Sometimes a job description just doesn’t tell the whole story.
What with the need to balance the budget by 2013 and everything, there just aren’t as many promising positions on the government of Alberta’s job board nowadays as there used to be. Still, it’s worth keeping an eye on it. You just never know when an interesting posting is going to pop up.
For example, sometime in the past couple of days a posting for a position with the vaguely defined title of “Senior Official” in the Ministry of International and Intergovernmental Relations cropped up on the site.
Potential applicants have until April 29, 2011, to apply for the position, which involves, oh, you know, stuff like living in Washington, D.C., advancing “Alberta’s key interests in the United States” (read: tar sands sales), and supporting “incoming and outgoing intergovernmental missions to and from Alberta.”
Sound familiar? If it does, you’ve probably guessed right! This would be the cushy $264,069-plus-benefits-and-nice-house posting on the Potomac recently vacated by Gary Mar, rumoured favourite of former premier Ralph Klein, current favourite of the Alberta Conservative Party establishment and the man to beat in the race to replace Premier Ed Stelmach.
In fairness, maybe our cash-strapped provincial government is going to pay the next guy less, seeing as the posting only promises “a competitive salary,” along with applicable foreign service allowances, whatever those are, and a house, presumably a nice one in a safe neighbourhood that’s big enough to host as many incoming and outgoing dignitaries as necessary without anyone having to sleep on the couch. (Or do the dignitaries from Alberta stay down the lane at the Hay-Adams? Just wondering.)
If you’re thinking of applying — it’s an “open competition,” after all — you’ll need to be bilingual (English and ‘Merricun), have “an understanding of the political and business cultures and practices in both countries” (uh, what difference?), and possess a “highly developed capacity to build strategic relationships.” (No idea what that means, but it’s probably not as much fun as it sounds.)
Not included in the posting, however, is the phrase “among other things.” And key among those unlisted other things is the fact that you really need in this job to be a good pal of the premier of Alberta, that is, someone he (or she) can get along with, who shares his (or her) policy goals and who is probably owed a favour or two by him (or her).
And that, dear readers, creates just a teeny-weeny bit of an issue here, or ought to, because, as previously noted, the closing date for this competition is April 29, 2011, and the premier for whom this exalted dignitary — entitled Minister-Counsellor, no less — will be working isn’t due to be chosen until the fall of 2011 or later.
Now, does this mean the government’s going to consult the new premier on whom best to appoint? After all, he’s already done the job, so …
Oh! Wait! There’s supposed to be a leadership contest! So does this mean the job’s not actually going to be filled until after the leader (and therefore premier) has been chosen?
That’s kind of a long time to wait for a job that was posted in April, so that scenario seems unlikely. But, if so, this raises other questions. For example, what if the new premier doesn’t have confidence in the person who’s just been appointed? What if she (or he) wants her own woman (or man) in the job? Does that mean the people of Alberta are going to have to pay moving expenses for two of these guys? And maybe have to fork over for a generous buy-out for the first one, too?
Come on, people! The appropriate time to fill this position permanently is not just after the Alberta Conservative Party’s multifarious members in all their wisdom have selected a leader and thereby made her (or him) the premier of Alberta, but also after the election that will surely soon follow that event.
In the mean time, I’m sure there’s a nice bland senior civil servant who could occupy the position for a few months, make sure the cook continues to be paid and keep up the mortgage payments on Alberta’s official residence. (The Pump House?) Ideally, this should be someone lower than a deputy minister so Alberta’s taxpayers get a break on the salary.
For that matter, why not just let the marvelously named Tristan Sanregret, Director, Alberta-U.S. Relations, carry on regardless in the absence of a Minister-Counsellor?
In the mean time, if you’d like to serve Alberta in a diplomatic sort of way, but you feel you just won’t make the cut for the vital post of Minister-Counsellor in the District of Columbia, you may want to avail yourself of the opportunity to apply as a “Learning-Click Ambassador,” a diplomatic sort of position also currently posted on the government’s jobs site.
Pay is somewhat lower, although the qualifications may actually be higher. (A Learning-Click Ambassador must be a high-school graduate registered in post-secondary studies.) No word in this job description on whether this position includes applicable foreign service allowances.
Hurry though. This one closes even sooner! April 28.
This post also appears on David Climenhaga’s blog, Alberta Diary.
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