General Manager, Community Services

Located in northwestern Alberta, on Treaty 8 Territory, the County of Grande Prairie is home to a mix of urban and rural vibrant communities and immense opportunities.

Our foundation is the people who live and work here : friendly, innovative, creative, and welcoming.

The natural resource-rich area serves as a home to a diverse economic base that includes forestry, energy, agriculture, construction, and manufacturing, as well as tourism, hospitality, and retail.

It also offers a playground for locals and visitors , with an abundance of indoor and outdoor recreation and cultural activities to suit any age.

The County of Grande Prairie has a long-term commitment to strategic planning guided by its Vision, Values, and Mission.

Vision

The County of Grande Prairie No1. First in building sustainability. Prosperous and safe communities.

Mission

The County of Grande Prairie builds on its natural environment and the entrepreneurial spirit of its citizens to provide opportunities for all.

Values

The County of Grande Prairie Council commits to the following values and maintains high standards of ethical and professional conduct by being

• Trustworthy
• Transparent
• Respectful

Job Description

The Opportunity

The General Manager of Community Services is responsible, as a member of the County’s senior executive team, for the overall management of the Community Services area of the organization.

This will include providing leadership to and overseeing the planning, organization, direction, control, and evaluation of activities of the Fire Protection, Enforcement Services, Recreation, and Culture, Agriculture Services, FCSS, and Library departments.

The General Manager will continue to implement the key strategic priorities of the Council in alignment with the strategic theme outlined in the County’s strategic plan. These include :

The Council’s key strategic themes for focus include :

• Effective Transportation Networks : Understand and measure efficiencies in the transportation network.
• Fiscal Management : Develop a sustainable financial framework to build safe and prosperous communities.
• Economic Development : Build vibrant, prosperous, and sustainable communities by facilitating connections with our partners and stakeholders to encourage economic and community development.
• Effective Land Use Management : Manage land effectively by balancing the need for growth while minimizing conflict through land-use planning.
• Community Wellness and Safety : Foster community wellness and safety by being collaborative partners in the development and delivery of programs and activities.
• Governance and Leadership : Innovative leadership with a strong commitment to customer service that best fits resident and business needs.
• Manages and supervises assigned operations to achieve goals within available resources; plans and organizes workloads and staff assignments;

trains motivates, and evaluates assigned staff; reviews progress and directs changes.

• Provides strategic leadership and direction in the development of short and long-term plans, gathers, interprets, and prepares data for studies, reports, and recommendations, coordinates department activities with other departments, service areas, and agencies.
• Provides professional advice to managers and supervisors, and makes presentations to Councils, boards, commissions, civic groups, and the public.
• Provides guidance and advice on new financial management recommendations required.
• Makes recommendations to the County Manager and Council to assist in decision-making.
• Review programs and procedures to ensure they are current, relevant, and in compliance with established County policies.
• Ensures that inquiries and complaints regarding service area activities are handled, promptly, effectively, efficiently, and with courtesy.
• Attends community group meetings as required.
• Oversees the Agriculture, FCSS, Library, Fire Service, Regional Enforcement Services, and Recreation and Culture departments :
• Support the development and monitoring of operating and capital budgets in coordination with the Director.
• Attend department, public, and other Municipal Councils as required.
• Emergency and Disaster Services
• Act as the Director of Emergency Management (DEM) for the County of Grande Prairie.
• Participate in GPREP (Grande Prairie Regional Emergency Partnership); Liaise and consult with the GPREP Coordinator on emergency plans, training, and grants.
• Liaise with Emergency Management Partners including local / provincial / federal officials regarding emergency plans.
• Liaise with other emergency services organizations.
• Participate as a member of the senior management team.
• Develop and monitor the operating budget capital budget for the upcoming project of the RCMP building.
• Lead projects and task forces as required to achieve related areas of the Council’s Strategic Priorities and the County’s Operational Plans.

Key Priorities and Challenges

• Implementation of key strategic priorities of the Council.
• Continuing to implement key projects in community, wellness, and safety.
• Building a strong and effective team and creating an effective healthy work environment.
• Building relationships with other leadership and other key community leaders.
• Overseeing the construction of the new RCMP building project.

