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 an economic development 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 federal regional development agency focused on British Columbia’s evolving economy. We are looking for two dynamic senior business officers to join our regional team for Vancouver Island and the Coast. You will work with partners to identify economic priorities and find ways to support economic development opportunities. You will find success in this role if you are curious, business growth-minded, creative, adaptive, and a conceptual thinker with excellent communication skills who has the ability to build and manage meaningful relationships with stakeholders and partners.

If you thrive in an exciting, self-directed, fast-paced environment, where your work requires you to engage actively with clients, manage multiple files, and you enjoy working independently and 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.

Please note: the successful candidates will be expected to report to the Victoria or Campbell River PacifiCan office locations under a hybrid work model. This position is not eligible for 100% remote work.

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, travelling to visit stakeholders and clients in the region, and reading documents. This role will also involve meeting with stakeholders virtually by video and telephone, and in-person as public health measures allow.

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

We are looking for two full-time permanent Senior Business Officers to join our team, specifically in our Victoria office and Campbell River office locations. A pool of qualified candidates will be created and may be 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: 2

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:
• Significant* experience developing and sustaining collaborative working relationships with diverse stakeholders, including community leaders, businesses and/or economic organizations, to advance economic development projects or initiatives;
• Recent** experience developing or negotiating agreements and monitoring progress throughout the life cycle of a project or initiative; and
• Recent** experience analyzing complex*** economic development initiatives or issues, including preparing briefing materials and providing strategic advice to senior management.

*Significant is defined as relevant experience normally acquired through the full time performance of duties for at least two years.
**Recent is defined as relevant experience demonstrated within the past three years.
***Complex issues are defined as economic issues that are ambiguous, poorly defined, and require input, experiences and analysis from multiple sectors, organizations or disciplines.

Note: depth, breadth and scope of experience in any one or combination of the experience factors may be used in screening.

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.

Experience:
• Engaging with and/or presenting to diverse stakeholder groups including businesses, not-for-profit organizations, municipalities and/or Indigenous communities.
• Experience integrating qualitative and quantitative economic data to analyze the impacts of investment decisions.
• Delivering or developing initiatives through Grants and Contributions programs.
• Working with Indigenous, provincial, municipal or regional governments.
• Working with stakeholders to advance economic development initiatives within Indigenous communities.
• 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.
• Working with companies and other stakeholders to leverage economic benefits under Canada’s Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) policy.
• Using stakeholder management systems and software applications (e.g., Microsoft
Dynamic CRM, Adobe Writer, Project Gateway).
• Using advanced excel functions, or other reporting software applications, to create efficiencies in data analysis and reporting.

Note: depth, breadth and scope of experience in any one or combination of the experience factors may be used in screening.

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 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
• Critical thinking and analysis
• Collaboration for impact
• Showing initiative and being action-oriented
• Demonstrating integrity & respect
• Communication (Oral and Written)
• Business acumen
• Adaptability

Abilities:
• Ability to integrate local and regional economic considerations into strategic advice and recommendations.
• Ability to evaluate economic development project proposals, applications for funding, or business plans.
• Ability to review financial statements or other financial analyses to evaluate financial sustainability of businesses or not-for-profit organizations.

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

Diversity and Inclusiveness (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 security clearance
• Mobility normally associated with a Driver’s License.

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.