26-36 Corporate Practice Manager

Job Title: Corporate Practice Manager

Job Family: Manager

Department: Professional Practice

Reports To: Director, Professional Practice

Division: Regulatory

Location: Edmonton

Competition: 26-36

Employment Indicator: Full-time, Permanent

Position Summary

The Corporate Practice Manager is a critical leadership position in the Professional Practice Department and within APEGA, responsible for providing direction and best practices to ensure APEGA permit holders and licensed professionals understand their professional and ethical obligations, have described appropriate control measures in their Professional Practice Management Plans to fulfill their obligations in the practice of engineering and/or geoscience and to comply with the Act, Regulations, Bylaws, practice Standards, Bulletins and Guidelines.
As a professional practice ambassador of APEGA, the incumbent is a senior professional and leader that provides appropriate direction, advice, and counsel to all stakeholders - the Public, Licensed Professionals, Permit Holders. Focused on ensuring that public interest is protected, and that APEGA earns and maintains the confidence of its membership and the public, the Corporate Practice Manager advises permit holders, registrants and APEGA Staff as well as provides opinions to Director, Professional Practice, in practice review and permit to practice matters.

Responsibilities

• Manage APEGA’s Graduated Practice Review program to ensure permit holder and their licensed professionals’ practice competently and ethically in accordance with the EGP Act, General Regulations, and APEGA Standards, bulletins, and Guidelines by:
  • Lead the execution of the GRAPH process for permit holder practice reviews to achieve the annual goals set by Director, Professional Practice
  • Providing recommendations on the status of permit holders practice reviews, trends in professional practice and emerging issues to Director, Professional Practice to allow timely self-regulation decisions as per APEGA policy and processes.
  • Develop, implement, and maintaining policies and processes for initiating, executing, and finalizing permit holders practice reviews (GRAPH Process)
  • Developing and managing professional practice databases to provide timely reporting that will allow successful follow up action and assist performance measurement and KPI development.
  • Development and maintain of tools, templates, and standardized letters to ensure consistent execution of, and communication regarding practice reviews and practice standards to facilitate continual improvement.
  • Communicate with engineers and geoscientists of all levels under the Permit to Practice, from senior executives to engineers-in-training in a respectful and professional manner.
  • Identify trends in professional practice to provide input into standards development and interpretation.

Be the subject matter expert for APEGA on all practice review and permit to practice matters:

• Ensuring APEGA is a definitive source of advice, expertise, and information as a Regulator regarding the professional and ethical aspects of the practice of engineering and geoscience
• Providing timely and well researched responses to any questions or inquiries from the Public, Permit Holders or Licensed Professionals on permit holder practice reviews and professional and practice standards, bulletins, and guidelines
• Hold professional workshops for permit holders and professionals regarding the established interpretation of the Act, Regulations, By-Laws, Standards, Bulletins and Guidelines
• Continuously engage permit holders, professionals and related associations while providing excellent customer service that reflects positively on APEGA. Raise the bar of the profession in Alberta to ensure self-regulation.
• Provide recommendation and updates to the Practice Review Board, its subcommittees, Council (and successors). Supporting actions:
• Attending PRB meetings to provide updates on, and insights into, permit holders’ and licensed professionals’ engineering or geoscience practice.
• Facilitate the Practice Review Sub Committee (or its successor) meetings and providing advice and guidance to the committee on practice reviews, GRAPH process and trends in professional practice
• Providing research and information to support goals and objectives of the PRB and its subcommittees
• Provide position papers and opinions on professional practice to the PRSC, PRB, as requested by Director, Professional Practice
• Providing direction on the development and reporting of key performance indicators related to professional practice and compliance with the profession
• Providing advice and acting as a knowledge resource on general matters of policy to the PRB, and other related sub-committees on the establish interpretation of APEGA Standards, Bulletins, Guidelines as well as the Act and Regulations pertinent to professional practice of engineering and geoscience professions
• Providing advice and guidance on professional practice when requested by Investigations, Regulatory Affairs and Discipline/Enforcement Departments
• Providing recommendations to changes or additions to departmental policies and PRB policy or processes
• Communicate in a clear, concise manner that is suitable for the circumstances and the audience.
• Demonstrate leadership on professional and ethical matters, including subject matter expertise, in a fair and reasonable manner.

