ARCHIVED - Guidelines for Ministers' Offices (October 2006) - Archived

Chief of Staff
(EX-02, EX-03, 
or EX-04–
one per minister's office)

• is the most senior political advisor to the minister;
• is responsible for the overall management of the minister's office, including managing the office budget and staff;
• is responsible for developing and implementing strategic plans in order to assist in delivering the department's and minister's mandate;
• is responsible, on behalf of the minister, for liaising with senior departmental officials in order to ensure a positive working relationship between the minister and the Public Service;
• must ensure that the minister is properly briefed and advised on all issues that relate to the government's mandate and the department's objectives; and
• must liaise, on behalf of the minister, with the Prime Minister's Office and other ministers' chiefs of staff in order to address government-wide issues

Senior Policy Advisor
(EX-02)

• is responsible, in collaboration with the department, for overseeing policy development on behalf of the minister;
• is also responsible for advising and briefing the minister on all relevant policy issues;
• needs to work closely with the Prime Minister's Office and other ministers' offices in order to co-ordinate the development of policies and programs within the government;
• must ensure that policy development within the minister's responsibilities is consistent with the broad policy goals of the government, as laid out in key documents, such as the Speech from the Throne and the budget;
• should work closely with the department to ensure that policies and policy development are consistent with the minister's objectives and the government's mandate; and
• should liaise with key stakeholders in order to inform or consult on important policy initiatives within the minister's purview

Director of Communications
(EX-02)

• is responsible for providing strategic planning and communications advice to the minister;
• is also responsible for leading comprehensive communication plans on behalf of the minister;
• must consult regularly with the Prime Minister's Office in order to better co-ordinate government-wide communications;
• should oversee, and co-ordinate with the department, the development of communications initiatives to ensure that they are consistent with the minister's objectives and the government's mandate;
• should establish and maintain a professional relationship with the media; and
• is the leading official spokesperson for the minister; at the behest of the director of communications, the role of spokesperson to the minister may be assigned to the special assistant, communications

• is responsible for advising and briefing the minister on all legislative issues;
• is responsible, on behalf of the minister, for overseeing all phases of the legislative approval process from the development of legislation within the department to Royal Assent;
• is the point person within the minister's office for implementing the government's parliamentary reform initiative, which includes consulting committee members on proposed legislation;
• is responsible for liaising with caucus and the office of the minister's parliamentary secretary to discuss the department's legislative agenda;
• must liaise with the Prime Minister's Office, other ministers' offices, and caucus members to ensure co-ordination of government-wide legislative issues; and
• must work closely with the senior policy advisor to ensure consistency between policy and legislative initiatives

Policy Advisor 
(AS-08)

• is responsible, working under the direction of the senior policy advisor and in collaboration with the department, for policy reviews on specific issues;
• is also responsible for advising and briefing the minister on relevant policy issues;
• needs to work closely with the Prime Minister's Office and other ministers' offices in order to co-ordinate the development of policies and programs within the government;
• must ensure that policy development within the minister's responsibilities is consistent with the broad policy goals of the government, as laid out in key documents, such as the Speech from the Throne and the budget;
• should work closely with the department to ensure that policies and policy development are consistent with the minister's objectives and the government's mandate; and
• should liaise with key stakeholders in order to inform and/or consult on important policy initiatives within the minister's purview

Senior Special Assistant
(AS-07)

• provides political advice and support on particular policy issues, communications, and parliamentary affairs at a greater level of complexity and responsibility than special assistant; and
• provides political advice and assistance in relation to regional responsibilities

Special Assistant, Communications (AS-05)

• is responsible for providing communications support to the minister and director of communications;
• is responsible for overseeing the timely development of communications products by the department, such as press releases and speeches;
• must consult, in collaboration with the director of communications, with other minister's offices in order to better co-ordinate government-wide communications;
• should establish and maintain a positive relationship with the media; and
• may report to the director of communications

Special Assistant,
Parliamentary Affairs (AS-05)

• provides general support to the minister and the director of parliamentary affairs;
• is responsible for briefing and preparing the minister for Question Period;
• assists the director of parliamentary affairs in implementing the government's Parliamentary Reform initiative;
• liaises with caucus and the office of the minister's parliamentary secretary to discuss the department's legislative agenda;
• liaises, in collaboration with the director of parliamentary affairs, with the other ministers' offices and caucus members to ensure co-ordination of government-wide legislative issues; and
• may report to the director of parliamentary affairs

Special Assistant,
Regional Affairs / Regional Desk 
(AS-05)

• is responsible for providing political advice and support to the minister for an assigned specific province or region of the country;
• will liaise extensively with caucus members within their province or region of responsibility in order to advise and consult them on departmental policies and programs;
• is responsible for liaising with stakeholders within their province/region of responsibility to ensure a thorough understanding of departmental policies and programs;
• is responsible for all logistical, travel, and advance operations when the minister travels in the province or region of the assistant's responsibility; and
• under the guidance of the senior policy advisor, may be required to manage policy files, especially files with a provincial or regional focus

Minister's Private Secretary (AS-06)

• provides the primary liaison and communication links between the minister and his or her staff, deputy minister, other ministers, and outside government;
• manages the minister's schedule in a constant state of changing priorities and high pressure; assesses the need for meetings and manages the planning, preparation, and logistics of appointments, meetings, speaking engagements, and other functions to be attended by the minister;
• assesses the priority of incoming and outgoing material to ensure the minister receives accurate and relevant information on a timely and often urgent basis;
• maintains an understanding of an extensive range of current and emerging government-wide issues and an extensive and effective network of contacts within and external to government; and
• provides timely and quality responses to internal and external clients on a wide variety of issues concerning the minister and the government

Support Staff 
(up to AS-04)

• positions include individually or in combination such administrative functions as reception, scheduling, organizing meetings, record keeping, information management, and document processing and control–salaries should be commensurate with complexity of functions and level of responsibility; and
• positions should require a knowledge of departmental and governmental processes, procedures, systems, and policies

Parliamentary Secretary's Assistant (AS-05)

• is responsible for advising and briefing the parliamentary secretary on all legislative issues;
• is responsible, on behalf of the parliamentary secretary, for working closely with the minister's office on all phases of the legislative approval process from the development of legislation within the department to Royal Assent;
• is the point person within the parliamentary secretary's office for ensuring adherence to the government's Parliamentary Reform initiative, which includes consulting committee members on proposed legislation; and
• is responsible for liaising with caucus and the office of the minister to discuss the department's legislative agenda

Regional Affairs Director
(EX-01)

• senior ministerial staff member in a minister's regional office assisting the regional minister with the role of senior government spokesperson for the region;
• is responsible, in collaboration with regional offices of federal departments, for overseeing policy integration on behalf of the minister;
• is also responsible for advising and briefing the minister on all relevant regional issues;
• works closely with other ministers and MPs in the region in order to assist in the co-ordination of policies and programs within the region; and
• is responsible for briefing and preparing the minister on regional issues

Regional Communications Advisor (IS-05)

• senior communications staff member in the minister's regional office assisting the regional minister with the role of senior government spokesperson for the region;
• is also responsible for environmental scans and advising and briefing the minister on all relevant regional concerns and threats;
• works closely with other ministers and MPs in the region in order to assist in the co-ordination of messaging within the region; and
• is responsible for preparing communiqués, press releases, and communication strategies for the minister on regional issues