Director, Public Affairs

Location

Fredericton, NB | Canada

Job description

OFFICE OF THE OMBUD
Director, Public Affairs
Pay Band 7 – Full time
Open Competition/Secondment Opportunity
Fredericton

ABOUT THE OFFICE

The Office of the Ombud for New Brunswick is seeking to fill the position of Director, Public Affairs. This is a full-time permanent position, secondments will be considered. This competition may be used to establish a pool of qualified candidates, which could be used to staff similar positions with various linguistic profiles and requirements and various tenures.

The Ombud is an independent officer of the Legislative Assembly, who assists people and public sector organizations with their concerns by conducting impartial investigations, making recommendations, and providing guidance to ensure people are treated in a consistent, fair, and reasonable manner and that their rights to information and privacy are protected. The Ombud can investigate complaints involving provincial government departments and other public sector organizations, as well as organizations that may hold personal health information.
The majority of the workload within the office is associated with complaints related to Administrative Fairness (where someone believes they have not been treated fairly by a public sector organization) and complaints related to Information and Privacy (where someone believes a public sector organization has not responded properly to an access to information request or that the privacy of their personal information has not been protected). Some employees are assigned to operational support functions which are needed to ensure that the office can fulfill its mandates.
ABOUT THE POSITION

The Director, Public Affairs (DPA) is responsible for overseeing and delivering communications services; outreach, stakeholder relations and public education initiatives; policy, planning and research functions, including monitoring legislative affairs; and leading special projects and initiatives. These activities ensure the Ombud's mandate and services are better known and accessible to the public and key stakeholders.

ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS

Applicants must clearly demonstrate in a cover letter the following essential qualifications to be given further consideration.

Education
Candidates should have a university degree in communications, public relations, journalism, public administration or other field related to the position. An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.
Experience

1. A minimum of eight years of work experience directly related to the DPA position.
2. Significant* experience in providing strategic advice and recommendations to executives** on complex communications and/or public policy issues.
3. Significant* experience in leading and managing one or more of the following areas in a public sector environment: communications, external/government relations, policy/planning.
4. Significant* experience in leading and managing multi-faceted teams and projects.

* Significant experience is defined as the depth and breadth of experience normally associated with having performed a broad range of activities related to this task, which are acquired on a full-time basis over a period of a minimum of five years in the last eight years. The amount of complexity and the diversity of tasks, as well as the level or autonomy will be taken into consideration.

** Executives refer to individuals equivalent to Deputy Minister, Assistant Deputy Minister, C-suite or V-suite levels

ASSET QUALIFICATIONS

Preference may be given to candidates that indicate in their cover letter that they demonstrate one or more of the following asset qualifications, in addition to the essential qualifications:

1. A graduate degree in communications, public relations, journalism, public administration, or other field related to the position.
2. Experience in developing stakeholder relations initiatives
3. Experience in developing training and/or public education initiatives
4. Experience in overseeing research, strategic planning and/or public reporting functions

SELECTION CRITERIA

As part of the selection process, candidates will be assessed on the following:

Knowledge

1. Knowledge of the role, responsibilities and mandates of the Office of the Ombud
2. Knowledge of the public environment in which the Office of the Ombud conducts its work, including its key stakeholders

Abilities

1. Ability to communicate complex information effectively to a variety of audiences, from lay persons to experts
2. Ability to work in a fast-paced and deadline-driven environment

Competencies

1. Coaching and Team Development
2. Effective Interactive Communication
3. Organizational Awareness
4. Organizational Commitment
5. Relationship/Network Building
6. Results Orientation
7. Strategic Thinking

LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

The position requires competence in English. Language proficiency may be assessed by administering the Government of NB Language Proficiency Evaluation. Candidates who have recently undergone this evaluation (within the last five years) may provide a copy of their evaluation results.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

Successful candidate will be required to undergo criminal history and security checks prior to appointment.

Successful candidate will be required to undertake an oath of office related to the specific obligations of the Ombud, namely with regard to impartiality and confidentiality of information.

EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION

Location: The position is located in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Salary: Management and Non-Union Pay Plan, Pay Band 7 ($3,345 to $4,047 biweekly, depending upon education and experience).

HOW TO APPLY

Individuals interested in applying for this position must send a cover letter indicating how they meet the essential qualifications for this position and an updated resume no later than March 15, 2024 by email to: [email protected] .

For more information, please contact Julie Dickison at (506) 453-2789 or by email.

We thank all those who apply, however only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.

Job tags

Salary