Manager, Federal Agreements & Financial Strategy

About Us

The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (EECD) is leading the transformation of the early years and public education system in Nova Scotia. We are doing this by designing an innovative curriculum, facilitating excellence in teaching and learning, ensuring an inclusive education experience, and working closely with our partners in early learning and education. This will provide children, students, and families with a strong foundation for success. This department is a perfect fit for those that want to be part of the future of early learning and public education in the province by supporting student learning in a progressive and responsive policy environment. 

About Our Opportunity

The Early Years branch is looking for a strategic financial leader to support one of Nova Scotia’s most significant public service transformations.

As the Manager, Federal Agreements and Financial Strategy, you will lead work at the intersection of federal-provincial agreement management, financial strategy, funding model development, reporting, audit readiness, and sector sustainability.

You will help ensure early learning and child care investments are well planned, responsibly managed, clearly reported, and aligned with provincial and federal commitments. This includes managing financial and reporting requirements under federal agreements, supporting action plans and audits, developing funding models, ensuring alignment between funding approaches, policy direction and system outcomes, and providing senior leaders with clear advice on financial risks, funding pressures, and implementation options.

This role works closely with federal partners, senior leaders, finance colleagues, policy and program teams, service providers, not-for-profit organizations, and community-based partners. You will help translate complex funding and accountability requirements into practical approaches that support a growing and evolving child care sector, while maintaining alignment with policy intent and system performance expectations.

This is a strong opportunity for someone who brings financial discipline, sound judgement, relationship skills, and a practical understanding of how public funding decisions affect providers, families, communities, and long-term system sustainability.

Primary Accountabilities

• Lead financial strategy, planning and analysis, forecasting, expenditure tracking, and analysis for early learning and child care initiatives supported through federal-provincial agreements, in close collaboration with Financial Advisory Services
• Coordinate, and oversee federal agreement requirements, including financial reporting, progress reporting, action plan support, audit coordination, carry-forward planning, compliance tracking, and issue resolution.
• Build and maintain effective working relationships with federal government partners to support agreement implementation, information sharing, reporting, and timely resolution of financial or accountability matters.
• Lead the development, costing, implementation, and refinement of funding models that support affordability, access, inclusion, quality, workforce stability, provider sustainability, and responsible stewardship of public funds.
• Provide expert advice to senior leaders on financial risks, funding pressures, agreement obligations, policy options, operational impacts, and decisions with sector-wide implications, including ensuring alignment between federal agreements, policy direction, and system level outcomes.
• Work with program, policy, finance, and data teams to align funding approaches with government commitments, sector needs, operational realities, and measurable outcomes, ensuring alignment across policy, funding, performance, and operational considerations
• Support the preparation of briefing notes, reports, Treasury Board submissions, Memorandums to Executive Council, presentations, correspondence, and other decision-making materials.
• Strengthen financial controls, business processes, reporting tools, documentation, data quality, and accountability practices related to federal funding and sector investments.
• Work with not-for-profit, community-based, and sector partners to understand provider realities and support practical funding approaches, reporting processes, and implementation supports.
• Identify financial, operational, reporting, and sector risks, and develop mitigation strategies that support public trust, sustainability, and effective service delivery.
• Support structured financial decision-making, including documentation of assumptions, risk, and funding model decisions to ensure consistency and traceability.

Qualifications and Experience

To be successful in this role, you have a relevant university degree in accounting, finance, business administration, public administration, economics, social policy, or a related field, along with progressive experience in financial strategy, funding model development, budgeting, forecasting, reporting, audit coordination, agreement management, or public sector accountability.

You have experience developing, implementing, managing, or evaluating funding models, ideally in a public sector, not-for-profit, community service, education, early years, or human services environment. You understand how funding decisions affect service providers, families, communities, workforce stability, service access, and long-term system sustainability.

You have experience managing complex funding agreements, contribution agreements, transfer payment arrangements, or intergovernmental agreements. You understand the importance of clear reporting, financial controls, performance measures, audit readiness, documentation, and compliance with agreement requirements.

You are comfortable working with financial data, budgets, forecasts, expenditure plans, briefing materials, and decision documents. You can translate complex financial and policy information into clear advice for senior leaders and practical guidance for program teams and partners.

You bring sound judgement, strong communication skills, relationship-building ability, and the capacity to work in a fast-moving environment with high public accountability and multiple partners.

Assets

• A professional accounting designation, such as CPA, is preferred.
• Experience working with federal government partners on reporting, financial planning, audits, action plans, compliance, issue resolution, or agreement implementation.
• Experience managing federal-provincial agreements, contribution agreements, transfer payment programs, or major public funding agreements.
• Experience developing, costing, implementing, or evaluating funding models.
• Experience working with not-for-profit organizations, service providers, boards, operators, or community-based delivery partners.
• Experience supporting a newly developing, growing, or transforming sector through funding policy, operational guidance, stakeholder engagement, or change management.
• Experience with financial modelling, scenario planning, expenditure forecasting, cost analysis, risk analysis, or program costing.
• Knowledge of early learning and child care, education, community services, human services, or another publicly funded service delivery system.

Equivalency

We welcome candidates with diverse and transferable experience. Applicants who do not meet the exact education requirement may still be considered if they clearly demonstrate an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.

Equivalent experience should show substantial depth in financial analysis, accounting, funding administration, compliance monitoring, internal controls, agreement management, or a closely related area.

Salary Information

EC 12 -  

$3,929.22 - $4,911.52 

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. 

What We Offer