Manager, Provider Funding Agreements & Accountability

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. 

The Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) branch regulates, funds, and supports early learning and child care providers and sector partners across Nova Scotia. As the sector continues to evolve within a publicly funded early learning and child care system, the department is strengthening how it works with operators to support sustainability, monitor public investment, and help funded organizations meet evolving expectations.

About Our Opportunity

The Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) sector is in the midst of significant transformation in Nova Scotia, including operating in a changing funding environment. As new funding structures, reporting processes, and accountability requirements continue to mature, the department is strengthening how it monitors public funding, supports funded organizations, and promotes clear, consistent accountability.

As Manager, Provider Funding Agreements and Accountability, you will provide leadership and direction for a team responsible for monitoring public funding, assessing financial and operational risk, supporting funded organizations, and strengthening accountability practices across the ELCC sector. You will guide complex reviews, oversee the development of tools and processes, and ensure the branch has clear, practical approaches for identifying issues, supporting corrective action, and escalating matters where required.

This role requires strong financial judgement, leadership experience, and the ability to work across program, policy, financial, and operational perspectives. You will provide advice to senior leaders, work closely with Financial Advisory Services and ELCC program areas, and build productive relationships with funded organizations while maintaining a clear focus on stewardship of public funds, accountability, and sector sustainability.

Primary Accountabilities

As the Manager, Provider Funding Agreements and Accountability, you will:

Lead people and priorities

• Lead a team responsible for funding accountability, monitoring, risk assessment, and sector support activities related to ELCC funding agreements.
• Provide direction, coaching, and supervision to staff, including setting priorities, assigning work, reviewing analysis, and supporting professional development.

Strengthen funding oversight

• Oversee complex reviews of financial and non-financial information to identify risks, trends, compliance issues, and opportunities for improvement.
• Lead the development and implementation of monitoring frameworks, tools, templates, procedures, and internal controls to support consistent and transparent funding oversight.
• Support decision-making related to corrective action, escalation, funding conditions, and other responses where funded organizations require additional support or oversight.

Advise and improve systems

• Provide strategic advice, analysis, and recommendations to senior leaders on funding accountability, operator risk, compliance trends, and emerging sector pressures.
• Identify system-level process gaps and lead improvements that support consistency, accountability, sustainability, and public trust.
• Contribute to the design and implementation of new or evolving operational funding structures in the early learning and child care sector.
• Prepare and review briefing materials, reports, presentations, correspondence, and recommendations for senior management and executive decision-making.

Work across relationships

• Work closely with Financial Advisory Services, ELCC program areas, and funded organizations to resolve complex issues and strengthen reporting, accountability, and funding administration practices.
• Balance financial stewardship with a relationship-based approach that supports operator understanding, sector stability, and compliance with public funding requirements.

Qualifications and Experience

To be successful in this role, you have a bachelor’s degree with a focus in accounting, finance, business administration, commerce, public administration, or a related field, plus several years of progressively responsible related experience, including experience leading staff, projects, or complex initiatives. An equivalent combination of training and experience may be considered.

You bring a strong foundation in financial analysis, funding accountability, compliance, grants administration, audit, internal controls, or a related area. You can review financial information, interpret funding agreements and policies, identify risk, and provide clear advice in a complex program environment.You are also an experienced people or initiative leader. You can set priorities, support staff through change, work across teams, and bring clarity to issues that may be sensitive, ambiguous, or operationally complex.

Your experience includes:

• Leading staff, projects, or cross-functional initiatives in a financial, accountability, compliance, grants administration, or program delivery environment.
• Interpreting funding agreements, financial documents, policies, procedures, legislation, or accountability requirements.
• Designing, implementing, or improving monitoring frameworks, internal controls, reporting processes, procedures, or accountability tools.
• Reviewing financial and operational information to identify risks, trends, gaps, and issues requiring management attention.
• Providing advice and recommendations to senior leaders on complex financial, operational, compliance, or risk-related matters.
• Working with funded organizations, third-party service providers, not-for-profit organizations, small businesses, or other external partners.
• Preparing briefing materials, reports, correspondence, and decision-support documents for senior management or executive audiences.
• Managing confidential and sensitive information with sound judgement, discretion, and professionalism.

You are a strong communicator, collaborative leader, and practical problem solver. You bring professionalism, curiosity, sound judgement, and a commitment to supporting public accountability while building productive working relationships across government and with the sector.

Assets

The following are not required but considered assets:

• Chartered Professional Accountant designation, enrollment in the CPA program, Certified Internal Auditor designation, or another relevant certification.
• Experience with SAP or other financial systems.
• Experience with grants, transfer payments, contribution agreements, funding agreements, or public funding programs.
• Experience developing risk-based monitoring approaches, internal controls, reporting tools, or quality assurance processes.
• Experience working with child care operators, community-based organizations, not-for-profit organizations, small businesses, or other third-party service providers.
• Knowledge of the early learning and child care sector, including issues related to affordability, accessibility, wages, operations, and sector sustainability.
• Bilingualism in English and French.

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, or a closely related area. Applicants relying on equivalency must clearly explain in their application how their background gives them the financial judgement, analytical skills, and accountability experience needed for this role.

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.

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.