Appendix B - Model Accountability Profile

Primary Focus

Ensures the provision of professional advice and recommendations on how Canada can achieve the highest possible levels of employment, efficient production and a high and consistent rate of economic growth from which all Canadians can benefit.

Specific Accountabilities

1. Provides effective leadership to the Council in focussing the research agenda, in managing and conducting research, in scrutinizing and refining findings and in building a consensus across regional, political and economic lines on key issues, in order to develop conclusions and recommendations for policy.

2. Builds and maintains constructive consultative relationships with public and private sector groups and representatives in order to identify emerging economic issues and areas meriting Council study or examination, advances the Council’s interests and improves the understanding of its role.

3. Ensures that the Council’s annual reviews of medium- and long-term economic prospects address issues important to the growth and strengthening of the Canadian economy, are timely and are of appropriate scope, quality and completeness.

4. Ensures that the conclusions and recommendations of the Council on economic problems and issues are effectively communicated to the Minister, to the Cabinet and to Parliament, as appropriate.

5. Represents the Council in various public forums (e.g. press conferences) in the interest of furthering public understanding of, and support for, the Council’s role.

6. Assures the adequacy and continuity of the managerial and professional functioning of the Council by effective management of available resources and by anticipating future requirements.

Reporting Relationships

Reports to:

Parliament through Minister of Industry, Science and Technology

Direct Reports:

Council Executive Committee

Council Members

Deputy Chair, Research Operations

Corporate Secretary

Performance and Outlook Group

Senior Policy Advisor

Dimensions

Challenges, Issues and Initiatives

The Canadian economy is dynamic, reacting to a multitude of both domestic events and decisions made abroad. The challenge for the position is to provide the intellectual leadership that will enable the Council to select the appropriate indicators, perform the acute analysis and inform the direction of the government in shaping macro economic policy for the country.

Working Environment and Conditions

1. Pressures

This job involves significant pressure with respect to providing analysis and advice to the government that might indicate that it is doing a less than adequate job in developing and strengthening the Canadian economy. As the Council’s primary spokesperson, the incumbent must deal with significant pressure with respect to the ability to convince the Council’s clients and to withstand public scrutiny of the Council’s output. Study findings are often controversial and may be seen as threatening by certain interest groups.

2. Sensory Attention

This job involves a significant degree of sensory attention in approving materials for release to the government and the public. The data and analysis must be flawless, and provide the basis for stimulating and decisive debate on the economic direction of the country.

3. Demands

This job involves a considerable degree of travel in meeting with different economic sectors and client groups (senior federal and provincial officials, representatives of business, labour, international organizations and other research groups) across the country.

Core Competencies

1. Conceptual / Innovative Thinking

The incumbent must find innovative and factual solutions based on analysis, interpretation and evolution of data and other information provided in order to address real or potential situations requiring action and advice. The incumbent must develop economic models that accurately reflect the current state of the Canadian economy and develop conceptual models that project possible scenarios and impacts of changes in the myriad of variables that make up the Canadian economy.

2. Leadership

The incumbent must display intellectual and strategic leadership in establishing the direction of macro-economic studies and in focussing the research agenda, in managing and conducting research, in scrutinizing and refining findings and in building a consensus across regional, political and economic interests on key issues in order to develop conclusions and recommendations for economic policy. The incumbent must also display managerial leadership in ensuring that the organization has the professional capacity to carry out sound analyses and studies.

3. Flexibility

The incumbent faces the challenge of bringing together a number of opposing views, including those of the Council’s members, with respect to the viability and health of and prospects for the Canadian economy. The incumbent must demonstrate flexibility in bridging regional differences, differing political perspectives and economic intents among Council members in developing public advice. The skill of the Chair in bringing these views together to develop a consensual Council position is critical to the success of the Council’s work.

4. Impact and Influence

This competency is demonstrated by the strategies that the position must develop and contacts that the position must make to focus the attention of the government, opinion leaders and Canadians on critical issues facing the Canadian economy.

5. Listening, Understanding and Responding

The incumbent must be able to identify both verbal and non-verbal cues provided by Council members during Council deliberations to obtain a true reading of the temper of the Council and be able to navigate, with the aid of these signs, towards positions of the Council that can be agreed to by all parties. The incumbent consults regularly with senior federal and provincial officials, representatives of business, labour, international organizations and other research groups across the country, and must be able to absorb and address the many opposing views presented by these groups in order to ensure that research activities are marked by balance and thoroughness.

