Our County

Lamont County is located in east central Alberta, 62km north east of Edmonton. With a population of 4,000 rural residents, the County shares the north and east borders of Elk Island Park and incorporates a large portion of Alberta’s Industrial Heartland within its western borders. The TransCanada Highway runs east/west through the heart of the County and the North Saskatchewan River wraps around the northern edge of the County to create a natural boundary.

Our County offers a quality of life second to none and has something for everyone within our vibrant and vital community. As the centre of a vast agricultural and oil and gas producing region, we are prospering and growing. We’re proud of our community. We are looking for an experienced Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) who can continue to build on our achievements, and is vested in exploring the new opportunities that await our County.

Our Priorities

Our priorities include:

Growing and diversifying the Lamont County economy, ensuring sustainable, appropriate, and well planned development that meets the environmental expectations of residents and council.
Ensuring County infrastructure is well developed and standards for development are clearly set.
Increasing communication effectiveness with our ratepayers and better access to information to all residents.

Our Organization and Ideal Candidate

Lamont County is an employer committed to customer service, quality of work life, continuous professional development, communication and active participation. The County has approximately 75 employees, with an annual budget of $22 million.

As our CAO, your actions and behaviours will directly influence our employees and our interactions with industry, the community, the broader public, and other key stakeholders.

Our ideal candidate will demonstrate and be known for the following:

An ability to build and manage relationships, communicate clearly and transparently, and resolve issues and conflicts in a constructive manner with Council, administration, ratepayers, and other levels of government.
An ability to grow and develop a successful team of managers, including mentoring, coaching, and supporting their development, as well as establishing methods and approaches that institutionalize individual and role accountability.
Being a visionary and innovative thinker who can work equally effectively with the details of running a developing County, balancing the need for bigger picture/strategic thinking with understanding and/or anticipating the challenges associated with implementing changes.
Being resilient and open to change, including demonstrating optimism, confidence, self-awareness, collaboration, and the ability to reframe situations, being future-minded and proactive.

Additionally, you will bring a varied background understanding the unique challenges of a rural municipality.

You will possess a related post-secondary education, preferably supplemented by a Certified Local Government Managers designation, and several years of progressive management and senior leadership experience. You will have a thorough working knowledge of the MGA and relevant legislation.

Our CAO Key Areas of Responsibility and Expectations

Reporting directly to the County Council, the CAO is responsible for delivering the programs and services provided by the County to its residents, managing administration, ensuring that services and programs are delivered in a professional manner, and providing advice to Council regarding the MGA, County bylaws, and policies. More specifically, the CAO will provide the:

Effective management of all activities of the County as directed by the decisions of the Council of the County;
Effective control of the County financial matters including preparation of budgets, financial statements and other appropriate reports;
Maximize all revenue sources for the County, including the utilization of all related Provincial and Federal grant programs;
Establishment and maintenance of effective two-way communication at the local, regional and provincial levels;
Establishment, implementation, and attainment of the County goals;
Development of a vision for the effective delivery of quality municipal government services to the public in the County;
Efficient and economically effective administration and management of County functions; and
Effective management of the personnel and manpower of the County.

In addition, the CAO will ensure that all duties and responsibilities as assigned by Council, as set out in the Municipal Government Act, and as set out in any bylaws and policies of the County are completed in a timely and appropriate manner.

While contributing at the senior management level to the County’s strategic direction, values and vision, the CAO will perform the following duties:

Provide leadership and direct the senior management group and staff in the pursuit of Council objectives, policies, programs, and planning documents;
Advise and inform Council on the operations and affairs of the Municipality;
Act as liaison with Boards or Committees of Council, Commissions, Agents, and Consultants;
Act on feedback from Council, Ratepayers, and Government to ensure the highest standards are attained for an effective efficient delivery of Municipal Services;
Directs the preparation of capital and operating budgets for submission to Council for approval;
Attend all regular and special meetings of Council and other meetings as requested by Council;
Responsible to ensure that Council minutes are recorded and distributed in accordance with the Municipal Government Act;
Ensure the prompt and proper handling of all requests, inquiries and complaints by the public;
Responsible for the revenues and expenditures and all financial requirements in accordance with the duties described in the Municipal Government Act;
Authorize payment of accounts within established guidelines;
Direct recruitment, selection or termination of senior positions in the County;
Direct the execution of all documents, agreements or contracts approved by Council; and
Ensure discipline procedures for Municipal staff are handled equitably and in accordance with approved policies.

Compensation

The County provides a competitive compensation package commensurate with the successful candidate`s experience and education and the challenges faced by the CAO. The County`s benefits include membership in the Local Authority Pension Plan. The compensation package for a successful candidate will be negotiated with Council when a successful candidate is chosen.