Executive Director OH&S

About Us

The Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration works to provide fairness, safety, and prosperity for all Nova Scotians by helping them live, learn and work to their highest potential. We have a staff of more than 500 employees working from offices throughout Nova Scotia. Together we are responsible for safety, labour standards, apprenticeship, immigration and population growth, and many other facets of everyday life. 

The Department’s Safety Branch is responsible for delivering effective and efficient regulatory management for the protection of the public and workers’ safety through education, outreach, inspection and enforcement, equipment registration, permits, and licenses.  Our staff of over 120 employees, located throughout Nova Scotia, do this by using the Pathways to Compliance to enhance compliance of provincially regulated employees, employers and contractors through setting, promoting, verifying and enforcing requirements under various pieces of legislation.

About Our Opportunity

The Executive Director, Occupational Health and Safety Division is an integral member of the Safety Branch’s executive leadership team.

This opportunity uniquely positions the successful candidate to benefit from a supportive turnover period, of up to five months. Following the turnover, as the designated successor, the candidate will assume the role fully.

Primary Accountabilities

Reporting to the Safety Branch’s Senior Executive Director, the Executive Director leads a team of managers and directors and is responsible for providing strategic direction and leadership for the Occupational Health and Safety Division.

The Executive Director provides regulatory and non-regulatory Occupational Health and Safety oversight through a variety of approaches including setting requirements, awareness, inspection, compliance and enforcement programs, services and strategies designed to promote worker safety and accident prevention in all workplaces in Nova Scotia.

The Executive Director is also responsible for developing and maintaining effective relationships with safety partners and for serving as a representative on various committees with a local, regional and national scope.

This position requires effective management of human and financial resources and must promote a diverse and healthy workplace culture.

Qualifications and Experience

You have a several years of leadership and management experience in a related field, with a minimum of three (3) years at the senior level. A university degree, education or significant experience in the area of occupational health and workplace safety or in a regulatory environment;

In addition, you also possess the following:
 

• Progressive experience in policy and program development, operational management and project implementation skills;
• Experience interpreting regulations, policies, procedure and guidelines;
• Experience building, maintaining and managing a variety of partnerships and stakeholder relationships at an executive level;
• Strong negotiation skills, along with a proven track record of leading a complex organization;
• Strategic Orientation; able to deliver and develop high level, strategic advice and make decisions in relation to your area of responsibility while linking ideas to a long-range vision and tactical approaches;
• Sound decision making skills in areas that offer a high degree of risk;
• Demonstrated strong communication and interpersonal skills and a proven track record of motivating high performing teams;
• Proven ability to be innovative, lead and execute change and translate ideas into action.
  
  

Assets:

• Experience managing regionally dispersed teams;
• Experience working in government (municipal, provincial, federal) and representing a jurisdiction’s interests on a national or muti-jurisdictional committee
  
  

Behavioral Competencies: 

• Achieve results – goal-oriented leader focused on fulfilling targets
• System transformation – demonstrates system/critical thinking and is a change champion
• Engage others – contributes to the creation of high performing teams
• Develop coalitions – can build and influence networks to create results
• Intercutural proficiency – experience in re-designing programs and services to better support underserved communities 
  
  

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

Equivalency

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

Benefits

Based on the employment status, 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

• Normal work week is 35 hours/week, 7 hours/day
• May be required to work overtime on occasion 
  
  

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.