About the position

Alberta Education and Childcare supports children, students, parents, teachers and administrators from childcare and Early Childhood Services through Grade 12. The Executive Director is directly accountable for overseeing more than \$2 billion in funding for child care programs to support families and early childhood educators across Alberta. The role plays a key part in advancing child care affordability objectives while strengthening accountability, fiscal oversight, and service delivery across the system. The Executive Director is also responsible for maintaining financial standards established in legislation and agreements with the federal government for the distribution of child care grant funding. This includes ensuring strong financial stewardship, timely payments, and streamlined delivery systems, continuous improvement, and effective risk management. This position provides leadership and strategic direction to the Child Care Administration Branch across early learning and child care programs, services, initiatives, and projects throughout the province. Through strategic thinking and results orientation, the position develops and implements policies and programs to ensure the business plan goals and objectives are achieved. The Executive Director role also requires responsiveness to stakeholder inquiries and provides strategic leadership for maintaining partnerships with public and private sector child care programs, partnerships with other ministries, governments, community and contracted provincial/federal associations, academic institutions, and others, all with the aim of engaging communities and individuals to enhance quality child care and positive outcomes for children and families. This position is accountable for maintaining fiscal standards set out in legislation and agreement with the federal government. It also interacts with senior officials across jurisdictions, within the government and child care sector.

Responsibilities

• Overseeing more than \$2 billion in funding for child care programs.
• Advancing child care affordability objectives.
• Strengthening accountability, fiscal oversight, and service delivery across the system.
• Maintaining financial standards established in legislation and agreements with the federal government for the distribution of child care grant funding.
• Ensuring strong financial stewardship, timely payments, and streamlined delivery systems.
• Providing leadership and strategic direction to the Child Care Administration Branch.
• Developing and implementing policies and programs to ensure business plan goals and objectives are achieved.
• Maintaining partnerships with public and private sector child care programs, other ministries, governments, community and contracted provincial/federal associations, academic institutions, and others.
• Engaging communities and individuals to enhance quality child care and positive outcomes for children and families.
• Interacting with senior officials across jurisdictions, within the government and child care sector.

Requirements

• Extensive senior leadership experience.
• Exceptional financial acumen.
• Expertise in financial controls, grants, contracts, procurement, and debt instruments.
• Proven track record of strengthening programs, enhancing controls, driving efficiencies, and leading change within complex, high-profile, multi-stakeholder environments.
• Strong strategic leadership.
• Experience in policy development and implementation.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment and effectively navigate competing priorities, politically sensitive issues, and emerging challenges.
• Ability to motivate teams to achieve results and foster a culture of accountability and high performance.
• Experience in positions with a high level of financial management and oversight is essential.
• Strong financial acumen, negotiation, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Solid understanding of issues management.
• Ability to inspire high performance, build effective relationships, and apply well-developed political acumen and agility.
• Bachelor’s Degree is required.

Nice-to-haves

• Knowledge of government decision-making processes is considered an asset.
• A Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation or equivalent professional credential is preferred.
• A Certified Internal Audit or Chartered Financial Analyst designation is considered an asset.
• Ideally supplemented with a CPA or CIA Designation.

Benefits

• Management Employees Pension Plan (MEPP)
• Leadership and mentorship programs
• Professional learning and development
• Opportunity to participate in an interim hybrid work schedule (per Alberta Public Service policy) of up to two days working from your home office.