Appendix C1 - Benchmark Index by Function - Leading Projects

General Accountability

Is accountable for the management, from construction to delivery and promotion, of the Government of Canada's Seniors Canada On-line (SCOL) portal, which aims to support seniors' use of the Internet, to help them access government programs and services, and to contribute to the attainment of Government On-Line (GOL) goals.

Organization Structure

The Director, Seniors Cluster, is 1 of 10 positions at the second managerial level reporting to the Assistant Deputy Minister, Veterans Services. The others are Director General, National Operations; five Regional Directors (Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, Prairies, Pacific); Director General, Program and Service Policy Division; Executive Director, Ste. Anne's Hospital; Director General, Business Information Management Services.

Specific functions of the positions reporting to the incumbent are as follows:

Project Manager, (staff of 6) is responsible for managing the development and delivery of the SCOL portal and for managing the work of two work teams – Technical Development and Business Analysis.

Senior Communications Advisor, (staff of 1) is responsible for marketing and promoting the Seniors Cluster within and outside of the Public Service.

Nature And Scope

The Department's mandate is to provide services and benefits that respond to the needs of veterans, Canadian Forces members, qualified civilians and their families in recognition of their service to Canada and to keep the memory of their achievements and sacrifices alive for all Canadians.

SCOL is the government's response to requests for easy electronic access to seniors-related services. SCOL is a Treasury Board-approved project designed to help the Government of Canada meet its GOL objectives. The Department has the essential authority to lead and manage the SCOL project on behalf of its Seniors Cluster partners. The Deputy Minister is the Seniors Cluster champion; and the Assistant Deputy Minister, Veterans Services, as Executive sponsor, chairs an Interdepartmental Steering Committee that provides the strategic direction.

It is within this context that the Director, Seniors Cluster, supports the Assistant Deputy Minister and the Deputy Minister in delivering the SCOL – the Government of Canada's Internet portal for seniors – by directing the development and implementation of the decision-making and governance structure; the consultative frameworks; and the technical specifications, strategies and policies required for the successful implementation of the portal. The Director is the lead federal official responsible for effecting and maintaining wide-ranging working agreements and partnerships with other departments, other levels of government and other stakeholders and partners.

The Director is responsible for developing and implementing a strategy for an intelligent portal that can provide single-window access to relevant information located on partner Web sites. However, as a portal, SCOL does not own the content to which it leads its users. Therefore, this position must choose judiciously which partners' links will be used and must diligently monitor and maintain the resulting partnership arrangements once negotiated.

Major challenges facing the Director, Seniors Cluster, include overseeing business case analysis; organizing the diverse banks of information; and developing user-friendly, single-window access to relevant information that currently exists on hundreds of other government and non-government Web sites. A major technical challenge is to ensure seamless access to information from a diverse range of technology platforms. Much of the work confronting this position is groundbreaking, and the incumbent tables issues to the SCOL and the Canadian Seniors Partnership Steering Committee and working groups, which may, for example, call for legislative change within their own jurisdiction, and must persuade them to pursue such initiatives internally.

The Director provides leadership with respect to GOL activities through the effective management of a number of critical relationships with stakeholders and partners that include central agencies (the Privy Council Office and the Treasury Board Secretariat). Meeting this responsibility requires sitting on several interdepartmental working groups and steering/advisory committees (such as the Gateways and Clusters Lead Committee and the Canadians Gateway Working Group; Secure Channel, Portal Content Administration, Client Relationship Management Functionality, and Plain Language and Citizen Literacy Committees). Liaison with existing federal/provincial/territorial committees is also critical to the continued relevancy of the information found on the portal.

One of the greatest challenges facing the Director is developing and maintaining a high-level, collegial relationship among existing partners in order to encourage their continued participation in and their contribution of information and contextual advice to the SCOL and in order to accept the leadership provided through the Department for this initiative. High demands are made on the incumbent in order to encourage new partners, such as provinces; territories; veterans' groups; and other public, private and voluntary sector organizations, to join the Seniors Cluster consortium from the perspective of joining up Web-based information and from the perspective of participating in pilot projects that will further the objectives of the Canadian Seniors Partnership.

In addition, the Director is required to liaise regularly with the 29 members of the Seniors Cluster Advisory Panel. The members represent national and provincial organizations dedicated to supporting Canadian seniors, their families and caregivers. Drafting quarterly reports and consulting contacts are key components to maintaining relationships among the Panel members.

