Senior Business Officer

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 a professional with a passion for making British Columbia an ever better place to live and work? If so, we want to hear from you.

Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan) is the Government of Canada’s economic development agency dedicated to British Columbia. PacifiCan promotes growth and diversification in B.C.’s economy by enhancing innovation, improving business competitiveness, and promoting inclusive growth.

We are looking for dynamic professionals to join our teams in Surrey and Vancouver. You will work with partners to identify economic priorities and find ways to support economic development opportunities. You will work with program applicants and assess their impact, making recommendations for funding support. You will find success in this role if you are curious, business growth-minded, creative, and adaptive, if you have excellent communication skills, and if you have the ability to build and manage meaningful relationships with stakeholders and partners. If you thrive in a challenging, self-directed, fast-paced environment, where your work requires you to engage actively with clients, manage numerous files simultaneously, and you work equally well independently or as part of a team, this is the job for you.

Duties

At PacifiCan, we support 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 increase their participation in British Columbia's economy.

💼 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 – guide clients to access PacifiCan’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.

Work environment

PacifiCan is an innovative workplace that makes a difference in British Columbia. We consistently rank as a top federal department to work in, and we are driven to be the best at what we do. We hire top talent and provide an employment experience that brings out the best in people. We are motivated by achieving great results for British Columbians and Canadians.

Why should you consider a career with PacifiCan?

If you join our team, you will:

✔️ Work with engaged people who support each other and love the work they do;
✔️ Contribute to meaningful work that strengthens the economy and makes a real difference in the lives of British Columbians and Canadians;
✔️ Enjoy a culture of continuous learning and support for your professional development;
✔️ Gain exposure to diverse economic sectors and issues of importance to the future economy;
✔️ Enjoy flexible work arrangements;
✔️ Work with modern tools and technology; and
✔️ Work with an innovative leadership team who is passionate about hiring and developing talent, and achieving results.

Hybrid Work

Successful candidates will be expected to report to a PacifiCan location in Surrey or Vancouver, British Columbia under the Government of Canada’s common hybrid work model for the Federal Public Service. This hybrid work model means employees work on site in a PacifiCan office 2–3 days each week, or 40–60% of their regular schedule. Shared in-person experiences are essential to cohesive, collaborative, and high-performing organizations. Working together in person supports collaboration, team spirit, innovation and a culture of belonging. It helps teams build trust and learn from each other.

Accessible Office Environments

PacifiCan 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 these positions include spending a significant amount of time working on a computer, and reading documents. This role will also involve meeting with stakeholders virtually by video and telephone, and in-person as public health measures allow. PacifiCan will provide tools and/or equipment to support remote work as applicable.

Accommodation

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 Carolyn Veitch by email at . Information received in relation to accommodation will be kept confidential.

Intent of the process

This recruitment process is in anticipation of future needs and will be used to establish a pool of qualified candidates. Initial appointments from this pool will be for temporary positions beginning as early as summer 2023 with projected terms of approximately one year with the possibility of extension. This process maybe used to staff future Senior Business Officer vacancies at the CO-02 group and level with various tenures, work locations, language requirements and conditions of employment.

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)

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.

Education:
• Graduation with a degree from a recognized post-secondary institution with acceptable specialization in a field relevant to the position OR a combination of education, training and professional experience.

Degree equivalency

Experience:
Recent* professional experience is required in each of the following areas:
• Evaluating economic development project proposals, applications for funding, or business plans;
• Reviewing financial statements or other financial analyses to evaluate financial sustainability of businesses or not for profit organizations;
• Developing or negotiating agreements and monitoring progress throughout the lifecycle of a project or initiative;
• Developing and sustaining collaborative working relationships with stakeholders to advance projects or initiatives; and
• Providing strategic advice and recommendations including oral briefings and the preparation of briefing notes or written materials.

*Recent is defined as professional experience gained within the past three years normally acquired through the full-time performance of relevant duties.

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

Various language requirements
• Most Senior Business Officer positions at PacifiCan require proficiency in English as an essential qualification. Some positions may require the use of both official languages (French and English) with various proficiency levels such as BBB/BBB or CCC/CCC.

Information on language requirements

Knowledge:
• Knowledge of partner organizations collaborating to support economic development and diversification in British Columbia.
• Knowledge of key factors influencing the Canadian economy and of the current economic and business trends, opportunities and challenges in British Columbia.

Competencies:
• Strategic relationship building and collaboration for impact
• Critical thinking and analysis
• Showing initiative and being action-oriented
• Demonstrating integrity and respect
• Communication (Oral)
• Communication (Written)

Abilities:
• Ability to integrate local and regional economic considerations into strategic advice and recommendations.

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

ASSET QUALIFICATIONS

The following criteria 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.
AND/OR
• Eligibility for a recognized professional accounting designation. The recognized professional accounting designations are Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), Chartered Accountant (CA), Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Certified General Accountant (CGA).

Experience:
• Working with Indigenous, provincial, municipal or regional governments to advance economic development initiatives;
• Providing commercial or corporate banking or financial services in client-facing advisory roles, specifically for small to medium businesses
• Delivering presentations to and engaging with stakeholder groups including businesses, not-for-profit organizations, municipal or provincial governments and/or Indigenous communities;
• Integrating qualitative and quantitative economic data to analyze the impacts of investment decisions;
• Delivering or developing initiatives through Grants and Contributions programs;
• Providing pathfinding advice/guidance to companies and organizations seeking funding support;
• Assessing applications for repayable funding/loans and/or monitoring a portfolio of repayable project/loans;
• Using stakeholder management systems and software applications (e.g., Microsoft Dynamic CRM, Adobe Writer, Project Gateway); and
• Using advanced excel functions, or other reporting software applications (PowerBI), to create efficiencies in data analysis and reporting.

Knowledge:
• Knowledge of one or more industries/sectors such as petrochemical, energy, life sciences, clean technology
• Knowledge of Transfer Payment Policy and related policy governing the delivery of repayable or non-repayable Contributions in a Regional Development Agency context;

Note: depth, breadth and scope of experience in any one or combination of the experience factors may be applied at any stage in the assessment process.

Degree equivalency

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (Organizational Needs):
• Pacific Economic Development Canada is committed to having an inclusive and diverse workforce representative of the population we serve. Consideration may be given to candidates who self-identify belonging to one of the following employment equity groups: Indigenous peoples, persons with a disability, visible minorities and women.

Operational Requirements:
• Willingness to travel as required.
• Willingness to work overtime on occasion as required.

Conditions of employment

Reliability Status security clearance

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.

Communication for this process will be sent via email. Applicants MUST check their email accounts frequently as there may be a deadline for responses. 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).

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

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.