Municipal Advisor and Improvement Districts (Edmonton, AB) na Government of Alberta | Alberta.ca

Role Responsibilities

Reporting to the Manager of Improvement Districts and Land Use Planning, the Municipal Advisor and Improvement Districts (IDs) is a key member of the Improvement Districts and Land Use Planning team. This position serves as the first point of contact for the public, IDs’ municipal administrators and councillors, partner divisions, provincial departments, and municipal associations.

The role plays a critical part in ensuring Alberta’s improvement districts are well-managed, compliant with legislation, and supported with the knowledge and tools to thrive.

The primary responsibility of this position is to ensure that Alberta’s improvement districts are administered in full compliance with the Municipal Government Act (MGA), while upholding the highest standards of accountability, effectiveness, and efficiency. Of the province’s seven improvement districts, one falls under the jurisdiction of Forestry and Parks, and four are managed directly by the Minister of Municipal Affairs, with the incumbent serving as Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) for all four. Additionally, the incumbent provides advisory and support services to the remaining two improvement districts, each of which has its own advisory council and CAO.

Responsibilities
As a Municipal Advisor – Improvement Districts, you will:

1. Ensure Compliance and Oversight

• Manage and administer Alberta’s improvement districts in accordance with federal and provincial legislation, specifically the Municipal Government Act.
• Uphold high standards of accountability, effectiveness, and efficiency in district management.
• Follow Government of Alberta procurement policies, including tendering and administrating awarded contracts for assessment and administrative services.
• Account for revenue and operating costs, collaborating with Financial Services to review monthly and annual finance reports.
• Ensure grant funds are distributed and accounted for in compliance with grant requirements.
• Ensure related ID elections and appointments are completed following the established processes in alignment with applicable rules and legislation.

2. Strengthen Local Governance and Capacity

• Serve as Chief Administrative Officer and administrative head of the improvement districts, with full responsibility for duties and powers as assigned under the Municipal Government Act and other enactments.
• Prepare annual operating and capital budgets, as well as tax rates, for approval.
• Provide front-line advisory services to all improvement districts, including advisory support to Kananaskis Improvement District, as required.
• Interpret and explain provincial legislation, regulations, and procedures to municipal officials and stakeholders, deliver training on legislative requirements, and stay current with legislative amendments and municipal issues. 

Role Responsibilities Cont.

3. Support Ministry and Government Leaders

• Research and verifying facts and information associated with assignments.
• Draft responses to the inquiries directed to the ministry leadership, ensuring consistency, clarity, conciseness and accuracy of messages.
• Organizing and tracking assignments to completion.
• Work with the related IDs for submission of timely financial statements/reports and resolving any audit observations of OAG.

4. Advance Ministry Initiatives

• Collaborate with other governments (Parks Canada and other municipalities) to identify appropriate projects for grants, apply for funding, and oversee grant distribution and reporting.
• Tender and administer contracts for district assessment and administrative services to support ministry goals.
• Lead and/or participate in special project development

Please click on this link to view the job description for this position.

APS Competencies

Competencies are behaviors that are essential to reach our goals in serving Albertans. We encourage you to have an in depth understanding of the competencies that are required for this opportunity and to be prepared to demonstrate them during the recruitment process.

This link will assist you with understanding competencies:
https://www.alberta.ca/system/files/custom_downloaded_images/psc-alberta-public-service-competency-model.pdf.

• Systems Thinking: Advisors provide quality information, advice, and training on a broad range of municipal issues to internal and external stakeholders.
• Creative Problem Solving: Advisors engage with all the stakeholders, subject matter specialists, other colleagues, staff, divisions and ministries to carry out research and explore solutions.
• Develop Networks: Advisor must respond on the spot with a proper assessment of the situation, analysis of the problem and be able to quickly reference the appropriate legislation and procedures to effectively respond to the concern.
• Agility: Dealing with municipal officials, responses/options for solutions must be developed with consideration to a municipality's specific dynamic and situation to provide a more complete understanding for council and administration to effectively implement.
• Build Collaborative Environments: Advisor collaborates wide range of stakeholders to achieve desirable outcomes. Advisor helps in transparent flow of information, resolves conflict through coaching and facilitated discussion by providing equal opportunity of participation to all the stakeholders and creates enthusiasm to motivate and guide others. Advisor is able to lead by example, acknowledge gaps and is able to work with diverse perspectives for achieving outcomes. 

Qualifications

University graduation in a related field such as Finance, Business Administration, Economics, or Land Use planning plus 4 years progressively responsible related experience; or equivalent as described below.

Equivalency:
Directly related education or experience considered on the basis of:

• 1 year of education for 1 year of experience; or
• 1 year of experience for 1 year of education.

Preference will be given to candidates with experience of working with municipality in the fields of finance, administration, planning, and/or governance; and having working knowledge of municipal tax rate bylaw preparation, financial reporting, and budgeting.

Assets:

• Collaboration and Autonomy: Proven ability to work independently with a high degree of autonomy, while also contributing effectively in a team environment through collaboration, knowledge sharing, and briefing upwards to support decision-making.
• Project management: Experience in managing municipal projects, including planning, execution, and evaluation, can be beneficial.
• Community Engagement: Skills in engaging with community members and stakeholders to gather input and build consensus on municipal initiatives.
• Grant Writing: Experience in writing and securing grants for municipal projects and programs.
• Policy Analysis: Ability to analyze and interpret municipal policies and regulations to provide informed advice and recommendations.
• Experience working with Financial software.

Minimum recruitment standards outline the minimum education and experience required for appointment to a job classification. 
Refer to https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-public-service-minimum-recruitment-standards.

Notes

Final candidates will be required to undergo a security screening.

Any costs associated with obtaining the required documents/checks as noted or interview travel expenses, will be the responsibility of the candidate. Out-of-province applicants can obtain the required documents/checks from the province they currently reside in.

Links and information on what the GoA have to offer to prospective employees.

• Working for the Alberta Public Service - https://www.alberta.ca/advantages-working-for-alberta-public-service.aspx.
• Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) - https://www.pspp.ca.
• Alberta Public Service Benefit Information - https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-public-service-benefits.
• Professional learning and development - https://www.alberta.ca/professional-development-support-directive.
• Research Alberta Public Service Careers tool - https://researchapscareers.alberta.ca.
• Positive workplace culture and work-life balance.
• Opportunity to participate in flexible work arrangements such as working from home up to two days per week and modified work schedule agreement.
• Leadership and mentorship programs.