Beyond the immediate requirements of the Seniors Cluster Responsibility Centre, the Director is a participating member of the Assistant Deputy Minister's Branch Executive Committee. The Director uses the Veterans Service Branch's resource base as a core competency pool to drive this innovative and leading-edge initiative and to leverage the resources and expertise of other partners. As well, the incumbent is responsible for managing all aspects of the large contract with Public Works and Government Services Canada and contracted resources, which significantly adds to the managerial challenges of the position.

Specific Accountabilities

1. Directs the development, execution and ongoing refinement of a broad range of plans and strategies to support and advance the development and implementation of the SCOL portal (i.e. National User Support Strategy, National Seniors Engagement Strategy, National Content Management Strategy, National Communications Strategy, National "Life Events Pathway").
2. Leads a team drawn from all levels of government and from non-government agencies in directing the creation and maintenance, as part of the Canada Site project, of the SCOL portal, which provides a seniors-tested directory of services and information for seniors in both official languages.
3. Leads the work of the Governing Council of the Canadian Seniors Partnership in building and implementing a governance structure, consultative frameworks and a technological infrastructure to build a national network of collaborative seniors portals.
4. Initiates and sponsors a series of projects, pilots and initiatives to increase the body of knowledge and expertise related to service integration and to the business transformation of programs and services for seniors.
5. Oversees the development and execution of a strategy for provincial/ territorial engagement for creating a common, coordinated multi-service channel strategy for building seniors portals.
6. Manages and directs staff, oversees the work of several contract resources and provides functional leadership for the Seniors Cluster, including the development and maintenance of effective working relationships and partnerships within the Department; with government partners at the federal, provincial, territorial and municipal levels; with partners in the voluntary and non-government sectors; and with other stakeholders and client organizations.
7. Contributes, as a member of the Branch's Executive management team, to the achievement of the Department's GOL initiatives within the overall strategic management framework of the Department and the Chief Information Officer Branch of the Treasury Board Secretariat.

Evaluation Rationale

Director, Seniors Cluster

Know-How

F

Professional expert knowledge of departmental policies, programs and services, with particular emphasis on those provided to seniors, their families and caregivers by other federal and provincial departments and non-government organizations; and professional knowledge of the policies, priorities and initiatives for the provision of services using Web-enabling technologies.

II

Operational and conceptual management of the building of information clusters on the services provided to Canadian seniors through partnerships with other departments, other levels of government and non-government organizations.

3

Successful achievement of objectives requires the incumbent to build solid working relationships with participating federal, provincial and territorial governments, as well as with non-government organizations, in order to construct and deliver Web-based sources of information.

460

High number reflects the expertise required to develop and maintain a high-level, collegial relationship among existing partners in order to encourage their continued participation and contribution of information; and to network, encourage, develop and establish new partnerships.

Problem Solving / Thinking

F

Thinking is done within the general objectives for creating Web-based approaches to the provision of information through a single Internet portal.

4

Evaluative and constructive thinking is required when identifying and addressing issues that may involve legislative changes in other departments' or governments' jurisdictions.

(50) 230

Solid percentage reflects the minimal guidance available to the position, which is located outside the head office environment, to advance a major government initiative using innovative technology to meet the needs of Canadians seniors.

Accountability / Decision Making

F

Under the general direction of the Assistant Deputy Minister, Veterans Services, the position manages the day-to-day operations of the Directorate, funded by Treasury Board and partner-in-kind contributions.

2P

The position has primary responsibility for the Directorate's activities as represented by a proxy of an operating budget of $170,000 (constant).

264

Low number recognizes the size of the budget and the position's freedom to act in directing a government-wide project with a significant impact on how Canadian seniors receive information on services and programs available to them.

Summary

Figure: 4 – G – 2 - Text version

Benchmark Number: 4 – G – 2

Director, Seniors Cluster

The subject position is at the second managerial level reporting to the Assistant Deputy Minister, Veterans Services, and there are 9 peer positions at the same reporting level.

Reporting to the Director, Seniors Cluster are 1 Project Manager and 1 Senior Advisor.

Linear organisation chart:

Assistant Deputy Minister, Veterans Services

• Director General, National Operations
• 5 Regional Directors for :
  • Atlantic
  • Quebec
  • Ontario
  • Prairies
  • Pacific
• Director General, Program and Service Policy Division
• Executive Director, Ste. Anne's Hospital
• Director General, Business Information Management Services
• Director, Seniors Cluster
  • Project Manager
  • Senior Communications Advisor