Secretary, Adult Education

Competition # : 42396
Department: Labour, Skills and Immigration
Location: HALIFAX
Type of Employment: Term
Union Status: NSGEU - NSPG
Closing Date: 05-Apr-24 (Applications are accepted until 11:59 PM Atlantic Time)

About Us

The Adult Education Division of Nova Scotia's Department of Labour, Skills, and Immigration is dedicated to improving the education and employment prospects of Nova Scotia's adults by promoting, developing, and funding adult literacy, essential skills, and upgrading programs in the province.

The division administers the following programs: Nova Scotia School for Adult Learning, General Educational Development (GED), Recognition of Prior Learning, and Labour Mobility.

About Our Opportunity

Under the general supervision of the Director of the Adult Education Division, the Director's Secretary provides administrative support to the Director and management staff of the division and acts as a division coordinator assisting with day-to-day operations.

This position provides financial administrative support to the division which includes performing monthly forecasts for four cost centres and submitting them to Finance once approved, as well as managing procurement for the division while ensuring compliance with the Province's processes. The Secretary is also responsible for all aspects of the Director's correspondence, including prioritizing and accurately composing, formatting, and proofreading all forms of communication such as briefing notes and Minister's letters, and maintaining an efficient records management system (paper and digital).

Primary Accountabilities

For this role you also:

• Manage all aspects of the Director's schedule, making appropriate referrals;
• Carry out human resource and personnel functions for the division's employees including coordinating recruitment activities.
• Onboard and offboard of staff; and coordinate the workflow of other support staff in the field.
• Develop administrative process improvements/standards to meet the division's standards.
• Manage budgets, procurement, and payment of invoices.
• Provide project tracking for divisional initiatives; take minutes and ensure follow-up action items are completed accurately and in a timely manner; and field public enquiries by phone or email.

Qualifications and Experience

Grade 12 plus one-year commercial course plus two years administrative, accounting and client service experience. Equivalent combination of training and experience is acceptable.

Excellent technology skills are essential with attention to speed and accuracy. This position requires proficiency in word processing, email, and collaborative work and productivity tools. This includes, but is not limited to, MS Office, Outlook, OneNote and OneDrive. Due to the emphasis on accounting, experience with Excel is extremely important.

Excellent judgement, attention to detail and problem-solving skills are essential to demonstrate ability to respond appropriately and promptly to situations that may arise when responding to internal and external enquiries. Excellent communication skills are essential. Confidentiality is also essential and expected at all times. Ability to work independently and as a team member is required.

Strong organizational and time management skills are mandatory to efficiently provide a smooth flow of work to meet deadlines and complete prioritized tasks. Resourcefulness is essential to coordinate logistics for large scale meetings, events and travel, and to learn and remain current with adult education programs and services.

We will assess the above qualifications and competencies using one or more of the following tools: written examination, standardized tests, oral presentations, interview(s), and reference checks.

Equivalency

Applicants relying on education and experience equivalencies must demonstrate such equivalencies in their application.

Benefits

Based on the employment status and Union agreement, the Government of Nova Scotia offers its employees a wide range of benefits such as Health, Dental, Life Insurance, Pension, General Illness (Short and Long Term), Vacation and Employee and Family Assistance Programs. Click here to learn more about our various benefits offering and eligibility criteria.

Additional Information

Please note this is a term employment opportunity with an anticipated end date of December 31, 2025. The appointment status ('term', 'temporary' or 'casual') is dependent on the start date of the successful candidate.

What We Offer

• Career Development where you have access to career guidance, tools, resources, and ongoing training for every stage of your career.
• Engaging workplace: our Employees feel valued, respected, connected, and tuned in, we have forward-thinking policies and strategies.
• Countless career paths.
• Department specific flexible working schedules.

Pay Grade: CL 18
Salary Range: $1,675.62 - $1,874.80 Bi-Weekly

Employment Equity Statement:

Our goal is to be a diverse workforce that is representative, at all job levels, of the citizens we serve. The Government of Nova Scotia has an Employment Equity Policy, and we welcome applications from Indigenous People, African Nova Scotians and Other Racially Visible Persons, Persons with Disabilities and Women in occupations or positions where they are under-represented. If you are a member of one of these equity groups, you are encouraged to self-identify on your electronic application.

This is a bargaining unit position initially restricted to current civil service employees represented by the Nova Scotia Government Employees Union (NSGEU). If applying from outside a government office, employees must apply correctly via this link:

Failure to apply correctly means that your application will not be given first consideration as a bargaining unit applicant, and will only be included if external applications are pursued.

External applicants and current casual employees will only be considered if there are no qualified civil service bargaining unit candidates. PLEASE NOTE: Candidates will not be considered for an interview if applications are incomplete or are missing information.

Offer of employment is conditional upon the completion of all applicable background checks and confirmation of credentials, the results of which must be satisfactory to the employer. We thank all applicants for the interest, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. All questions and concerns may be directed to [email protected] .