Foreign Service Development Program (FSDP) (Anticipatory) - Post-Secondary Recruitment

Work environment

A career in the Foreign Service (FS) at Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) offers you the chance to work in a challenging and stimulating environment: the world is your workplace!

All Foreign Service (FS) recruits start their career with a 3-year development program. A well-developed training program in conjunction with diverse and challenging assignments in Canada and abroad will help recruits become effective FS Officers. At CIC, the first of those three years is an intensive training year spent primarily in Ottawa. The next two years of the development program are spent on assignment abroad, learning 'on the job'.

Foreign Service (FS) Officers are rotational: they must be ready and available to be assigned anywhere in Canada or abroad, according to operational needs, every two to four years. At CIC, FS Officers spend about two-thirds of their career on assignment at Canadian missions abroad and one third at Headquarters, in Ottawa.

Abroad, FS Officers deliver the Canadian Immigration program: they process and decide on applications to come to Canada from immigrants, foreign students, visitors or temporary workers. Through these decisions, FS Officers contribute to building Canada's future and in meeting Canada's economic and social needs. FS Officers also liaise with local and international authorities and organizations, report and monitor migration trends. When assigned in Ottawa, they are involved in activities related to providing support to our offices abroad or in other areas of CIC such as policy development, ministerial support, international and intergovernmental coordination or corporate services.

If you are looking for an exciting and interesting career, if you can work independently and in a team environment, if efficiency, sound judgment and adaptability are words that describe you, an exciting career as an FS at CIC awaits you!

Intent of the process

A pool of qualified candidates may be established and used to fill future vacancies in the Foreign Service Development Program (FSDP).

Positions to be filled: Number to be determined

Information you must provide

Your résumé.

You must meet all essential qualifications in order to be appointed to the position. Other qualifications may be a deciding factor in choosing the person to be appointed. Some essential and other qualifications will be assessed through your application. It is your responsibility to provide appropriate examples that illustrate how you meet each qualification. Failing to do so could result in your application being rejected.

In order to be considered, your application must clearly explain how you meet the following (essential qualifications)

Education:

Bachelor's degree, obtained by July 2016, from a recognized post-secondary institution.

Definition: A "recognized post-secondary institution" is a Public or private institution that has been given authority to grant degrees, diplomas, and other credentials by a public or private act of a provincial/territorial legislature or through a government-mandated quality assurance mechanism. For greater certainty, also included are institutions authorized to grant specific academic credentials for specific academic programs.

Accepted candidates with foreign credentials will be required to show proof of Canadian equivalency.

Degree equivalency

If you possess any of the following, your application must also clearly explain how you meet it (other qualifications)

Experience:

Having worked or studied abroad.
Having worked in a client service delivery environment.

(These qualifications may have been acquired through a combination of academic, volunteer work or extra-curricular activities.)

Operational Requirements:

Rotational - ability and willingness to be posted abroad or anywhere in Canada at any time and at the request of the Employer.

Ability and willingness to travel.
Ability and willingness to work overtime.

The following will be applied / assessed at a later date (essential for the job)

Various language requirements
Bilingual imperative - level: CCC/CCC
Candidates must attain language proficiency level CCC/CCC prior to being appointed*.

*In order to be appointed to the Foreign Service Development Program (FSDP), candidates must meet all essential qualifications including the official language proficiency requirements (CCC/CCC, imperative staffing).

Selected candidates who meet the essential qualifications except the official language proficiency requirements will be hired on an "ab initio" status, meaning the candidate is not an employee under the Public Service Employment Act. "Ab initio" hires will undergo full-time paid language training for a maximum of 2,270 hours. They will be eligible for an appointment to the Foreign Service Development Program (FSDP) only if they successfully complete their language training i.e. if they obtain the required level at their official language tests (CCC/CCC). If they are not successful, they will not be placed in the pool and will be eliminated from the process.

Information on language requirements

Second Language Writing Skills Self-Assessment
In order to help you decide if you should apply to a bilingual position, an optional self-assessment of your writing skills in your second official language is available for you to take before completing your application.

For more information, please consult:
Unsupervised Internet Test of Second Language Writing Skills

Abilities:

Ability to communicate orally
Ability to communicate in writing
Ability to use reasoning skills to solve problems

Competencies:

Integrity and respect
Comprehensive Analysis
Judgment
Teamwork
Initiative and action-oriented
Adaptability and Flexibility

Conditions of employment

Top Secret security clearance - The first two years of the Foreign Service (FS) development program requires a Secret security clearance. You must obtain a Top Secret clearance within two years of your appointment in order to be posted overseas, which is a mandatory requirement of the development program. If a Top Secret clearance cannot be granted to you within the required time frame, you cannot remain in the FS development program as it is a condition of employment.

Employees who are not successful in obtaining a Top Secret clearance within the required timeframes may be deployed to another position outside the FS development program for which they meet the security requirements.

Other Conditions of Employment:

Rotational - ability and willingness to be posted abroad or anywhere in Canada at any time and at the request of the Employer.

Tests

Applicants must successfully write Public Service Entrance Exam (PSEE).

Other information

The Public Service of Canada is committed to building a skilled, diverse workforce reflective of Canadian society. As a result, it promotes employment equity and encourages candidates to indicate voluntarily on their application if they are a woman, an Aboriginal person, a person with a disability or a member of a visible minority group.

The Public Service of Canada is also committed to developing inclusive, barrier-free selection processes and work environments. If contacted in relation to a job opportunity or testing, you should advise the Public Service Commission or the departmental official in a timely fashion of the accommodation measures which must be taken to enable you to be assessed in a fair and equitable manner. Information received relating to accommodation measures will be addressed confidentially.

Preference

Preference will be given to veterans and to Canadian citizens, in that order.

Information on the preference to veterans

We thank all those who apply. Only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.

Contact information