Appendix C - Accountability Profile Template

JOB TITLE:
ORGANIZATION:
LOCATION:
PROFILE DATE:

Primary Focus

This is meant to provide a ‘big picture’ preview of the job by focusing on the general key end results of the job (e.g.: product developed; service provided). It provides a frame-of-reference for the audience’ and should answer in broad terms, «why does the job exist» and «what is it meant to accomplish».

Specific Accountabilities

Within the ‘big picture’, there are usually a number of ‘scenes’ that provide a more specific portrayal of the job.

Rather than focus on duties and activities, these too should provide the audience with information regarding key end results.

In breaking the job down into component parts, the focus should be on such areas as, functional accountability (e.g.: in human resources - training and development; in decision making – statutory interpretation and application), or, organization accountability (e.g.: strategy development, process implementation, etc.).

The list of specific «key result areas» is to be listed in descending order of importance.

The number of these key accountabilities should range between six or seven. In any case, they should not exceed ten.

Reporting Relationships

This section is meant to provide the audience with an organization chart-like appreciation for where the job exists and in what context work gets done. An organization chart may replace this section.

Dimensions

In many jobs, quantitative measures or business statistics provide relevant information from which to assess the impact of a job (e.g. revenues, budgets, employees, etc.). This data should be both organization and job-specific and provide the audience with «how big / how small» answers.

Challenges, Issues and Initiatives

This section is designed to provide the opportunity to indicate any high level issues and challenges that the position faces in the achievement of the results that are expected of the position.

This section also provides the opportunity to indicate any specific initiatives that the position is called upon to undertake.

Working Environment and Conditions

This section should provide contextual information based on such indices as: working environment, travel demands, sensory attention, physical effort, and/or mental pressures.

1. Pressures

This sub-factor involves the degree of exposure to factors inherent in performing the job, which increase risk of such things as tension or anxiety.

It refers to progressive degrees of exposure of varying intensities to factors inherent in the work process, which increase the risk of tension or anxiety. Examples of such factors include: pressures related to the job can include the requirement to work to strict deadlines that are imposed by legislation or regulations, dealing on a regular basis with confrontational situations, working within competing priorities over which the job holder has little or no control.

2. Sensory Attention

This sub-factor involves the level of sensory attention (i.e., seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching) required during the work process.

It refers to the extent to which concentrated levels of sensory attention are required during the work process that vary in intensity, duration and frequency. Examples include: auditing, inspecting, monitoring video display terminals, proof-reading, or listening to tapes on a dictaphone.

3. Demands

This sub-factor involves the physical effort and/or strain on the standard jobholder in performing the job to the required standard and any unfavourable environmental conditions to which the jobholder is necessarily exposed in order to perform the job to the required standard.

Jobs may require levels of physical activity that vary in intensity, duration and frequency, or any combination of these factors, which produce physical stress or fatigue. Considered under this element are situations, such as work schedules or frequent travel, whether on a scheduled or unscheduled basis that cause disruptions in family life.

Core Competencies

This section should provide contextual information based on behaviours that must be demonstrated in achieving the results for which the position is accountable. These behaviours are demonstrated in the following competencies.

1. Conceptual / Innovative Thinking

This competency involves the ability to understand a situation or problem by identifying patterns or connections, and addressing key underlying issues. Conceptual thinking includes organizing the parts of an issue or situation in a systematic way that leads to an innovative approach to problem solving. It includes the ability to «think outside the box», to go beyond the conventional, and a willingness to try out different solutions.

2. Leadership

This Competency is the ability to perform as a leader of a team or other group, and to mobilize people to work toward a shared purpose in the best interests of the organization. It is energizing and alerting individuals or groups to the need for specific changes in the way things are done, and involves taking responsibility for championing the change effort through building and maintaining support and commitment. Leadership can be exercised as a recognized expert in a specialized field of knowledge. Leadership can be broadly understood as formal or informal.

3. Flexibility

This Competency involves the ability to adapt and work effectively within a variety of situations, and with various individuals or groups. Flexibility implies understanding and appreciating different and opposing perspectives on an issue, adapting one’s approach as the requirements of a situation change, and changing and incorporating the changes in one’s work.

4. Impact and Influence

This Competency involves the awareness of how organizational issues, policies and decisions impact public interest/concerns, as well as being sensitive to the differing needs/agendas of multiple stakeholders. It is also acting to persuade effectively, convince or influence others in order to have a specific impact or effect.

5. Listening, Understanding and Responding

This Competency involves acting to understand other people or situations. It involves accurately hearing and understanding not only spoken or written information, but also unspoken or partly expressed thoughts, feelings, and concerns of others and responding appropriately and effectively. It measures increasing complexity and depth of understanding of others, and may include cross-cultural sensitivity.

 

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