Deputy Chief, Professional Services

Socket.dev; Fort McMurray; On-site; CAD 156,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Socket.dev, Fort McMurray, seeks a Deputy Chief, Professional Services to lead Fire Prevention, Fleet Services and FireSmart within Regional Emergency Services. You will drive strategic initiatives, manage budgets, and coordinate with municipal officials to ensure compliance and continuous improvement.

The role requires extensive emergency services experience (10+ years) with at least 5 years in supervision, a BA-level certificate, and strong leadership, communication, and Indigenous relations

Qualifications

• Certificate in Business Administration or equivalent required.
• Ten years of emergency services experience with five years supervisory experience.
• Experience with Indigenous communities is an asset.
• Public sector experience with unions is an asset.
• Valid Class 5 Operator’s Licence required.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and administrative oversight of Fire Prevention, Fleet Services, and FireSmart branches within Regional Emergency Services.
• Lead initiatives to enhance service value and stakeholder trust, guiding assessments, projects, and documentation to ensure compliance.
• Develop annual business plans and budgets for the branch while maintaining fiscal discipline.
• Ensure programs align with legislation, standards, and best practices; support safety and compliance; mentor staff.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Strategic planning

Project management

Data analysis

Stakeholder management

Mentoring

Policy interpretation

Indigenous relations

Microsoft Office

SAP

Education

Certificate in Business Administration

Job description

Requisition ID:4526
Affiliation: Exempt
Position Type: Permanent Full Time
Number of Openings: 1
Bi-weekly Working Hours: 70 hours bi-weekly
Shift/Work Schedule:Monday to Friday
Department/ Branch: Regional Emergency Services, Professional Services
Job Location: Fort McMurray

Starting Salary Range*:$155,901 - $164,809 (Pay Band I)
COLA:Bi-Weekly - $480

Posted (dd/mm/yyyy): 22/08/2026
Closing Date (dd/mm/yyyy):06/09/2026
Posting Type:Internal and External

*The Municipality offers a competitive compensation package, including an attractive base salary, excellent benefits, retirement plans, and more. The starting salary for this position is within the range listed above and will be dependent upon the qualifications and experience of the successful candidate.

We strive to make our hiring process accessible to all candidates. If you require accommodation for the interview or any other part of the application process, please let us know.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

The Deputy Chief, Professional Services provides leadership and administrative oversight of Fire Prevention, Fleet Services, and FireSmart branches within the Regional Emergency Services (RES) Department. These branches support RES with the delivery of public safety services for the Municipality by effectively delivering fire prevention programs, promoting fire safety education, and participate and support changes in legislation that improves fire safety regulations code. Primary responsibilities of this position include:

Leadership: Lead the implementation of initiatives to increase the value and trust of RES with external stakeholders which will promote and maintain effective working relationships with stakeholders. Establishes team priorities and provides direction in organizational assessment processes, project management, research and data analysis. Takes a proactive approach to provide insights and development that supports decision making, program audits and report/documentation/database maintenance necessary to ensure compliance and demonstrate conformity to standards. Promote and maintain effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders and liaise with provincial and municipal officials, as necessary. Supports, trains and develops staff by transferring expertise and knowledge through coaching and mentoring to ensure a high level of customer service and collaborative work environment.

Strategic Initiatives: Takes a lead role in identifying quality and process risks in the services provided by RES. Supports the Regional Fire Chief and collaborates with RES leadership to ensure alignment with department priorities, strategies and initiatives. Prepares and maintains appropriate reports and files from department data. Demonstrates leadership in the development and implementation of benchmarking milestones in the quality assurance and internal assessment process. Key performance indicators will also be developed and monitored for analyzing and directing performance toward higher practice standards.

Departmental Management: Leads in the development and implementation of innovative approaches to branch initiatives to ensure all employees are working proficiently in a productive environment. Takes the lead role in the development of an annual business plan and a fiscally responsible annual budget for the branch and ensures each subbranch remains within budget. Ensures all programs are developed utilizing evidenced based improvements according to legislation, industry standards, and best practices. Represents the department in facility and project management activities which provide RES oversight on project delivery. Regularly reviews municipal Policy and amends, if necessary, in order to reflect any changes in fire safety regulations code or to ensure compliance with federal, provincial or municipal legislation. Supports the development and implementation of innovative and practical approaches to fleet maintenance and equipment purchasing. Ensures compliance with provincial and corporate OH&S legislation and policies. Supports the Fire Chief in the preparation of reports for the CAO and presentations to Mayor and Council. Conducts annual and ongoing performance appraisals for personnel under their supervision. Would assume departmental administrative and operational duties during the Fire Chief’s absence, as designated.

SKILLS REQUIREMENTS:

Candidates need to show evidence of the following:

• Well-developed communications skills, including written, verbal, conflict resolution, and interpersonal skills, to build strong internal and external relationships
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with managers, employees, leaders, and external contacts and interacts in a manner that builds trust, credibility, and rapport.
• Highly developed analytical, critical thinking and interpersonal skills, political awareness and sensitivity.
• Ability to empower people, strong organizational skills, and uses innovative approaches in situations involving rapid change, shifting priorities, and/or simultaneous demands.
• Proven ability to be discreet, keep all information and documentation strictly confidential when required, and respectfully and sensitively resolve issues.
• Excellent leadership, negotiation, problem-solving, mediation, and facilitation skills.
• High emotional intelligence capacity including the ability to deal effectively with ambiguity.
• Ability to remain calm and neutral in conflict situations.
• Demonstrated knowledge and ability to interpret legislation and regulations.
• Knowledge and understanding of Indigenous issues, communities and protocols are essential.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office programs (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook) and SAP

EDUCATION:

• Certificate in Business Administration, or related field is required.
• An equivalent combination of education and work experience may be considered.

EXPERIENCE:

• Ten (10) years of experience in emergency services with a minimum of five (5) years of supervisory experience is required.
• Experience working in rural and with Indigenous communities is considered an asset.
• Experience working in a public-sector environment with unionized and non-unionized employees is considered an asset.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

• A valid Class five (5) Operator’s Licence is required as incumbent will be required to operate a personal or municipal vehicle for business use on a regular basis.
• Submission of a Criminal Record Check.

SAFETY:

As an employee of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, the incumbent is responsible and accountable for knowing and working in accordance with the Health and Safety Directive. As per section 2 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the incumbent shall ensure while in the employ of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo the health and safety of employees, contractors and the public.

This position is employed in a supervisory capacity. As such the employee is required to obtain additional safety training in accordance with municipal procedures and directives.