Director of Strategic Initiatives
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
Pay Band 8
3-year Contract / Open competition
Fredericton

Interested in making a difference in our province? We encourage you to Choose GNB!

Who we are:
The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development aims to develop programs and offer services that support parents and educators and encourage learners to achieve lasting and transferable skills that will serve them throughout their lives.

The Policy, Strategic Planning and Project Management Office division is seeking a hard-working, dynamic, and bilingual individual to join the Strategic Alignment and Project Management Office Branch as Director of Strategic Initiatives in Fredericton.

What you will do:
Reporting to the Director of Strategic Alignment and Project Management Office the Director of Strategic Initiatives will play a pivotal role in advancing departmental objectives by overseeing the strategic planning processes within the Early Childhood Development Division. This role involves leading strategy workshops, establishing goals, conducting current state analysis', developing, and executing strategic plans. The role requires monitoring progress, guiding discussions, addressing challenges, and engaging key stakeholders to ensure alignment with departmental objectives.

As the overseer of strategic initiatives and projects within the division, the Director of Strategic Initiatives will implement a monitoring system to track progress toward strategic results and manage risks to ensure effective implementation. A focal point of responsibility is facilitating alignment among executive and senior level leadership teams across and external to the department, school district employees, project teams and various departments to foster a cohesive approach to shared objectives.

In addition to strategic oversight, the Director of Strategic Initiatives is positioned to be a catalyst for positive change. They will foster a culture of organizational alignment, continuous improvement, evidence-based analysis, and open communication. Using various facilitation tools, they will encourage creative idea generation and collaborative decision-making. Providing coaching to leaders in the strategic planning process will be integral to their responsibilities.

Key responsibility areas include:

• Develop and lead strategy workshops or sessions to facilitate collaborative decision-making and idea generation and produce a strategic plan.
• Identify and analyze key stakeholders to ensure their perspectives are considered in the strategic planning process.
• Establish specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals for the division.
• Establish a strategic roadmap of initiatives and projects within the division.
• Implement a monitoring system, including the use of strategic dashboards, operational dashboards, and daily management tools, to track progress toward results and project plans, and to document insights, decisions, and action items to facilitate effective planning and implementation.
• Manage project professionals to support the functions of process improvement, project management, change management and project coordination on divisional priorities.
• Identify, request, and optimize the use of project resources required to action initiatives and projects within the strategic plan.
• Facilitate alignment among the department, district, and division, providing consistent direction and support for divisional goals and efforts within districts, schools, and childcare operators and early childhood educators, in both francophone and anglophone sectors.
• Cultivate a culture centered on strategic thinking, data-driven decisions by applying facilitation tools to encourage creative idea generation, managing group dynamics, addressing conflicts, fostering open communication, and providing coaching to leaders in strategic planning and initiative management.

Your attitude, skills and interests are just as important as your area of study. We are looking for diverse backgrounds that bring a combination of the following:

Required Competencies:

• Bachelor's degree with at least 8 years of progressively responsible work experience, which includes:
• at least four (4) years directly managing subject matter experts to success in one or more of the following areas: business operations, continuous improvement, planning, performance measurement,
• and at least two (2) years working directly with senior management on corporate initiatives.
• Certification or formal training in at least two of the following areas:
• Strategic Planning
• Lean Six Sigma
• Project Management
• Performance Measurement
• An equivalent combination of education, training and experience may be considered.

Written and spoken competence in English and French is required. Please state your language capability.

Applicants must clearly demonstrate the essential qualifications to be given further consideration. Please ensure that preferred language for assessment is identified on your resume.

Nice to have:

• Certification in Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt.
• Certification in Strategic Planning.
• Certification in Balanced Scorecard or performance measurement methodology.
• Certification in project management methodology.
• Certification in change management methodology.

Behavioural Competencies:

• Analytical Thinking/Judgement
• Client Service Orientation
• Organizational Awareness
• Relationship / Network Building
• Results Orientation
• Strategic Thinking

Technical Competencies:

• Knowledge of strategic planning methodologies
• Knowledge of project and change management methodologies
• Knowledge of performance measurement methodologies
• Planning and Organizing Skills
• Presentation Skills
• Written Communication

Résumés should be in chronological order specifying education and employment in months and years including part-time and full-time employment.

Wage:
Pay Band 8 - $109,642 – $123,500 annually.

Work environment:

• Office location: 250 King Street, Fredericton.
• Standard hours of work: Monday - Friday, 8:15-4:30.
• Possibility of remote work within New Brunswick.
• We promote a scent-reduced environment.

What can GNB offer you?

• Comprehensive benefits package which includes paid vacation, Health and Dental Plan, Life Insurance, Long-Term Disability, and the New Brunswick Public Service Pension Plan.
• Opportunities for career growth, professional development, and training.
• Free access to Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) and services.
• One paid volunteer day per year to give back to your community.
• Minimum of 1.25 days/month of paid vacation.
• 1.25 days/month of paid sick leave.

Providing a safe workplace for all. Your health & safety are important to us. GNB has implemented preventative measures across the organization to ensure your health & safety.

How to apply:
We encourage applicants to apply online at www.ere.gnb.ca, by mail at the following address, or by email at [email protected] by June 15, 2025, indicating competition number 25-2000-C03. This competition may be used to fill future vacancies at the same level.

Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
Human Resource Services
Place 2000, 250 King Street
Fredericton, NB E3B 5H1

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

As per the?Civil Service Act, veterans, who demonstrate they are among the most qualified, shall be given preference at the time of appointment.

We are an Equal Employment Opportunity Program contributing to the creation of a more balanced workforce that reflects the diversity of the province by removing barriers to employment and providing individualized supports to designated equity group members.

The New Brunswick Public Service: Improving the lives of New Brunswickers every day!
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