About Us

The Accessibility Directorate is a dynamic and committed team that is leading and coordinating Nova Scotia’s goal to become an accessible province by 2030. We work together with Nova Scotians with disabilities, community and disability organizations, businesses, municipalities, post-secondary institutions, and other partners to support the cultural shift needed to implement the Accessibility Act and address disability-related issues across government.

Since the team was established five years ago, we have built relationships within government and with public sector and community partners to support their efforts to improve accessibility, including Government’s multi-year accessibility plan; beginning development of the province’s first accessibility standards – in the areas of Education, Built Environment, Employment, and Goods and Services; collaborating with public sector bodies to support the development of accessibility plans and initiatives across the province; developing accessibility awareness resources and initiatives including the public awareness campaign “Access Includes Everyone” with the related website https://accessible.novascotia.ca and initiated the first independent review of the Accessibility Act.

Learn more about our work to ensure Nova Scotians with disabilities can enjoy all this province has to offer, at home, school, work and in community, on the Accessibility Directorate website: https://novascotia.ca/accessibility/.

About Our Opportunity

Works under minimal direction and has a very excellent knowledge of office practices and procedures and a comprehensive knowledge of departmental functions. Performs a wide range of complex secretarial and admin support duties of a responsible and confidential nature, that requires a great amount of independence of action. Typically reports to an Executive Director responsible for a major function within a government department. Under limited supervision, provides senior level support, undertaking the more complex administrative assignments and typically co-ordinates the work of less senior clerks. The position may have supervisory responsibility and/or performs specialized work.

Primary Accountabilities

• Provides routine and non-routine secretarial and office duties for the Executive Director and other staff including complex correspondence, memos, reports, etc. Communicates Executive Director's and others instructions or desires to various individuals and/or units and provides and obtains information from other managers and staff.
• Manages and coordinates the day-to-day operations of the ED’s office and the Division, organizes and manages the ED’s schedule, coordinates resources and overall planning, and briefs the ED in preparation for various meetings. Assess issues, gauging urgencies and reviewing priorities and previous commitments, and brings urgent matters forward.
• Serves as main point of contact and quality control for a large volume of inquiries (including ministerial), providing quality assurance of documents and databases.
• Develops, administer and coordinate systems for recording and tracking ministerial briefings; monitor incoming/outgoing letters, issues, briefing notes, determining and coordinating action items for follow-up, monitoring for compliance with deadlines and conduct information gathering for media issues, initiatives and briefing notes. Independently reviews and monitors the ED’s mail, composes responses and/or initiatives required action; researches, compiles, summarizes and consolidates information into various databases, narrative reports and presentation forms, using spreadsheets, databases and graphics.
• Serves as administrative liaison with other offices, screens calls/visitors and expedites divisional workflow between the ED’s office and across the divisions. Routes non-routine correspondence not requiring ED’s attention.
• Serves as the senior administrative support, authorizing office supplies and related expenditures, resolving administrative problems, leading and guiding efforts of the divisional administrative support team in developing and implementing administrative operational and process improvement change projects.
• Coordinates the division’s budget, monitors forecast documents, and processing invoices and expense claims with transactional services. Develop, maintain, and update various databases to ensure easy and reliable access to information.
• Organizes accessible online and in-person meetings and events, including making venue and catering bookings, preparing meeting materials, ensuring ASL and CART are booked, communicating with meeting attendees.

Qualifications and Experience

To be successful in this position, you possess a one-year business course plus 4 years related experience, or an equivalent combination of education (training) and experience may be acceptable. Proven experience with accounting and budgetary office expenditures, and records management is essential. Proficiency in work processing, data management, presentation skills, report preparation and related skills including Word, Excel, Teams, Power Point, Adobe, Internet, SAP and email along with the ability to learn other software programs is essential. Proficiency in SAP software is considered an asset.

As the successful candidate, you will have strong organizational and analytical ability, with an excellent capacity to work independently with minimal supervision. Strong interpersonal skills and judgement are necessary to deal professionally, tactfully, and effectively with clients and staff. You must maintain confidentiality and have excellent verbal and written skills. As the successful candidate, you will need to be efficient and comfortable working under pressure with tight deadlines and during periods of heavy workloads with multiple demands.

As the successful candidate, you must be a highly motived and organized. Attention to detail is paramount in this position to ensure tasks are completed accurately and to the highest quality.

Experience and expertise in accessibility and disability issues , and fluency in French ( oral/written) would be considered and asset.

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

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

May supervise junior clerical reports or be expected to demonstrate team leadership and direction with respect to divisional secretarial, clerical and administrative support staff and to provide functional guidance and direction to divisional and departmental management and staff on corporate requirements and standard practices related to the administrative aspect of program operations.

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
• A workplace that values inclusion and is committed to diversity
• Countless career paths
• Department specific flexible working schedules