Role Responsibilities

Do you believe a strong, engaged public service is essential for the province? Do you celebrate when your briefing note gets a decision? If you’re someone who enjoys turning complex ideas into clear, well‑written advice, this role may be right up your alley.

As a Strategic Planner, your work will focus on analysis, coordination, and writing. You’ll support APS learning and engagement priorities by helping leaders make decisions. The work can move quickly, timelines are often fixed, and priorities can shift. But the focus is always on producing thoughtful, high‑quality written products that help move organizational learning and engagement initiatives forward. The emphasis is on clear thinking, strong writing, and understanding what information decision‑makers need in order to act.

What You Will Do: 
•    Prepare clear, well‑structured briefings and slide decks that support senior leaders in making timely decisions.
•    Coordinate strategic projects by gathering input, developing work plans, tracking milestones, and supporting governance and approval processes.
•    Identify sensitivities, implementation considerations, or potential risks and provide practical recommendations to support next steps.
•    Research and analyze information to understand emerging issues, trends, and practices that may inform learning and engagement work across the public service.
•    Work with stakeholders across departments to understand perspectives, clarify objectives, and ensure materials reflect shared priorities.
•    Adjust analysis and written materials as priorities or direction evolve, while maintaining quality and fixed timelines.

To be successful in this role, you need to:
•    Think strategically: You understand the broader public service context and can anticipate what information decision‑makers need to move work forward.
•    Write clearly and precisely: You’re comfortable producing concise, well‑organized written materials that turn complex information into practical advice.
•    Apply sound judgment: You work confidently within established direction and know when to flag risks, sensitivities, or issues that may need escalation.
•    Manage competing priorities: You can juggle multiple deliverables with fixed timelines and stay focused when direction shifts.
•    Engage stakeholders thoughtfully: You listen carefully, understand different perspectives, and incorporate input in a way that supports shared outcomes.
•    Work collaboratively: You contribute to a respectful, supportive team environment and value the role good coordination and communication play in getting work done.

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.

• Agility: Prioritizes and manages competing priorities.
• Drive for Results: Achieves results on priorities despite ambiguity in process, evolving challenges, and tight timelines.  
• Build Collaborative Environments: Works in a proactive, collaborative and integrated fashion to support ongoing initiatives.
• Systems Thinking: Integrates different types of policies and client priorities to identify the correct solution to each problem.

Qualifications

Your cover letter and resume will be used to assess your qualifications, including your written communication skills and your attention to detail.

Ensure your cover letter meets all of the following criteria:
•    Includes a professional salutation;
•    Identifies the relevant job opportunity (i.e. Strategic Planner);
•    Is concise, without spelling/grammatical errors;
•    Clearly identifies the number of years of experience you have working in a public sector organization (e.g. federal/provincial/municipal government, school board, hospital, etc.); and
•    Provides a clear and concise example of a time you used written communication to secure an important decision/approval from leadership.

Ensure your resume meets all of the following criteria:
•    Includes the starting and ending month & year of each role;
•    Is concise, without spelling/grammatical errors; 
•    Has a clear, consistent layout that demonstrates your attention to detail; and 
•    Provides information about each role using clear and concise bullet points.

Applications without a cover letter and resume that meet all of the above criteria will not be considered.

Note: Prior to selecting a shortlist of candidates for interviews, applicants may be requested to submit a short written assignment.

Minimum recruitment standard: University graduation in Public Administration, Business Administration, Public Policy or a related field  and 2 years of progressively responsible related experience.

Equivalency: Related education or experience is considered on the basis of:
•    1 year of education for 1 year of experience; or
•    1 year of experience for 1 year of education

Other requirements (i.e. “must haves” to be considered for the role):
•    Experience preparing clear, well‑structured written materials such as briefing notes, summaries, or options papers in a public sector or similar environment.
•    Experience working with stakeholders to gather input, understand different perspectives, and support alignment on shared priorities.
•    Experience coordinating work with defined timelines, including managing competing deliverables or adjusting work in response to changing direction.
•    Familiarity with the Alberta Public Service’s departments and decision-making structures.

Assets (i.e. “nice to haves”):
•    Experience analyzing and developing policies and/or strategies in the Alberta Public Service.


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

To be considered for this competition, your application must include a well-written cover letter and resume. Carefully review the Qualifications section to see the specific requirements for the cover letter and resume that are unique to this role. If your application does not include a cover letter and resume that clearly meet these requirements, your application will not be considered.

Location and Hours of Work:
Our office is located in downtown Edmonton, with on-site attendance required to meet the operational needs of the role.

Business hours are Monday to Friday, 8:15 am to 4:30 pm. Hours of work are 7.25 hours per day / 36.25 hours per week. Modified work hours may be available on a case-by-case basis, subject to government policy and operational viability.

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.

More information about 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
•    Leadership and mentorship programs