Building a Governor in Council Position Accountability
Profile
Management Priorities and Senior Personnel Secretariat
Privy Council Office
January 2001
Adobe Acrobat Version
Table of Contents
Section One — Introduction
Section Two — Building the
Accountability Profile
Step One: Gathering the Job
Information
Step Two: Position Identification
Step Three: Primary Focus
Step Four: Specific
Accountabilities
Step Five: Reporting Relationships
Step Six: Dimensions
Step Seven: Challenges, Issues and
Initiatives
Step Eight: Working Environment
and Conditions
Step Nine: Core Competencies
Section Three — Review Checks
Appendix A — Information
Gathering Checklist
Appendix B — Model Accountability
Profile
Appendix C — Accountability
Profile Template
Section One — Introduction
An Accountability Profile is a short and concise description of a position,
presented in a structured manner, that contains all of the information
necessary to evaluate the position against the Governor in Council Position
Evaluation Plan. It also contains the basic information for staffing the
position.
This manual outlines the steps for building an Accountability Profile. It
is important that the Profile clearly and concisely describe the:
- nature and scope of the work to be performed,
- conditions under which the work is carried out, and
- core competencies required to achieve the results expected of the
position.
With this information, a position is evaluated under three factors in the
Governor in Council Position Evaluation Plan:
Knowledge and Skills
This factor measures the depth and fields of specialized knowledge and the
skills required by the position to:
- achieve intended results that are associated with the mandate and
mission of the organization,
- co-ordinate/manage/consider policy and operational issues and the
diversity of the elements that must be brought into the decision making
processes, and
- analyze, identify, define, evaluate, draw conclusions about and resolve
issues, make decisions and exercise judgement.
Accountabilities and Obligations
This factor measures:
- the level of influence and the extent of the impact of the decisions
made by the position,
- matters affecting the achievement of the organisation’s mandate,
- the degree of ambiguity in the information available and/or the
relationships that must be factored into concrete actions or decisions,
and
- the opportunity for activity or thought and the time horizon that is
affected by decisions and the degree of risk associated with these
decisions.
Working Environment and Conditions
This factor measures work pressures, sensory attention and physical effort.
The Accountability Profile brings together critical factors that make up
work: what needs to be done is linked with the core competencies that are
required to successfully achieve the objectives and results established for
the position. In this way, the work is viewed by the evaluator in a holistic
manner. The Profile facilitates both the analysis and the evaluation of the
work and the staffing of the position.
The core competencies describe those behaviours that must be demonstrated
in achieving the results for which the position is accountable. The core
competencies for GIC positions are:
- Conceptual/Innovative Thinking,
- Leadership,
- Flexibility,
- Impact and Influence, and
- Listening, Understanding and Responding.
Over time, work changes. This means that the Accountability Profile will
have to be periodically updated. While there is no quick or easy route to
writing a good Accountability Profile, this manual contains some approaches
and tips that can assist the writer complete the task more easily and more
effectively. The primary demand is clear thinking about the job. Once the
accountabilities and the roles of the position have been clearly identified,
it is usually less difficult to complete the Profile.
A quick checklist of the information the Profile should cover is included
in Appendix A. A model
Accountability Profile is included in Appendix B.
A template for completing all the sections of the Accountability Profile,
including a brief description of each section, is included in Appendix
C.
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