Qualifications

The Person

Education Requirements & Qualifications

Education and Experience :

• University degree in a related field.
• Minimum 5 to 8 years’ experience in one or more related disciplines including strategic experience at a senior level or leadership position.
• A Local Government Certificate and local government experience would be an asset.
• Experience in preparing long-range plans and capital budgets.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities :

• Organizational management : An understanding of the various departments within Community Services and the County of Grande Prairie.
• Stakeholder Relationships : Ability to build strong personnel by establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with employees, supervisors, senior management, the Council, stakeholders, and the public.
• Strategic Management : Effective senior management skills. Ability to strategize new projects and execute seamlessly to finish.
• Financial Acumen : Maintains and applies a broad understanding of financial management principles to ensure decisions are fiscally sound and responsible.
• Communication : Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
• Digital knowledge : Effective use of computers.
• Community Advocacy : Ability to provide support and at the same time build solidified relations within the community. Ability to address community wellness and safety.
• Government Compliance : Ensure all work-related information is kept confidential as per policy and in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Comply with records management practices as stated in the Records Management Policy.

Core Competencies

Leadership Skills - Leads by example and stands behind personal actions; takes informed risks in pursuit of continual improvement.

Able to lead and manage operations and be effective and responsive in implementing strategies that address business requirements and align with the company’s strategic plan.

Inspires enthusiasm, creates positive employee engagement, models standards of professionalism, and ensures that direct reports deliver timely and exceptional results.

Demonstrates utmost integrity in community advocacy and stakeholder relations.

Resource and Financial Management Knowledge - Proven ability to work in a fiscal environment of growth with a significant number of financial transactions.

Timely and efficient in all budgeting, financing, and information reporting.

Politically Astute - Able to build new relationships, navigate existing relationships, and manage change with an awareness of stakeholder motivations and interests.

Interpersonal Skills An outgoing individual who works well with people from all disciplines and is sensitive and empathic to diverse needs with a proven ability to integrate teams.

An ability to motivate and work community and stakeholders. Encourages inclusivity, with the ability to interact with various groups and people of all backgrounds.

Coaching and Mentoring Skills - An exceptional leader who expects quality performance and can coach and develop people; identifies and mentors future leaders.

Encourages personal and professional growth through challenging assignments and continuous improvement.

Relationship Building Skills - Establishes and maintains positive, collaborative working relationships with others, both internally and externally, to achieve the goals of the County.

• Communication Skills - Solid, dynamic communicator with the ability to establish relationships. Articulate, uses language skillfully to influence others;
• communicates appropriately with diverse audiences and stakeholder groups; communicates effectively in multiple media; understands and considers others’ motivations and feelings;

attentive listener; empathic; receives information openly and fully, taking account of informal and unspoken or unwritten elements of communication.

Stakeholder Relations - Understands and utilizes the power of developing and maintaining a network of relationships to achieve goals;

contributes and shares information and insight for mutual (longer term) gains; uses networks effectively; builds strong partnerships internally and externally.

Organization and Planning - Able to identify, evaluate, and develop actions needed to reach goals. Ability to recognize emerging issues through environmental scanning and objective rationale.

Create, collaborate, and execute business and corporate initiatives on time and budget.

Problem-Solving A solutions-driven individual with the ability to manage conflict. Assess problem situations to identify causes, gather and process relevant information, generate possible solutions, and make recommendations and / or resolve the problem.

Decision Making - Ability to assess situations objectively to determine the importance, urgency, and risks, and make clear, timely decisions in the best interests of the County.

Recognizes priorities and changing approaches. Shows common sense and intuitive judgment abilities. Able to make effective operational decisions.

Results Orientation - Is proactive and responsive. Holds self and others accountable for achieving results. Approaches responsibilities with a high degree of energy and passion and is committed to continuous improvement.

Analytic Thinking - Uses logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

Adaptability - Ability to adjust to changing environment, schedules, and priorities.

Additional Information

Compensation

A competitive compensation package, including an attractive base salary and excellent benefits, will be provided. Further details will be discussed in a personal interview.

Express Your Enthusiasm

Leaders International values diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of our operations. We invite candidates to contact us directly with any accommodation requests.

To apply, please email a cover letter and resume ( PDF or Word document only ) to Anurag Shourie or Deepthi Koshy at edmonton@leadersinternational.

com , indicating the job title in the subject line.

Leaders International Executive Search

www.leadersinternational.com

Suite 501 Fox One

10226 104 Street

Edmonton, AB T5J 1B8

Phone : 780-420-9900

Email : [email protected]

Click this link to download the full Job Description with application instructions.

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

The County of Grande Prairie recognizes and values the principles of fair hiring practices. We are committed to a respectful and inclusive workplace and welcome applications from all qualified individuals.

Should you require accommodation through any stage of the recruitment process, please contact [email protected] and we will work with you to meet your needs.

• This posting may be used for future vacancies or to fill more than one position
• This posting may be open until a suitable candidate(s) is / are found.

Please note that once your application is complete, you will receive a confirmation email. If we require any additional information we will contact you.

Due to the volume of applications received we can only answer questions at the interview stage.

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