The Administrative Talent Pool

Overview

The Administrative Talent Pool (ATP) is an initiative that allows for the submission of an online application to be considered for opportunities within the Government of Alberta, whether you are looking for full-time, temporary, part-time, or short-term wage opportunities in positions located across the province.

Talent pool inclusion

The ATP process includes 3 components:

• application
• assessment
• referral(s)

Create a profile

All applicants must create a candidate profile through the Government of Alberta job board and then apply to the government Administrative Talent Pool (ATP).

See additional visual supports (PDF, 584 KB) on how to create your candidate profile.

Qualifying for competitions

Your application will be assessed to determine if you qualify to move forward through the competitive process.

Candidates who move through the competitive process successfully are qualified for future opportunities and will be added to the talent pool.

You will receive referrals for roles based on your location and employment preferences, as well as your skills, abilities, and attributes.

Your application will stay active for a period of 6 months.

Position categories

Available opportunities are within positions classified at the Administrative Support 3 and 4 levels.

Positions are grouped under 5 main categories:

• Program Support
• Office and Administrative Support
• Financial Support
• Call Centre Support
• Pay and Benefits Support

Program support

As a first point of contact for the public on the phone, via email or in person, program support roles explain the requirements, processes and benefits of a program (programs may involve licenses, grants, financial loans/assistance, health coverage and similar information).

Responsibilities typically include reviewing, assessing, or processing inquiries, documents, applications or registrations and/or issuing licenses or permits for public service programs. Some positions may involve determining applicant eligibility based on established criteria for public service programs.

Examples of program support positions:

• Contract and Grant Administrator
• AISH Application Assessor
• Licensing Assistant

Office and administrative support

Responsibilities range from drafting to composing to formatting a variety of correspondence including emails, letters, briefing notes and memos; updating and maintaining administrative policy and procedures manuals; maintaining the records management system and ensuring proper storage, retrieval and disposal of records; maintaining a manager’s calendar, scheduling meetings and making travel arrangements; assisting in compiling information for budget preparation by printing reports and tracking expenditures; as well as ordering office supplies and arranging for office equipment maintenance.

Examples of office and administrative support positions:

• ARTS Coordinator
• Office Administrator
• Branch Administrator
• Judicial Orders Production Clerk
• Receptionist
• Records Technician

Financial support

Numeracy skills and attention to detail will help provide support to finance teams to ensure completion of financial documents in the areas of expenditures, reconciliation and petty cash, as well as reviewing transactions for accuracy and completeness.

Responsibilities may include updating financial system databases by inputting financial transactions, generating reports, creating vendors, and processing payments in compliance with government and ministry policies and procedures and/or in accordance with contract terms and schedules.

Examples of financial support positions:

• Accounts Coordinator
• Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable Administrator
• Revenue Administrator

Call centre support

The first point of contact for Albertans seeking information on government programs and services, this position provides information and handles public inquiries regarding major government announcements, public consultation initiatives or major incidents such as a natural disaster or pandemic.

Responsibilities include researching government databases and the internet to provide the appropriate responses to inquiries or referring callers to the appropriate government office, keeping the caller database updated with the nature and volume of calls, and assisting callers in navigating alberta.ca and ministry websites.

Example of a call centre support position:

• Information Officer

Pay and benefits support

Assisting pay and benefits with processing payroll documents and ensuring accuracy of data updates to the HR Management System (HRMS), as well as administering and interpreting pay and benefit regulations and collective agreements while staying current on ongoing changes to pay and benefits administration and processing.

Responsibilities include responding verbally or by written correspondence to inquiries, performing post audits on pay transactions and commencing new employees in the HRMS system. Individuals in Administrative Services 3 positions may also be assigned file room or help desk duties.

Example of a pay and benefits support position:

• Pay and Benefits Processor

Talent pool components

Application

As part of the application process, you will complete several steps:

• create a candidate profile
• upload a resume
• upload a cover letter
• answer pre-screening questions
• complete and upload an assessment exercise which is detailed in the job advertisement

Assessment

If you are successful in screening, you will be tested on your technical skills. This may include proof-reading, drafting correspondence and using Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel.

The screening criteria include the minimum recruitment standards for this classification. They are:

• High school diploma
• Experience providing administrative or clerical support of one or 2 years
• Minimum of one year of work experience using Microsoft Office products such as Outlook, Excel, Word, or PowerPoint
• Legally entitled to work in Canada
• Equivalencies will be considered on the basis of one year of experience for one year of education or one year of education for one year of experience

If you pass the technical assessment, you will be notified via email and invited to a 45-minute to one-hour interview with a Talent Pool Recruitment Consultant. You can expect this interview to use behavioural based interview questions. Your responses will be scored and you will need at least 60% to move on to the next step.

Those who are successful at the interview stage will have their references checked to validate their employment performance. Completion of successful references will then move you into the Administrative Talent Pool as a qualified candidate.

Referrals

When a department has an opportunity to fill an Administrative Support 3 or 4 position, a job requisition is submitted to fill that vacancy.

Active applicants will be referred to the vacancy based on the results of your assessment, the role type and requirements, as well as your individual role, location, and employment type preferences.

• Existing employees are given preference over external candidates when they are assessed as relatively equal.

If you meet the criteria for a particular position, a Consultant from the Talent Pool Recruitment Unit will contact you by email with details, such as: the position title and classification, the department, location, salary range and the conditions of employment. Applicants are required to confirm interest in an opportunity in order to be forwarded to the hiring department.

• If the particular job does not interest you, or is not in line with your career goals, you can simply decline the referral. Declining a referral has no impact on future opportunities and you will continue to be included in the talent pool.

Once you’ve confirmed your interest in the position, we will forward your application to the hiring department, which may contact you for an interview with the hiring manager.

This interview will be about 30 minutes in length and will be an opportunity for you to ask questions as well to ensure the role is a fit for you.

The entire process from the department’s referral request to the appointment of a successful candidate should be completed within one week.

Note: Some positions require certain conditions of employment, like security checks or licensing requirements. Additional pre-employment checks will occur once you are matched to a position, if required.

You may seek feedback from the Talent Pool Recruitment Consultant on reasons why you were not successful in the interview, if necessary.

Active in the talent pool

Once your application is available for referral to departments, it will remain active for 6 months on a qualified candidate listing.

• After 6 months, you will need to reapply to the Administrative Talent Pool competition.

At anytime, you may contact the Talent Pool Recruitment Unit to withdraw your application from further consideration.

Internal employees

The Administrative Talent Pool will be used to fill all vacancies at the AS3 and AS4 level. It will be the main recruitment method that the Government of Alberta will use to fill vacant positions that are approved to be filled.

Current employees will apply by accessing the Career tile in 1GX (PDF, 327 KB) and will follow the same application, assessment, and referral process.

Applying through 1GX ensures you are identified as an internal applicant. If you apply through the Alberta.ca jobs page as an external candidate, you will be asked to reapply through 1GX as an employee.

Contact

Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Email: [email protected]