Senior Program Analyst (Program Admin Officer 4)

Department: Education Early Childhood Development

Location: HALIFAX

Type of Employment: Term

Union Status: NSGEU - NSPG

Closing Date: 15-May-25 (Applications are accepted until 11:5+ PM Atlantic Time)

About Us

The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development 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 education. This department is a perfect fit for those that want to be part of the future of early learning and child care and public education in the province by supporting children, students, and families with a strong foundation for success in a progressive and responsive policy environment.

About Our Opportunity

We’re looking for an exceptional leader who shares our vision of transforming the early learning and child care system in the province – one that focuses on creating quality programs that are inclusive, affordable, and accessible.


As Senior Program Analyst, you will be accountable for the identifying project and program effectiveness related to the various programs within the Early Learning and Child Care branch. In this exciting role, you will work in a highly collaborative team environment which will require close coordination with others to achieve success. You will identify business improvement opportunities, measure and monitor the success of the branch through KPIs, and facilitate various workshops to foster a culture of innovation and continuous quality improvement.


The Analyst integrates their findings with the vision, roadmap, and deliverables for the branch’s business plan and IT systems strategy. They will work across the branch with program subject matter experts to identify program needs including those required for business operations, program delivery, information management, reporting, and other additional branch needs. They will measure the effectiveness of new IT products as they are designed, developed, and deployed. They will champion continuous improvement with programs and products, using evidence to inform their recommendations to leadership.


This role exercises considerable judgement and initiative to solve complex problems and works closely with internal and external partners, including vendors. The ideal candidate will support teams through new and improved business processes, monitoring success, modernizing our ways of working, and using a strong understanding of analysis tools and frameworks.

Primary Accountabilities

As Senior Program Analyst, you will be responsible for:


Conducting performance analyses to identify opportunities for efficiencies and improvements within the branch’s business processes.

Leading business process improvement projects and initiatives across the branch.


-Leading the creation and monitoring of KPIs across the branch, using both qualitative and quantitative data.



-Conducting workshops to define key performance targets for branch programs and projects.



-Establishing baseline scores for performance measurement for branch programs and projects.



-Identifying data needs for monitoring and reporting information to leadership teams.



-Documenting processes and creating dashboards to measure branch effectiveness.



-Developing and implementing strategies for effective communication of performance management needs between business and technical resources during a time of significant transformational change.



-Working with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to identify process improvements that enable improved ways of working and delivering solutions to Nova Scotians.



-Supporting the Project Director and Manager, Solutions and Support with defining digital transformation milestones and measurements.



-Supporting the Service Delivery Manager with ensuring project milestones and deliverables are met.



-Supporting the Manager, Solutions and Support, with implementing the IT and IM business strategies and aligning goals with branch objectives.



-Establishing and maintaining relationships with partners across the organization to communicate status and align priorities.



-Working closely with a multi-disciplinary team comprised of technical and business partners to assist with the design, development, and testing of new IT products where appropriate.

Qualifications and Experience

You have a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field with at least 6 years of related experience, including work in the areas of business process improvement and project management.


You have a solid foundation in Six Sigma, with a Green Belt Certification or equivalent proficiency in Six Sigma tools and techniques.


To be successful in this role, you will be able to demonstrate the following:


Proven track record in a program analyst role in a project-based environment, gathering data needs and prioritizing work based on branch needs.
Experience developing business process diagrams, options analyses, and other relevant analyses.
Experience identifying and formulating business dependencies and requirements, and the ability to communicate complex business needs to technical resources.
Experience defining reporting specifications to support the development of reporting and dashboards that advise executive, program, or policy decision-making.
Experience working with multi-disciplinary and diverse project teams towards shared goals and outcomes.
Experience working in agile development frameworks, including scrum methodologies.
Other required skills/experience

A high degree of problem-solving skills to introduce, promote, and implement new ideas and resolve conflicts and concerns as they arise.
Strong research, analytical, and facilitation skills, with the ability to support the branch’s goals and objectives.
Commitment to diversity and inclusion and will actively promote and encourage the importance of teams, people, partnerships, diversity, and culture.
Ability to foster a culture of service excellence and a commitment to idea generation, innovation, and continuous quality improvement with respect to business processes within the department and branch.
Experience in project and portfolio management and project risk management/mitigation principles and practices.
Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills (verbal and written) and the ability to establish and maintain effective relationships with internal and external partners.
Ability to resolve issues, identify trends, and use data to inform decision making.
Excellent time management and organizational skills.
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.

Additional Information

This is a term employment opportunity with an anticipated end date of February 10, 2028.

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.
Department Specific Flexible working schedules.

Pay Grade: PR 17

Salary Range: $3,107.16 - $3,64+.33 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.


This is a bargaining unit position initially restricted to current civil service employees represented by the Nova Scotia Government Employees Union (NSGEU). If applying from outside a government office, employees must apply correctly via this link:


Failure to apply correctly means that your application will not be given first consideration as a bargaining unit applicant, and will only be included if external applications are pursued.


External applicants and current casual employees will only be considered if there are no qualified civil service bargaining unit candidates. PLEASE NOTE: Candidates will not be considered for an interview if applications are incomplete or are missing 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. Read more