Initiate / Finalize an Advertised Process (Internal and External)

Internal – Appointment processes that are advertised only to persons employed in the public service. Appointments following an internal process are subject to recourse to the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board (FPSLREB) and appointees must meet merit.

External – Appointment processes that are advertised to the public including persons employed in the public service. Appointments following an external process are not subject to recourse; however, appointees must meet merit.

Consult ESDC’s Guidance on Staffing and an HR Advisor (General HR Enquiry Form) for advice on the best approach to meet your staffing needs.

• Can be creative and innovative. Consult an HR Advisor and this Example of a Friendly and Inclusive Job Advertisement for Managers and HR Professionals tool for tips and advice on designing innovative job advertisements and positioning the organization as an employer of choice.
• Include information that is relevant to the appointment process being conducted. Consult the Inventory of Job Advertisement Notes to access paragraphs that can be included in the advertisement.
• Must be advertised on GC Jobs for a minimum of one complete business day (at least 24 hours). Other advertising platforms can be used in addition to GC Jobs to attract a reasonable pool of candidates. Discuss the use of these platforms with an HR Advisor.

• Sets out the essential qualifications, including the linguistic requirements, necessary to perform the work.
• Current and future asset qualifications, operational requirements, conditions of employment and organizational needs may also form part of the SOMC.
• Consult the Statement of Merit Criteria and Conditions of Employment webpage for more information. You can also access the Statement of Merit Criteria and Conditions of Employment Template (DOCX, 519 KB).
• Consult the Guideline on Identifying Language Requirements of Positions and an HR Advisor to find out more about staffing bilingual positions.

Additional resource: ESDC Competency Dictionary.

• Refers to who is eligible to apply to a staffing process; it can be established based on geographic, occupational, organizational and/or employment equity criteria and should provide for a reasonable pool of applicants.
• Several different AOS can be used; however, a national AOS is mandatory for external advertised processes. For further details on AOS and to know the exceptions to the national AOS, consult ESDC's Policy on Area of Selection.   
• The Public Service Commission's Eligibility for job opportunities in federal organizations webpage can be useful in ensuring that the AOS targets the desired pool of potential candidates.
• A decision to expand or restrict the AOS to one or more designated employment equity groups must be supported by departmental data/workforce plan (i.e., the current or forecasted gap must be documented). Consult the Workforce Demographic Profiles webpage for more information on gaps.
• You may want to consider expanding the AOS for Internal Advertised processes to include students who will graduate within a specific timeframe.

The priority clearance process ensures that Persons with a Priority Entitlement (PPE), registered with the Public Service Commission, are considered and appointed ahead of all others to vacant positions in the public service for which they meet the essential qualifications. It applies to all groups and levels (including EX positions), all regions and all organizations subject to the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA).

• Immediate need (i.e., a position is currently vacant or will become vacant shortly):
  • Priority clearance must be obtained when advertising job opportunities for term appointments, no matter the duration, and indeterminate appointments (see PSC Staffing actions that do not require priority clearance for exceptions).
  • A separate request for priority clearance can be submitted in the HRSC Portal.
    • The request should be submitted only once the SOMC is finalized.
• Anticipatory need (i.e., a position may become vacant but no vacancy is currently identified):
  • Priority clearance will be requested at the time of an appointment.

• Refers to how candidates will be evaluated against the qualifications listed on the Statement of Merit Criteria.
• Can include interviews, written tests, reference checks, simulations, Public Service Commission (PSC) standardized tests etc. For information on assessments, refer to the Public Service Hiring Guides and the following fact sheets:
  • Assessment Guide fact sheet (DOCX, 34KB)
  • Assessment methods fact sheet (DOCX, 36KB)
  • Interview fact sheet (DOCX, 33KB)
  • Reference checks fact sheet (DOCX, 34KB)
  • Screening fact sheet (DOCX, 33KB)
  • Written exam fact sheet (DOCX, 40KB)
• Assessment accommodations could be requested. These requests may require amendments to the assessment tools including content and format to remove systemic barriers that may constitute grounds of discrimination under the Canadian Human Rights Act. Consult the Duty to Accommodate and discuss any accommodation requests with your HR Advisor.

• Visit the Roles and Responsibilities in a Staffing Process webpage for more information on roles and responsibilities. Share this webpage with all assessment board members and other participants who will be helping with the staffing process.
• Access the Administrative Letter Templates and Forms Inventory for bilingual email templates for communicating with candidates.

No documents are required when submitting your request; however, if you have the following documents in draft format, attach them to your request so they may be finalized in partnership with an HR Advisor.

• Statement of Merit Criteria (SOMC) (DOCX, 522 KB): Bilingual Word format. The finalized SOMC will be required to request priority clearance (if applicable) and to create the advertisement on GC Jobs.
• Assessment Tools, Assessment Plan and/or Rating Guide
• Area of Selection: Provide the information in the comments section of the HRSC Portal or attach any other format to the request.
• If applicable: Non-Imperative Staffing: You may provide the approval using the Request for Non-Imperative Staffing of Bilingual Positions (Optional) - Form (DOCX, 35 KB) or any other format (ensure information from sections B, C and D of the form are included with the approval). The request must be approved by the staffing sub-delegated manager. See Type of Approval Required.

A complete staffing file includes the following information. These items can be provided to HR at each stage of the selection process or at the end.

• Finalized Assessment Tools, Assessment Plan and/or Rating Guide
• Assessment Summary Report (ASR): Approved by the staffing sub-delegated manager (including notes on adjustments made due to informal discussions or corrective actions) See Type of Approval Required.
• Accommodation requests and measures taken (if applicable).
• Candidate Assessments: Written Exam, Interview, Reference Checks etc. The following are required if results are included in the ASR:
  • Second Language Evaluations (SLE): Required for a bilingual position.
  • Proof of Education that meets the qualification as identified on the SOMC:
    • Consult the Manager's Tool on Proof of Education and Occupational Certification for more information.
    • Occupational certification: Evidence that the candidate meets the TBS qualification standards (i.e., CPA). Visit Qualification Standards for Employment in the Core Public Administration website.
• Invitations to assessments and communication of results: Emails from each stage of the process including the final process results (if HR was not cc'd), as applicable.
• Informal Discussions: Summary and corrective measures taken (if applicable).