC.
**In depth experience means experience normally acquired over a minimum of approximately 12 to 18 months based on the depth and breadth of the experience.
* See the activities listed under section ''Duties of the Assessment Specialists''.

KNOWLEDGE:
PS-02 and PS-03
- Knowledge of a range of personnel psychology assessment methods and instruments, their development and use.
- Knowledge of measurement principles and psychometric properties of assessment instruments.

COMPETENCIES:
PS-02 and PS-03
- Thinking things through
- Showing initiative and being action-oriented
- Service orientation
- Working effectively with others
- Behavioural flexibility

ABILITIES:
PS-02 and PS-03
- Ability to communicate effectively orally
- Ability to communicate effectively in writing (The content of your application will be one source of information used to evaluate the ability to communicate effectively in writing. We will not pursue further assessment of candidates who do not demonstrate this ability in their application.)

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

EDUCATION:
PS-02 and PS-03
Master's or doctorate degree in psychology from a recognized post-secondary institution with one of the following specializations: measurement and evaluation, statistics, psychometrics, industrial/organizational psychology.

Degree equivalency

PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION:
PS-02 and PS-03
Member or eligibility to become a member of a provincial regulatory body for the practice of psychology.

EXPERIENCE:
PS-02 and PS-03
- Experience in test development and/or psychometric research.

- Experience in the development of test accommodations for assessing persons with disabilities.

- Experience providing assessment or career development services for adults in the workplace.

- Experience assessing persons with disabilities including providing alternate formats using assistive technologies, such as screen readers and magnifiers, speech recognition software, Braille technology, etc.

- Experience advancing diversity and inclusion initiatives or programs within an organization or community.

- Experience developing or implementing digital assessment products or services on e-testing systems.

Selection may be limited to members of the following Employment Equity groups: Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, visible minorities, women

Information on employment equity

Conditions of employment

Some positions require Reliability Status security clearance while others require Secret security clearance.

The following condition of employment applies to some positions:
Member of a provincial regulatory body for the practice of psychology

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 invite you to indicate in your application if you are a member of an Employment Equity Group.

Candidates must clearly demonstrate in the screening questionnaire how they meet the education and experience criteria listed as essential and asset qualifications on the statement of merit criteria. In order to do so, the candidate must provide the information as part of their answer to the pertinent screening question, using concrete examples, in the textbox provided. The assessment board cannot and will not make any assumptions about your experience. Note that it is not sufficient to only state that the qualifications are met or to provide a listing of current or past responsibilities. Resumes may be used as a secondary source to validate the experience described in the experience questionnaire. If you do not clearly demonstrate in your application how you meet the essential education and experience requirements, your application may be rejected. If you do not clearly demonstrate how you meet the asset requirements, you may be eliminated from consideration if assets are used as selection criteria.

Communication for this process will be sent via email. It is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure accurate contact information is provided and updated as required. Candidates who apply to this selection process should include an email address that accepts email from unknown users (some email systems block these types of email).

All the information collected during the selection process, from the time of application until the end of the process, will be used to assess the candidates.

Asset qualification(s) may be applied in this selection process.

Persons are entitled to participate in the appointment process in the official language(s) of their choice.

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.