Secretary 3 (Administrative Assistant)

Nova Scotia; Halifax; On-site; CAD 1,000 - 3,000; Full time

Job summary

The Government of Nova Scotia is seeking a Secretary III/Administrative Assistant to support its Executive Director. Responsibilities include managing office administration, preparing correspondence, and providing effective support within a dynamic environment. Successful candidates will possess strong organizational and interpersonal skills.

Benefits

Defined Benefit Pension Plan

Health and Dental Insurance

Employee Assistance Programs

Career Development Resources

Qualifications

• 4 years' experience in a senior administrative capacity or equivalent training.
• Experience with Boards of Directors and/or committees.

Responsibilities

• Provides effective administrative support to the Executive Director.
• Acts as recording secretary for meetings, prepares minutes.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Organization

Communication

Education

One (1) year business course

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Outlook

Job description

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Department:Communities, Culture, Tourism & Heritage

Location:HALIFAX

Type of Employment:Term

Union Status: NSGEU - NSPG

Closing Date:14-Jul-25 (Applications are accepted until 11:59 PM Atlantic Time)

About Us

Nova Scotia’s culture and heritage contribute to vibrant communities and enrich the quality of life in every part of the province. The Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage invites Nova Scotians to experience and participate in our rich cultural expression.

By exploring our past, we appreciate where we came from. This enriches our lives today and gives us insight for times ahead. Through investing in our future, we help realize the potential of our people and talents. We foster an environment that embraces ideas and innovation. Jobs are generated and our creative economy flourishes. Encouraging cultural expression brings life to our communities. We each contribute to the province we call home through distinct perspectives and traditions. Together, our diversity defines the uniqueness of Nova Scotia.

About Our Opportunity

The Secretary III/Administrative Assistant provides effective, efficient, and confidential administrative support to the Executive Director and the Senior Management team (SMT) to ensure efficient office management. This involves the management of the Executive Director office including office administration and project management, coordinating the day-to-day activities by liaising with the Offices of the Deputy and Minister, senior management, Nova Scotia Museum Board of Directors, and representatives of other government departments as well as external agencies.

The position also acts as recording secretary to the Board of Governors and committee meetings of the board. This includes scheduling and coordinating meetings, drafting agendas, preparing meeting materials, recording minutes, and maintaining official copies of meeting materials.Overseeing logistics of off-site meetings will also be required.

Management of the office including ordering equipment and stocking all office supplies in accordance with procurement and accounting guidelines. In this position you will be responsible for the management of information as a key component of the position. As the Administrative assistant you contribute to the development of work standards; and improves processes to achieve these standards. Maintains filing and retrieval systems, keeping manuals and reference material current. Responds promptly to incoming calls and inquiries in a professional and knowledgeable manner. Confidentiality, discretion and a high level of professionalism is expected. As well, this position play an important role in the employee engagement within the AML division and participates in related initiatives as time permits.

Composes/prepares correspondence and maintains an internal and external correspondence tracking log to ensure the timeframe is followed regarding Ministerial correspondence on behalf of the Executive Director. Assesses and assigns priority to the Executive Director’s mail, ministerial correspondence, and e-mail, redirecting and/or answering as appropriate. Identifies urgent items for the attention of Executive Director and others. Develops and prepares professional presentations and reports on behalf of Executive Director. Manages, coordinates and controls the Executive Director’s electronic calendar using sound judgement.

Primary Accountabilities

In this role you provide administrative and secretarial support include researching and compiling suitable background information for meetings; you will also:

• preparing and composing correspondence
• preparing meeting minutes and notes
• responding to inquiries
• composing confidential correspondence, briefing materials, presentations, reports, and spreadsheets
• organizing meetings and coordinate travel arrangements
• develop an effective system for tracking all incoming and outgoing documents, status of requests and appropriate follow-up.

Qualifications and Experience

To be successful in the Secretary 3, Administrative Assistant position, you will have completed a one (1) year business course, plus four (4) years’ experience in a senior administrative capacity, or an equivalent combination of training and experience will be considered.

You possess excellent interpersonal skills, grammar, proofreading and secretarial skills with exceptional organizational skills with the ability to manage competing priorities. Strong written and oral communication skills are key in this role. You have experience working with Boards of Directors and/or committees of Boards, ensuring confidentiality is used when establishing and building relationships with a variety of internal and external clients, including other levels of government and community agencies.

You have demonstrated proficiency in Microsoft Word applications (Word, Excel, Outlook) both hardware and software and experience with accounting, and knowledge of STAR/STOR.

Assets for this position:

Knowledge of museums

We will assess the above qualifications and competencies using one or more of the following tools: written examination, standardized tests, oral presentations, interview(s), and reference checks.

Equivalency

Applicants relying on education and experience equivalencies must demonstrate such equivalencies in their application.

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 anticipated end date of July 10, 2026. The appointment status (‘term’, ‘temporary’ or ‘casual’) is dependent on the start date of the successful candidate.

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

Pay Grade: CL 22

Salary Range: $1,934.21- $2,139.34Bi-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 Womenin 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 [e-mail].

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 concernsmay be directed [e-mail].