General Manager, Community Safety & Wellness Save job Remove saved job

Core Competencies

• Critical Thinking
• Interpersonal Communication
• Political Acumen
• Credibility
• Initiative

Position Summary

Responsible for the overall management and administration of the Community Safety and Wellness Department which includes Emergency Services Division, Grandview Lodge and the Community Programming & Partnerships Division. The General Manager will direct the human and budget resources for each of these functional areas in a cost-effective manner within a multi-stakeholder environment. Through a continuous improvement mindset, the General Manager prioritizes and oversees initiatives to advance service modernization and enable the delivery of excellent internal and external service while balancing department and corporate needs, ensuring that all Divisions maintain corporate strategic goals and objectives. Additionally, the General Manager is an integral part of the Senior Management Team providing expert advice to the Chief Administrative Officer and making recommendations to Council for the purposes of responsible and sustainable financial management, organizational improvement, legislative compliance and efficient service delivery. Public Health, Social Services and Public Library Liaison roles are also a direct responsibility of the General Manager.

Qualifications, Knowledge, and Skills

Education

• University Degree relative to area of responsibility

Experience

• 10 to 15 years of current management experience, preferably in a municipal organization or an area directly related to emergency management, long term care administration or community services

Knowledge/Skills

Responsibilities

The incumbent is responsible for, but not limited to:

Corporate

• Participate as a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT), under the direction of the CAO, to develop corporate strategic goals, objectives and policies;
• Develop Department goals and objectives in concert with approved Corporate Strategic Goals;
• Develop, implement, monitor, and maintain appropriate policies and procedures that support the efficient operation of the department and its divisions from both a short-term service delivery aspect and a strategic long-term departmental plan;
• Advance the delivery of excellent public service to the community by ensuring community engagement and support to stakeholders;
• Oversee the assessment and management of risk related to the activities of the department, in keeping with corporate policies and relevant legislation.

People

• Provide ongoing leadership through coaching and mentoring of direct reports and key staff in terms of obtaining, modelling and communicating the philosophy, way of work standards and the skills and competencies desired by the Corporation, keeping in mind the corporate goals and objectives.  Promote organizational improvement and individual development through staff development plans, performance feedback and providing work opportunities that will allow staff to grow, develop and succeed;
• Hold staff accountable for quality work, meeting timelines, legislative compliance and producing results;
• Apply sound human resources management practices (recruitment, development and performance management) in accordance with approved policies and legislation to ensure an effective Department Management Team;
• Effectively liaise with the Haldimand County Public Library by regularly meeting with the Library CEO to maintain relevant synergies between the Library and the municipality;
• Effectively provide guidance to Haldimand political representatives on the Grand Erie Public Health Board, with a focus on the best interests of Haldimand County.

Timeline

• Council report schedule is set annually and reports must be prepared, reviewed based on this schedule;
• Attendance at CIC & Council meetings based on annual schedule (usually every 3 weeks);
• Monitor and ensure corporate priority timeline targets are met and project progress is communicated adequately and at appropriate intervals;
• Attendance at other Committee and inter-departmental meetings to provide guidance and recommendations from a departmental perspective on major Council approved Corporate initiatives, etc.

Money/Asset

• Oversee the development and implementation of the Department budget and take appropriate actions to ensure adherence to the approved budget; take corrective actions if required;
• Actively contribute, as a member of the SMT towards the development and implementation of Corporate budgets and financial recommendations;
• Actively contribute as a member of the IT Governance Committee to prioritize technology needs across the corporation;
• Approval of grants and loans through various County programs (Community Partnership Program).

Functional

• With respect to the overall department:
  • Proactively examine, measure and evaluate the services in the functional areas under CSW in terms of understanding – are they meeting needs/expectations, can they be delivered better through process improvements, functional realignment, technology or an alternative service delivery model
  • Identify opportunities for seamless integration where services/functions cross Departments in terms of accountability, efficiency and customer service by engaging and collaborating together, improving communication, and establishing system processes that reinforce the need to work together
  • Ensure that ‘internal customer service’ is a key priority.  This means making the service to other parts of the organization as important as your own internal work, ensuring timely response/review, attending meetings where specific technical expertise is required and seeking feedback from clients.   It also means ensuring that requests for support be made with reasonable lead time and that the necessary information is provided
  • Ensure that the functional groups within the Department are aligned in terms of standards, regulations, processes and objectives – that they are not working at cross purposes
  • Ensure that internal and external stakeholders are engaged in a meaningful way when developing services, programs, and facilities.  Undertake public outreach and communication to help citizens understand what we do, why, what is happening and how to engage with the County.
  • Promote open government by making information easily available and accessible to the public and ensure that customer service is a key focus through training, process improvements, alignment of functions and timely response to issues
• Responsible for the security and protection of highly sensitive, personal and confidential information including the approval or removal of access rights to the information both manual and digital;
• Engage in proactive Council communications in terms of status of initiatives, pending issues and responding to constituent matters.  Annual or routine reporting to Council on services, programs and performance measures.

Expectations of Senior Leaders:

1. To model the behaviours associated with the Corporate Values of the County.
2. Before asking for resources ensuring that existing resources are fully utilized in terms of how and where they are deployed and whether there are creative alternatives that could be considered first.
3. Treat all members of Council equally and take direction from Council as a whole.
4. When reviewing reports, presentations or communications edit for content rather than style.
5. Promote a culture of empowerment.  Encourage staff to develop solutions and options and set parameters where check-ins are only for matters of substance.
6. Establish work plans and monitoring systems to ensure that high priority initiatives are identified, prioritized and delivered on time – Project Management skills.
7. Hire people who exhibit the qualities and behaviours desired by the Corporate – not necessarily the best technical skills.  Actively address performance management issues.
8. As a Senior Management Team take a corporate perspective, actively engage in an open, honest and respectful manner and support each other and the directions agreed to as a whole irrespective of any personal belief.

Demonstrate commitment to the Haldimand County Code of Conduct

The duties listed above are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related or a logical assignment to the job.