TL;DR Come work for the Digital Innovation Office if you enjoy a design-driven team, complex problems, and a culture of delivery.
The Alberta Digital Innovation Office may be one of the best-kept secrets in Canada’s tech and design communities, but we’re hiring, and we’re remote friendly.
It’s been almost three years since Alberta’s Digital Innovation Office started up in Executive Council with six staff and shared space in downtown Edmonton. Good call — it turns out reimagining government for a digital generation is also pretty clutch during a pandemic and economic downturn. Now with over 120 designers, developers, and architects, we need your help more than ever.
Our mission is to help government rethink its work in a digital world so that we serve Albertans better, create better days at work for staff, and cut costs and red tape.
The work is challenging. Systems, processes, and org structures are often decades old when ministry programs ask us to engage. There are no “put the form online” projects. We don’t “digitize” anything. And we certainly don’t stop at “design thinking”. But we do work with government programs to fulfil their mandate as effectively as possible even when it means updating legislation or drilling into legacy systems. User centred design with open source tools and an agile delivery framework are the keys we use to deliver value.
Our partners are committed to delivering change. Although every initiative is grounded in evidence and empathy from solid design research, we favour good compasses over rigid roadmaps. This allows us to deliver working software within 24 weeks, then learn from users as features and fidelity grow. In the last year, we’ve:
- co-created the first paperless criminal docket court
- redesigned childcare applications for parents and providers
- levelled the playing field for digital information sharing during indigenous consultation on resource projects
- plus several other new, live digital services.
The DIO team provides community and professional development along with inspired leadership from Chief Officer and ADM Dominique Bohn. With an ensemble cast that includes top Alberta talent plus alumni from BC, Ontario and Canadian digital services, 18F and the UK’s Justice Digital, you will learn as well as contribute (we’ve also got DIO talent with experience in startups, Fortune 500 enterprises, and entrepreneurs). Big Tent demos, all-hands sessions, practice guilds and Slack channels for every interest mean you will never start from scratch.
How to Apply
The DIO typically hires on one year contracts, with the option of future renewal. Successful applicants join others as part of a multidisciplinary product team. Applicants must be legally able to work in Canada. This is a little different than a regular job application, so we’ve outlined the steps for our Prequalified Resource (PQR) list (And yes, like you, we’re not quite sure how the Q snuck into the acronym either).
For active competitions, of if you don’t want to take on the work of getting on the PQR list, individuals will need to work with someone who is already prequalified for that role. If that’s you, jump down to the section on How to Respond to A Statement of Work.
Getting Prequalified
First, you’ll need to get on our list of prequalified suppliers, which means translating your experience into a structured form so we can ensure that you meet the qualification requirements. We have 13 categories in the PQR, including Agile Coaches, Full Stack Developers, Digital Architects, Service Designers, Front-End Designers, and more.
Once you’re on the list, you may receive statements of work for consideration as product teams are required. These statements of work ask for similar qualifications as the PQR, and additional requirements for one or more specific opportunities with the DIO. The DIO hires candidates who respond to these Statements of Work. If successful, you will be invited to a welcoming party where the fun (and the work) will begin.
- Register as a vendor on Alberta Purchasing Connection (APC). Download the DIO Prequalified Resource Request from APC.
- Complete the required components for a pre-qualification request, provided through PQR Appendix C:
- Proposal Submission Form;
- Proponent Profile;
- Resource Qualification Form (kept in the Excel format) for each of the roles that you are interested in.
- Resource resumes must be provided for each candidate put forward!
3. Submit your pre-qualification request to DIO.PQR@gov.ab.ca.
4. Respond to Statements of Work as they are distributed.
How to respond to a Statement of Work
When the DIO determines the need for a new hire, we send out a Statement of Work (SoW) to everyone on the prequalified list for that role. We may fill multiple job openings with one SoW. Responding to an SoW is very similar to getting prequalified, but may ask a few more questions.
Responding to an SoW is about showing how your skills and experience match what the DIO needs for that role.
- Connect your skills and experience to specific work examples or projects (simply saying that you had a job title of DevOps Engineer, Data Analyst, or Service Designer for three years doesn’t say much about what you actually did in that time).
- Be clear about your individual contributions on projects.
If you have questions, please email DIO.PQR@gov.ab.ca.
If you are an agency, consulting firm, or other company representing multiple individuals you may qualify for the PQR in the roles where you have expertise, and then put forward individuals for specific SoWS.
We know this can be a bit to work through, but it’s worth it. Public sector innovation work offers some of the largest scale impact in the world, and the DIO has a growing community of passionate, friendly, and fun world-class practitioners. Government serves millions of people, and the decisions, design, development, and delivery of DIO teams and program partners make a meaningful difference. We’re looking forward to hearing from you.