Competencies, Skills & Attributes

Competencies

Core:

• Exemplifying Integrity
• Fostering Communication
• Results Orientation
• Service Excellence
• Teamwork

Functional:

• Impact & Influence
• Legislation & Compliance

Core Leadership:

• Decision Making
• Ensuring Accountability
• Inspiring Others

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Strong familiarity with engineering and/or geoscience requirements across several industry sectors or disciplines in the public and private areas as well experience in an operating or consulting role.
• Prior experience in a regulated industry, working as a regulator, or as part of a government agency with knowledge of regulatory processes/legislation is an asset.
• Excellent knowledge of audit processes and their limitations
• Very strong knowledge of the principles of self-regulation and the legislated authorities of regulators, especially those related to APEGA (Act, Regulations, By-Laws and APEGA Standards, Bulletins and Guidelines)
• Excellent working knowledge and experience in dealing with quality assurance principles and ISO framework is an asset
• A working knowledge of the responsibilities and duties of other business areas in APEGA,
• Familiarity with other legislation that affects APEGA (OHS, PIPA, PIPEDA, FOIP, Alberta Building Code etc.)
• Recognition of other industry codes and standards (ASME, CSA Group etc.).
• Strong knowledge of professional practice at all levels in an organization and project management processes/systems
• Excellent leader that can influence and lead multidisciplinary groups to develop achievable solutions to complex problems
• Excellent leader, communicator and negotiator who can defend and communicate regulatory requirements
• Able to transition between critical thinking and lateral thinking. Critical thinking focuses on judging the true value of statements and seeking errors; lateral thinking is more concerned moving from one known idea to creating innovative ideas.
• Able to read situations and people accurately, developing options for mutual benefit as well as providing opinions and judgements
• Able to develop lines of inquiry that determine if licensed professional or permit holders are following legislation and standards.
• Understands the organization’s strategy, objectives, and goals and aligns individual effort accordingly.
• Knowledge of several different subject areas related to professional practice, technical practice, and ethical practice.
• Strong ethical compass founded on honesty, integrity, empathy, fairness, dedication, responsibility, and accountability.
• Driven and able to independently identify areas that require attention.
• Possesses a strong ability to build professional and productive relationships with internal and external stakeholders, knowing how best to influence and enable others. Willing to provide their perspective to leadership without fear, but always with respect.
• Able to manage change and transition, and able to work with diverse groups of people in diverse environments
• Able to execute tasks with tact and subtlety in accordance with the situation.
• A leader who understands that team success is more important than individual success and is committed to sharing their strengths with teammates at all levels, as well as learning from others.
• Able to manage confidential information appropriately, understanding that professional reputations and credibility are important commodities.
• Able to prioritize request from multiple internal and external stakeholders to meet deadlines Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong conflict resolution and negotiation skills, adept at identifying win/win solutions including practical and innovative problem-solving skills
• High attention to detail and accuracy
• Understands that knowledge, appearance, and demeanor are the currency with which to safeguard credibility
• Strong skills in setting and tracking priorities, defining performance objectives and goals, and measuring outcomes.
• Demonstrates composure, self-awareness, and openness to feedback, including the ability to reflect on personal impact and adjust approach when circumstances change.

Qualifications

• Professional Engineer or Geoscientist registered with APEGA or eligible for membership in APEGA
• At least 15 to 20 years of progressive leadership experience to bring credibility and experience to interact with senior permit holder representatives such as CEOs, COOs, VPs, Department Heads, Responsible Members, Legal Counsel, or Human Resources Directors.
• Previous experience as a COO or Responsible Member of a permit holder with APEGA
• Previous experience in in several industry sectors
• Previous work experience in environments involving legislation, regulations or where policies or rules govern practice.
• Previous work experience in developing and managing large projects and professional groups.
• Training in leadership and operations would be an asset.
• Demonstrated ability to apply broad technical engineering knowledge while actively listening, seeking diverse perspectives, and adapting communication approaches to effectively engage with technical and non-technical stakeholders across a wide range of disciplines
• Proven ability to build trust and productive relationships while navigating sensitive, complex, or high-stakes conversations with professionalism, empathy, and sound judgement.