Specialist, Government and External Relations

**Summary of Duties**:
Reporting to the Manager, Government and External Relations, the Specialist supports the development and maintenance of federal and provincial partnerships as part of the strategic priorities of the Corporation of City of London. Working collaboratively with internal and external partners, the Specialist will identify and cultivate opportunities for cross-sector and intergovernmental partnerships and opportunities while building the City’s profile in the region, province and across the country.

**Work Performed**:

- Identify and recommend policies, procedures and practices that support divisional objectives that contribute to the implementation of strategic initiatives for the Division to meet Council’s Strategic Plan.
- Identify audience including key decision markers/influencers and produce targeted supporting material such as correspondence, briefing notes, submissions, and presentations.
- Facilitate the development of funding opportunities and partnerships to accelerate the implementation of the City of London’s Strategic Plan.
- With the Manager, Government and External Relations, act as a municipal delegate/stakeholder at summits, conferences, seminars, etc.
- Conduct research and analysis of provincial and federal legislation and policy papers, as well as by-laws and policies from other Municipalities that are of relevance to the Corporation of the City of London.
- Respond to legislative and regulatory changes and provide related research, analysis and report writing.
- Support and coordinate data collection, communication, and research with internal and external stakeholders to further priorities within the City of London Strategic Advocacy Framework.
- Conduct research and provide interpretation on developments in trends, industry reports on public sector legislation, governmental policies, and procedures that impact the Corporation of the City of London.
- Coordinate, evaluate and recommend amendments and/or additions to existing corporate policies, processes and/or practices as they relate to intergovernmental relations.
- Liaise with Corporate service areas on intergovernmental relations matters to support enterprise-wide collaboration.
- Support the effective communication of divisional priorities and practices for each service area of the Corporation.
- Demonstrate commitment to anti-racism, anti-oppression, and human rights through practices and interactions with stakeholders, employees and individuals and support programs and initiatives that reflect this commitment.
- Demonstrate commitment and adherence to Health and Safety legislation and programs; actively promote a culture of safety.
- Support the development of processes and tools needed to increase efficiencies and improve the effectiveness of services provided by the Unit.
- Provide updates, information and recommendations to the Manager, Government and External Relations on priorities.
- Prepare reports for Council and various Committees as required.
- Effectively and thoroughly evaluate and organize information so that it can be easily understood by various audiences.
- Develop and execute strategies for communicating information and facilitating discussions; Provide rationale for decisions, recommendations or courses of action required to resolve an issue.
- Implement strategies to track performance measures for Unit deliverables, using appropriate data collection and analytics.
- Develop and execute detailed project plans to deliver high quality and effective programs.

**Qualifications/Experience**:
University Degree in Political Science, Public Administration or related field along with five years of related experience in government relations, stakeholder management, public relations, or an equivalent combination of education and related professional and lived community experience.

**Skills and Abilities**:

- Demonstrated knowledge and experience in project management/change management, performance measurement, policy development, business case development, and strategic business planning, with an understanding of advocacy strategies, tactics, tools and resources.
- Demonstrated effective interpersonal and customer services skills, including conflict resolution and problem solving.
- Demonstrated ability to be an effective team member and contribute to programs and services provided by the team.
- Highly effective verbal and written communication skills, with emphasis on direct experience writing data driven reports, presenting findings, preparing briefing material, and providing recommendations.
- Demonstrated ability to effectively communicate with diverse populations within the community; experience working collaboratively with organizations, clients, and other stake holders.
- Ability to provide a high level of attention to detail, make sense of data and solve problems.
- Ability to understand the importance of service delivery; contribute to the implementation of initiatives that support