Labour Relations Financial Advisor

Competition # : 50272

Department :
Finance and Treasury Board

Location : HALIFAX

Type of Employment :
Permanent

Union Status :
Exclusion - Non Union - NSPG

Closing Date : 05-Nov-26 (Applications are accepted until 11:59 PM Atlantic Time)

At the Department of Finance and Treasury Board, we provide financial leadership, analysis and policy advice that strengthen Nova Scotia. As stewards of the Province’s financial affairs, we support responsible fiscal management through budgeting, forecasting, financial analysis and advice to departments and public‑sector partners.

If you are a highly analytical financial professional who enjoys interpreting complex agreements, building sophisticated costing models and translating detailed information into clear advice, this opportunity may be for you. This Financial Advisory Services Unit which supports the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development is seeking a Labour Relations Financial Advisor to provide specialized analysis on compensation, workforce costs and education‑sector funding.

As the Labour Relations Financial Advisor, you provide expert financial analysis and advice on compensation, benefits, pensions, workforce costs and related funding for the education sector. You support the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, regional education entities, the provincial Francophone school authority, and other publicly funded education organizations.

You develop and maintain integrated labour‑cost models, interpret collective agreements and compensation provisions, cost proposed and approved settlements, validate wage and settlement claims, and incorporate compensation and workforce changes into budgets and forecasts. Your work connects agreement language, payroll and FTE data, education funding arrangements, and school‑year workforce structures to produce timely, accurate and decision‑ready advice.

As the Labour Relations Financial Advisor, you will:

• Develop detailed financial models and “what-if” scenarios to assess the current and future cost of bargaining proposals, settlements, compensation changes and workforce adjustments across education employers, bargaining units and employee groups.
• Analyze education‑specific provisions such as salary schedules, hourly rates, work years, smooth‑pay arrangements, substitute costs, paid leave, instructional or preparation time, pensions, benefits, retirement or service awards, and classification grievance outcomes.
• Create and maintain authoritative compensation, benefit, pension, allowance and FTE information using collective agreements, payroll records, submissions from education entities and financial systems.
• Provide confidential, time‑sensitive analysis before, during and after collective bargaining, clearly presenting costs, assumptions, risks, options and longer‑term impacts to negotiators and senior decision makers.
• Review wage and settlement claims in detail, confirm alignment with collective agreements and approved funding, investigate discrepancies, and recommend payments, recoveries or recurring budget‑base adjustments.
• Integrate approved and anticipated labour‑cost changes into annual budgets and monthly forecasts; monitor expenditures and FTEs; explain material variances; and recommend adjustments to maintain accurate financial plans.
• Prepare briefing materials, estimates support, fiscal‑impact assessments, Treasury Board submissions and ad hoc executive analysis related to education‑sector compensation and funding.
• Coordinate year‑end accounting for assigned portfolios, including accruals, journal entries, recoveries, reconciliations, working papers and responses to audit enquiries.
• Conduct jurisdictional, labour‑market and…