Opportunity:                   Vice President, Infectious Diseases Programs

Organization:                  Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)

Location:                          Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (relocation provisions will be offered, if required)

Public Health Agency of Canada

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is a Government of Canada agency in the Health Portfolio, established by the Public Health Agency of Canada Act in 2004.  It was established to assist the Minister of Health in exercising or performing the Minister’s powers, duties, and functions in relation to public health, and the Chief Public Health Officer (CPHO) in performance of that position’s duties. PHAC is tasked with health promotion, emergency preparedness and response, and infectious and chronic disease prevention and control and injury prevention. As the Canadian centre of expertise and authority on these subjects, PHAC also serves as a central point for sharing Canada’s expertise in these fields with the rest of the world.

The Opportunity

The Vice President, Infectious Diseases Programs is one of eleven senior executive positions reporting to the President, Public Health Agency of Canada. The Vice President, Infectious Diseases Programs is accountable for providing leadership and vision to enable the prevention and control of infectious diseases and communicable health risks and contribute to the achievement of the Agency’s mandate of promoting and protecting the health of Canadians. This includes developing and implementing actionable national policies and strategies to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases, leading and integrating all the intelligence gathered from research, surveillance, and data analysis into the development and coordination of national health strategies, collaborating with provincial and territorial health authorities, national health professional organizations as well as with international health organizations and provide expert advice to the President, CPHO and other Government officials on immunization strategies.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate holds a degree from a recognized post-secondary institution with specialization related to the position (Infectious Diseases, Microbiology, Public Health, Medicine, public health and preventative medicine, etc.) or extensive experience in infectious diseases. Additionally, extensive experience in managing significant financial and complex human resources matters with a track-record of progressive experience in leadership roles within science-based or public health environments is key to success.

The successful candidate will have an impeccable track-record leading innovative policy and program initiatives. They have a proven ability to forge strong working relationships at the most senior level with a wide variety of partners and stakeholders on both a strategic and issue-specific basis, including national public health agencies, international bodies, research institutions, health professional associations, the private sector, and/or other sectors of society to advance infectious disease prevention programs. The ideal candidate has a demonstrated capability of working with partners and building collaborative relationships with stakeholders in order to maximize public health through the elimination, prevention, and control of infectious diseases, which are key to the success of the Branch in delivering on its’ mandate. Additionally, they understand government, the Cabinet and Ministerial decision-making systems and the roles and workings of central agencies.

Bringing leadership, vision, and strategy, the ideal candidate has demonstrated the ability to create an environment that supports training and development and fosters workplace wellness.  Trusted, confident, self-aware, empathetic, creative, diplomatic, enthusiastic, and politically astute are all terms that peers would use to describe the ideal candidate. The ideal candidate is an experienced change leader with an inclusive and open management style, they have a track record for building highly effective multidisciplinary teams aligned with a culture of innovation and excellence while upholding integrity and respect.

Bilingual in both official languages (English/French) is essential, however this position can be staffed by an individual who agrees to become bilingual through training at government expense.

Important Messages

The Public Service of Canada is committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free work environment, starting with the hiring process. If you need to be accommodated during any phase of the evaluation process, please use the contact information below to request special accommodation. All information received in relation to accommodation will be kept confidential.

The Public Service of Canada is committed to building a skilled and diverse workforce that reflects the Canadians served. The Public Service of Canada promotes employment equity and encourage you to indicate if you belong to one of the targeted groups when you apply.

Information on employment equity

For Consideration

Pender & Howe Executive Search has been retained to lead this recruitment initiative on behalf of the Public Health Agency of Canada.

A random and/or top-down selection will be used in the process in the determination of those to be given further consideration in the assessment process.

While we appreciate all expressions of candidate interest, only those being considered in the process will be contacted. Should your application be retained, you will be contacted for further assessment.

For consideration, please address a copy of your Cover Letter and Curriculum Vitae (CV) in confidence to Glenn Lesko at [email protected]

In your Cover Letter please outline the experience, skills and knowledge that would make you the ideal candidate.

Application Closing Date: 12 May 2021 – 23:59, Pacific Time