Director, Policy and Communications
About The Position
The Office of Service Efficiency leads Nova Scotia’s work to modernize regulation, improve services, and remove unnecessary barriers for businesses, industries, sectors, and citizens. Established in 2015, the Office began with a focus on reducing barriers to doing business in Nova Scotia. Its mandate has since expanded to support more effective, efficient, and responsive government services across departments and sectors. The Office delivers its mandate by assessing regulatory and policy proposals against best-practice principles; measuring costs, savings, and service impacts; improving processes within government; and working with provincial, municipal, federal, and territorial partners to align regulatory and service approaches. This work supports Nova Scotia’s broader economic strategy and has earned national recognition. As Director, Policy and Communications, you will provide senior leadership for integrated policy development, planning, legislative support, issues management, and strategic communications. Reporting to the Senior Executive Director, you will serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership and the Minister on complex policy, legislative, regulatory, and communications matters. This role requires an all-of-government perspective and the ability to work across departments, sectors, stakeholders, and other orders of government. You will help shape advice, decisions, and communications that advance the Office’s mandate, support government priorities, and respond to emerging issues. Success requires sound judgment, strategic thinking, and the ability to provide clear, timely advice in a complex and evolving environment.
Requirements
- Extensive experience leading complex policy and communications initiatives.
- Extensive experience providing strategic advice to senior decision-makers.
- Extensive experience developing evidence-based solutions to challenging public policy issues.
- Extensive experience building relationships with senior officials, stakeholders and partners across government and beyond.
- Demonstrates strong digital readiness, leveraging available technologies and tools to maximize productivity, foster innovation, and continuously improve processes, ensuring services and solutions are delivered in the most efficient, effective, and client-focused manner possible.
Nice To Haves
- Experience in public policy development.
- Experience in strategic communications.
- Experience in issues management.
- Experience in legislative processes.
- Experience in stakeholder engagement.
Responsibilities
- Lead complex policy research, analysis, evaluation, and development across a broad and diverse portfolio.
- Lead and support the preparation of high-quality policy papers, briefing materials, Cabinet documents, legislative materials, and submissions to central agencies.
- Provide strategic direction for legislative and regulatory planning by identifying emerging trends, risks, opportunities, and best practices.
- Develop and lead implementation of the Office’s strategic communications and stakeholder engagement plan, ensuring messages and materials are aligned with Office and government priorities.
- As a member of the senior leadership team, contribute to Office priorities, policies, and decisions by assessing partner, stakeholder, and public perspectives and recommending strategic actions.
- Ensure the Minister and senior leaders are prepared to address complex and sensitive policy issues in the Legislature, with media, and with community and stakeholder audiences.
- Strengthen the effectiveness of Office and government communications by integrating corporate priorities and messages across digital, traditional, and stakeholder channels, and by collaborating with communications colleagues across government, the Premier’s Office, departments, and partners on matters of shared interest.
Benefits
- Defined Benefit Pension Plan
- Health
- Dental
- Life Insurance
- General illness
- Short and Long Term Disability
- Vacation
- Employee and Family Assistance Programs
- 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
- A Dynamic, client-focused office environment where service excellence and teamwork are our focus
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
Education Level
No Education Listed
