Administrative Assistant (Secretary 3)

About Us

The Department of Municipal Affairs is dedicated to working with municipalities to build healthy, vibrant, and safe communities throughout Nova Scotia. Municipal Affairs provides programs, grants, and funding opportunities for municipalities and community groups. The Department also provides services and guidance to municipalities in many areas, including land use planning, budget planning and finance, infrastructure development, and policy and program development.

About Our Opportunity

As the Secretary 3, you provide administrative and coordination support to Municipal Infrastructure and Municipal Finance. Your work helps the divisions stay organized, respond to requests, and move important documents and approvals forward.

You will coordinate meetings, manage records and correspondence, process administrative and financial information, and follow up on deadlines. You will also help maintain a reliable flow of information among colleagues and internal and external partners.  You regularly work with departmental staff, senior officials, other levels of government, external agencies, vendors, and members of the public.

Primary Accountabilities

In this role, you will:

• Coordinate meetings and prepare or organize related materials.
• Track correspondence, deadlines, approvals, and required follow-up.
• Maintain accurate records and support effective information management.
• Coordinate briefing materials and other documents through review and approval processes.
• Complete financial and administrative transactions.
• Prepare, organize, and coordinate correspondence and other documents.
• Respond to routine inquiries and direct requests to the appropriate area.
• Support the timely flow of information across the divisions and departments.
• Provide general administrative and office support including but not limited to: support for Administrative Assistants and the Office Coordinator with departmental administrative processes and procedures and records management; as well as provide coverage for correspondence management activities with the CoMS system
• Help maintain consistent administrative processes that support divisional operations and program delivery.

Qualifications and Experience

You have completed a one-year business course and have at least four (4) years of related administrative experience. An equivalent combination of training and experience may be considered.

Through your education and experience, you can demonstrate:

• Experience coordinating meetings, correspondence, tracking deadlines, and follow-up activities to help keep work moving forward.
• Experience preparing, organizing, and maintaining accurate documents, files, and records.
• The ability to organize competing priorities and respond to changing or time-sensitive requirements.
• The ability to communicate clearly and professionally when responding to inquiries and sharing information with internal and external partners.

While not required, it is considered an asset if you have:

• Experience providing administrative support in a government, municipal, or similarly structured organization.
• Experience tracking high volumes of correspondence, requests, and competing deadlines.
• Experience completing financial or administrative transactions.
• Experience maintaining records in accordance with established information-management processes.

We will assess the above qualifications and experience using tools such as assessments, presentations, interviews, reference checks, etc.

Equivalency

We recognize equivalent combinations of training, education, and experience, providing opportunities for individuals with diverse backgrounds to contribute their skills and expertise. Equivalencies include, but are not limited to:

• Completion of a related Bachelor's degree and one (1) year of related experience
• Completion of a related Diploma and three (3) years of related experience
• At least five (5) years of related experience

Applicants relying on education and experience equivalencies must demonstrate such equivalencies in their application.

Benefits

Based on the employment status and union agreement, the Government of Nova Scotia offers its employees a wide range of benefits such as a Defined Benefit Pension Plan, Health, Dental, Life Insurance, General illness, Short and Long Term Disability, Vacation and Employee and Family Assistance Programs.  For information on all our Benefit program offerings, click here: Benefits for government employees.

Working Conditions

Your typical work week is 35 hours/week, 7 hours/day. This role involves coordinating several administrative activities and paying close attention to detail. Your work will include managing deadlines, maintaining accurate records, and returning to detailed tasks following interruptions.

Additional Information

This is a TERM employment opportunity with an anticipated end date of July 12, 2027. The appointment status (‘term’, ‘temporary’ or ‘casual’) is dependent on the start date of the successful candidate.

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
• Countless career paths
• A Dynamic, client-focused office environment where service excellence and teamwork are our focus.