Job Specification

Purpose of Position :

The ministry of the Environment receives half of all provincial FOI requests. The incumbent reviews and responds to freedom of information (FOI) requests for access to records under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) and responds to enquiries regarding FIPPA from the general public and ministry staff. The incumbent coordinates a variety of administrative and clerical duties in support of the Coordinator and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Office.

Duties / Responsibilities :

1. Reviewing and responding to routine freedom of information (FOI) requests for access to information made by the public under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), reviewing requests for completeness, clarifying information being sought with the requester and program areas and making the necessary data entries into the statistical database while adhering to legislated time frames.
2. Reviewing responses and records from program areas, following up to obtain incomplete or missing information/records, referring problems to Coordinator with recommendations
3. Drafting a wide variety of correspondence relating to FOI requests, such as acknowledgements, clarifications, fees, and general inquiries in accordance with FIPPA legislative requirements.
4. Assisting the Assistant FOI Coordinator with complex requests, reviewing incoming requests, determining which programs are affected by the request and faxing/delivering requests and memoranda to the relevant program area(s), following up with program areas regarding delays in record retrievals, transferring requests to other ministries in accordance with the Act etc.
5. Entering data pertaining to status of requests into the confidential specialized FOI case management systems,
6. Maintaining the FOI case management systems for tracking and processing FOI requests. Acts as liaison between the FOI office and the LAN administrator.
7. Acting as a technical resource for inquiries from IT Division, and in the Office; responsible for adding users to FOI systems, investigating systems failures, working with IT Help desk to resolve office computer problems, training and assisting systems users, creating macros and templates, contacting the LAN Administrator when necessary.
8. Answering a high volume of varied and sometimes complex calls concerning the FOI legislation, related policies and procedures from ministry staff and the general public, deciding when to refer caller to Coordinator, Assistant Coordinator, or Program Assistant, ensuring that clear communications and good customer service principles always prevail when dealing with difficult callers.
9. Provides administrative and clerical support to the Coordinator by:
- Receiving and handling all incoming mail, screening and determining status; actioning semi-routine correspondence pertaining to FOI requests; coordinating responses and composing replies on own initiative to a variety of enquiries based on a good knowledge of the branch and the ministry, ensuring all correspondence and associated documents are dealt with promptly and accurately, researching and/or acting on urgent matters and specific requests in a timely manner; reviewing and logging in FOI requests, opening files, identifying contentious requests and passing to Coordinator for assignment.
- Preparing request/consultation files by opening files, assigning appropriate numbers and including appropriate forms, correspondence and explanatory/reference materials.
- Maintaining a fee register for audit purposes: recording all application fees, request fees, deposits, outstanding balances owed/received/refunded and issuing invoices and receipts; preparing transmittal notices and ensuring that all fees balance with the register, tracking forms, requests files, and Finance records.
10. Assisting Assistant Coordinators by preparing requested records for disclosure in accordance with access decisions.
11. Monitoring the status of records held in the FOI Unit and holding areas, following up with Unit staff regarding status of the records; matching records to requests.
12. Maintaining branch files and reference material; drafting record schedules for Coordinators approval; maintaining a variety of up-to-date resource material for the FOI office such as acts, regulations, policies, directives, guidelines, manuals, etc., and updating them as needed.
13. Monitoring branch office supplies and ordering supplies when required; arranging logistics for meetings, workshops including reserving meeting facilities, ordering refreshments and/or luncheon as required; contacting workshop/training session/meeting participants, assembling and distributing agenda and background material, if required, following up on outstanding issues/matters.
14. Assisting and/or participating with Coordinator and staff in branch in handling high priority assignments, overflow work, etc.
15. Other duties as assigned.

Knowledge :

Position requires a good working knowledge of the FIPPA, the regulations, policies and principles and of other related legislation in order to analyze records, provide advice to ministry staff and the public on routine FOI requests/questions, assist with complex FOI requests, prepare relevant correspondence in accordance with the legislation and ensure compliance with the legislated timeframes; ability to gain knowledge of the core businesses, programs, organizational structures and mandates of the Ministry in order to respond to enquiries, and provide guidance to the public when making applications, to direct applications (requests) to appropriate program areas and to respond to applications received; ability to gain knowledge of established internal office procedures to provide support to the Coordinator including a knowledge of records management systems and the ability to apply them to the FOI process; a detailed knowledge of procedures relating to file storage and retention as well as movable assets and the purchasing policies are also needed to implement these activities; a good, overall knowledge of the functions of the Ontario Government is necessary in order to redirect requesters, identify location of records, direct and track requests, transfer requests; knowledge of the appeal process and recent decisions by the Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) ; a very good knowledge of computer systems and current software packages (e.g. MS Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook, and scanners), and the FOI case management system is required to prepare a wide variety of correspondence and reports, and to identify and resolve first level technological problems.

Skills :

Job requires good analytical skills to: review and evaluate records; interpret the FIPPA legislation; identify inconsistencies and know when to refer to Coordinator; determine nature of incoming calls to make decisions regarding permissibility or confidentiality of information or to research and assess information. Analytical skills are also required to determine and identify priorities in situations of multiple deadlines and when prioritizing work based on knowledge of compliance (statutory deadlines) requirements.
Job requires accuracy and attention to detail as records/responses that are lost, delayed or incorrectly disclosed could result in a failure to meet legislation time lines, criticism for the Ministry, and jeopardize the units customer service commitment; discretion is required in reviewing confidential records, since inappropriate disclosure could breach confidentiality and result in an invasion of an individuals personal privacy and/or embarrassment to the Minister; poor judgment could also lead to unnecessary appeals or privacy complaints against the ministries. Incumbent must resolve discrepancies or errors relating to correspondence, determine the extent of information to be provided when responding to telephone inquiries and determine which matters should be referred to Coordinator or Assistant Coordinator for response. Incumbent must be able to identify and assess FOI case management system problems, provide responses and/solutions, and make recommendations for system enhancements. Job requires arithmetic ability to calculate fees, deposits, outstanding balances owed/received/refunded, issue invoices and ensure that all fees balance with the register.


Job requires excellent oral and written communication skills to: deal with the public; respond to inquiries and explain information relating to the Act in detail to a wide variety of sources including ministry staff, staff of other ministries, municipalities; to explain procedures and standards which require specialized knowledge to uninformed callers; to assist requesters in making applications under the Act; to liaise with program areas in the ministry. Excellent organizational skills and flexibility are needed to work as a team member in a high-pressured deadline driven unpredictable environment.

Freedom of Action :

Job requires working under general supervision of the Coordinator in accordance with established procedures and methods with freedom to plan own workload, including setting priorities for assigned FOI request files, following up with program areas to obtain incomplete or missing information/records or regarding delays in record retrievals and clerical/administrative work while adhering to statutory and internal administrative deadlines/requirements. Job must also take into account unforeseen demands and changing priorities while maintaining control of due dates and various other commitments immediately at hand. Job requires responding to routine inquiries and assisting in complex inquiries from the public and other stakeholders regarding FOI legislation, determining authority of staff to access records, making decisions concerning the assignment of correspondence to appropriate staff member, arranging physical and logistical requirements for meetings, conferences, and training sessions. Job involves some physical work in re-arranging files, lifting boxes of records, and making arrangements for records to be sent to offsite storage. Job has access to ministry, government and program administrative procedures, directives and guidelines on records management and purchasing activities, and to FIPPA legislation. Only atypical or complex inquiries and files are referred to Assistant Coordinator or Coordinator for assistance, with recommendations provided. Work is reviewed to ensure accurate interpretation of legislation and decision by the Ministry.