Director, Policy and Communications

Competition # : 49378

Department: Office of Service Efficiency

Location: HALIFAX

Type of Employment: Permanent

Union Status: Exclusion - Non Union - NSPG

Closing Date: 13-Aug-26 (Applications are accepted until 11:59 PM Atlantic Time)

About Us

The Office of Service Efficiency leads Nova Scotia’s work to modernize regulation, improve services, and remove unnecessary barriers for businesses, industries, sectors, and citizens.

Established in 2015, the Office began with a focus on reducing barriers to doing business in Nova Scotia. Its mandate has since expanded to support more effective, efficient, and responsive government services across departments and sectors.

The Office delivers its mandate by assessing regulatory and policy proposals against best-practice principles; measuring costs, savings, and service impacts; improving processes within government; and working with provincial, municipal, federal, and territorial partners to align regulatory and service approaches. This work supports Nova Scotia’s broader economic strategy and has earned national recognition.

About Our Opportunity

As Director, Policy and Communications, you will provide senior leadership for integrated policy development, planning, legislative support, issues management, and strategic communications. Reporting to the Senior Executive Director, you will serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership and the Minister on complex policy, legislative, regulatory, and communications matters.

This role requires an all-of-government perspective and the ability to work across departments, sectors, stakeholders, and other orders of government. You will help shape advice, decisions, and communications that advance the Office’s mandate, support government priorities, and respond to emerging issues. Success requires sound judgment, strategic thinking, and the ability to provide clear, timely advice in a complex and evolving environment.

Primary Accountabilities

• Lead complex policy research, analysis, evaluation, and development across a broad and diverse portfolio.
• Lead and support the preparation of high-quality policy papers, briefing materials, Cabinet documents, legislative materials, and submissions to central agencies.
• Provide strategic direction for legislative and regulatory planning by identifying emerging trends, risks, opportunities, and best practices.
• Develop and lead implementation of the Office’s strategic communications and stakeholder engagement plan, ensuring messages and materials are aligned with Office and government priorities.
• As a member of the senior leadership team, contribute to Office priorities, policies, and decisions by assessing partner, stakeholder, and public perspectives and recommending strategic actions.
• Ensure the Minister and senior leaders are prepared to address complex and sensitive policy issues in the Legislature, with media, and with community and stakeholder audiences.
• Strengthen the effectiveness of Office and government communications by integrating corporate priorities and messages across digital, traditional, and stakeholder channels, and by collaborating with communications colleagues across government, the Premier’s Office, departments, and partners on matters of shared interest.

Qualifications and Experience

The Director, Policy and Communications will provide senior-level strategic policy, planning and communications leadership in support of the Office’s mandate and government’s priorities. The successful candidate will have extensive experience leading complex policy and communications initiatives, providing strategic advice to senior decision-makers, and developing evidence-based solutions to challenging public policy issues.

A strategic thinker and collaborator, the Director possesses extensive experience building relationships with senior officials, stakeholders and partners across government and beyond. The successful candidate demonstrates exceptional judgment and the ability to manage competing priorities while delivering results in an evolving environment. Experience in public policy development, strategic communications, issues management, legislative processes and stakeholder engagement will be considered strong assets.

We are seeking a candidate who embraces digital ways of working and demonstrates strong digital readiness. The successful candidate will leverage available technologies and tools to maximize productivity, foster innovation, and continuously improve processes, ensuring services and solutions are delivered in the most efficient, effective, and client-focused manner possible.

Equivalency

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.

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

Pay Grade: EC 13

Salary Range: $4,322.15 - $5,402.66 Bi-Weekly

Employment Equity Statement: Our goal is to be a diverse workforce that is representative, at all job levels, of the citizens we serve. The Government of Nova Scotia has an Employment Equity Policy, and we welcome applications from Indigenous People, African Nova Scotians and Other Racially Visible Persons, Persons with Disabilities and Women in occupations or positions where they are under-represented. If you are a member of one of these equity groups, you are encouraged to self-identify on your electronic application.

Accommodation Statement: We are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. Candidates may request accommodations based on any grounds protected by the Human Rights Act. If you require an accommodation throughout the recruitment process, please contact us at competitions@novascotia.ca.

Current government employees may access this posting through the link below:

PLEASE NOTE: Candidates will not be considered for an interview if applications are incomplete or are missing information.

If you are receiving a pension from the Nova Scotia Public Service Superannuation Plan (PSSP) or any related plans, you cannot receive pension payments while contributing to the same plan. If you accept a position that requires PSSP contributions, your pension payments must be stopped. Please contact the Nova Scotia Pension Services Corporation for more information.

Offer of employment is conditional upon the completion of all applicable background checks and confirmation of credentials, the results of which must be satisfactory to the employer. We thank all applicants for the interest, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. All questions and concerns may be directed to Competitions@novascotia.ca.