Job Specification

Purpose :

To lead and/or conduct research and analysis on a range of macroeconomic topics in support of the development of personal income tax policy.

Key Responsibilities :

1. Policy Analysis and Development
- Leads, designs and operates quantitative computer models to support the development of personal income tax policy options by estimating the fiscal and economic impacts, incidence, revenue impact and feasibility of policy measures, reviews, summarizes and analyzes literature, studies, reports and external policy, papers and submissions.
- Performs personal income tax analyses by identifying, analyzing and interpreting relevant aspects of the tax structure/system, revenue statistics (historical, current and projected) to assess the impact and feasibility tax policy options and identifies the need for follow up on specific issues.
- Performs inter-jurisdictional tax analyses by identifying, analyzing and interpreting relevant aspects of other tax structure/system (e.g. policy, principles, legislation, regulation) for federal and provincial taxes, revenue statistics (historical, current and projected).
- Identifies, collects, develops, programs, verifies and analyzes data from multiple sources to support policy analysis and development.
- Utilizes quantitative/qualitative data and computer models to test the incidence, revenue and economic impact and feasibility of policy options and prepares reports on findings.
- Leads and/or participates in meetings in own/other ministries, Branches and private groups to contribute/exchange information on current/proposed projects.
2. Project Leadership
- Leads project teams, comprising assigned economists and consultants, engaged in quantitative/qualitative economic research, modelling and statistical analysis in support of the evaluation/development of policy options.
- Provides project management/ leadership and technical guidance; develops project goals and deliverables; implements sound business processes; determines/recommends resources; coordinates qualitative, quantitative and financial/economic analysis and leads the policy development processes including the development of options/ recommendations, impact/risk analysis, and quality control.
- Advises and coaches junior economists and others on research techniques, data interpretation and presentation; reviews research and analytical results to ensure quality and relevance of reports.
3. Stakeholder Relations
- Assists in developing networks within own/other Ministries, other governments (e.g.federal/provincial/municipal), university/academia and the business community to exchange information on proposed policies, programs and taxation trends/developments.
- Collaborates with other Branches/Divisions/Ministries in the development of economic policy option papers by contributing taxation expertise, advice, impact analyses and alternative options/recommendations.
3. Information and Advice:
- Participates in the preparation of presentations, briefing notes, contentious issue notes and Minister's correspondence on specific technical policy issues and contributes research, data and information into sections of the budget papers and policy proposals.
- Assists in briefing Manager, Director and Assistant Deputy Minister on specific policy issues, provides technical support at senior management meetings and identifies the need for follow-up and consultation on specific issues.

Knowledge / Skill :

Knowledge of and skills in:
- Macroeconomic theory and principles and knowledge of economics and/or accounting to understand their relevance and applicability to personal income tax policy development process and to facilitate the development of quantitative/ qualitative modeling to support the evaluation/development of policy options.
- Quantitative/qualitative techniques to gather, evaluate, interpret, analyze and extract relevant economic data to support the policy analysis/development process.
- Knowledge of government/ministry structure, policy, and government decision-making processes, to participate in the development of policy/program options/proposals.
- Research and economic/statistical analysis skills to interpret data, conduct research projects and qualitative/quantitative analysis involving a range of microeconomic, taxation, financial and regulatory factors, and to develop comparative analysis of options, impacts and best practices. Statistical modeling software and tools to research and prepare own analyses.
- Project management skills to lead project teams and provide direction and technical guidance to junior staff and consultants.
- Oral and written communications to participate in briefings, collaborate with colleagues in the OPS and other jurisdictions, prepare reports, correspondence, memoranda and analyses and contribute to the development of briefing notes, presentations, budget papers and Cabinet documents.
- Computer applications for word processing, spreadsheets, graphics and databases to prepare briefing materials, reports, presentations, correspondence and research and policy/program development materials.

Interpersonal / Influencing Skill :

- Consultation and facilitation skills to interact/liaise effectively with counterparts in own/other Ministries and provincial/ federal government to discuss/resolve issues and influence acceptance of policy options/proposals.
- Presentation skills to provide policy advice and explain technical economic/statistical information in a straightforward and understandable manner.

Analyzing / Problem Solving Skill :

Analyzing and problem-solving skills to:
- Conduct research including literature review, studies, reports and external policy submissions and provide advice, interpretation and relevance to the development of personal income tax policy options.
- Develop data modeling, gather/analyze data from multiple sources, conduct qualitative/quantitative analyses and interpret economic data to contribute expertise into the development of policy options.
- Design/plan research studies/projects, develop analytical techniques, identifying viable policy alternatives, and guide the research activities of junior economists.
- Interpret research results, identify linkages between taxation issues and other issues on the provincial agenda, implications of the tax statutes, the historical perspective, experience in other jurisdictions, microeconomic implications, and the perspective of affected groups/sectors; develop reports, recommendations, and briefing materials.

Decision Making / Responsibility :

Responsible for:
- Developing and ensuring accuracy of qualitative/quantitative data and ensuring all significant factors are covered by reports.
- Conducting research into emerging issues and policy/program changes in other jurisdictions and selecting and interpreting economic data and a range of tax information to assess the impact on 's personal income tax policies.
Decisions are guided by Provincial and ministry strategic directions, existing legislative/regulatory and policy framework, best practices and government directives and procedures.

Contacts / Stakeholder :

- Counterparts in own/other ministries to consult/exchange/obtain data/information on the development of policy options and economic projections, development of data models, discuss/resolve issues associated with tax policies and seek information on data and interpretation and collection practices.
- Minister's Office and senior management to provide information and quantitative analysis on personal income tax issues and present/participate in presentations.
Federal/provincial governments/academia, tax research organizations and accounting/legal firms to provide/exchange information on tax rates and issues related to personal income tax.

Guidance / Supervision :

- Provides project leadership and technical expertise to assigned project teams, junior economists, and consultants.

Demands / Pressures :

Work Demands :

- Frequently required to respond to requests within short deadlines where time pressures result in the need to occasionally work beyond normal work hours for response to information requests (e.g. requests from Minister/ Deputy Minster/Assistant Deputy Minister and Cabinet Office).
- Frequently required to deal with conflicting deadlines which are subject to change without notice, priorities that are not anticipated or contentious.

Mental / Sensory :

Continuous requirements to concentrate when reading materials, analyzing fiscal/economic data, documents and research and when drafting reports, briefing notes and policy related materials.

Conditions / Environment :

Work is performed in a typical office environment.