Director's Assistant, Family and Community Services

Reporting to the Director of Family and Community Services, the Director’s Assistant provides leadership and coordination for the day-to-day operations within the Director’s office. The position will liaise with all levels of the organization to ensure the department meets corporate and department expectations, timelines and performs all aspects of department administration.  This includes providing senior level office management, organization and leadership, and administrative support to the Family and Community Services department.  

This role works within a dynamic and confidential work environment, with frequent interruptions and rapidly changing priorities.  

Key Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive administrative support to the Director, including proactively managing and coordinating the Director’s calendar, scheduling meetings, preparing materials and logistics, tracking action items, and researching and coordinating information for reports and presentations
• Liaise with Senior Administration and Executive Assistants to coordinate Council reports, Executive Team issue briefs, and Senior Leadership Team issue briefs. Ensure final briefs are routed through escribe
• Liaise with County departments, senior administrative staff and administrative staff  
• Review Council and Priorities Committee meeting agendas, minutes, action sheets, and ensure items related to Family and Community Services (FCS) are handled promptly    
• Draft internal meeting agendas, record and distribute minutes; ensure outstanding action items are noted and handled promptly  
• Supervises Administrative Support Assistants, providing leadership, direction, coaching, and performance management to ensure effective administrative support services
• Provides coordination and guidance to the departmental administrative team, supporting alignment of processes, priorities, and workloads
• Supports the administration and continuous improvements of onboarding, transfer and offboarding processes including, access fobs and tags, as well as the purchase of new cell phones, tablets, computers and related items, to arrange security access for FCS staff, and to coordinate changes to office configurations as required  
• Coordinate Department specific events and staff meetings
• Provide an information conduit between management team, interdepartmental staff, senior administration, Council, other County Departments, and key stakeholders  
• Liaise with Director’s direct reports to initiate appraisals, arrange one-on-one meetings, coordinate department activities, and work cohesively to provide accurate and timely information
• Coordinates departmental Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) activities, ensuring compliance with corporate policies, legislation, and safe work practices
• Liaise closely with internal Communications team to ensure that they are aware of themes of concern that the department is handling so department-related messaging aligns with key messages
• Maintain corporate credit cards for the purposes of registering for conferences, arranging catering, etc.  
• Utilize eScribe to enter Council, Executive Team and Senior Leadership Team reports as required  
• Prepare expense forms and reconcile/prepare expense statements for Director
• Act as department forms representative and SharePoint administrator, providing subject matter expertise in determining appropriate site setup, meta data tagging, permissions, and ensuring appropriate retention and disposition is applied  

Qualifications and Skills:

• Office administration diploma or certificate with 5 years of related experience in a senior administrative capacity  
• Experience working in a public sector would be considered an asset  
• Thorough knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Experience using Escribe is preferred  
• Experience with Oracle is an asset
• Expert level experience with SharePoint (SME)  
• Demonstrated ability to handle highly sensitive and confidential information with discretion, professionalism, and sound judgment
• Strong initiative and self-direction, with the ability to anticipate needs, proactively solve problems, and independently move work forward without requiring close or constant direction  
• Experience working across departmental administrative teams, providing guidance, coordination, and influence to support consistent, high‑quality service delivery
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with strong customer service when interacting with co-workers, the public, elected officials, and senior management
   

Who We Are

Strathcona County is a specialized municipality located in the heart of Alberta.  Our vision is to become Canada’s most livable community, where our workplace culture and identity are supported by our people plan and values of integrity, respect, safety, collaboration, and accountability.   

Why Join Strathcona County: (depending on position)

• Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package, which includes:
  • Extended health and dental coverage    
  • Health and wellness spending account    
  • Life and disability insurance  
  • Retirement and pension programs  
  • Earned day off program  
  • Employee and family assistance program  
• Commitment to employee development, through internal and external training and development opportunities
• Well-being programs and a safety culture focused on physical and psychological health in the workplace

Equivalencies of education and experience may be considered.  

This competition may be used to fill future vacancies for similar positions within the next 6 months.

Strathcona County is committed to an inclusive, respectful, and equitable workplace that represents the community we serve. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds who can contribute diverse perspectives and experiences.

We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.