Director, Curriculum Policy, Strategy & Assurance

Role Responsibilities

The Ministry of Education and Childcare is seeking a strategic and collaborative leader to serve as Director, Curriculum Policy, Strategy & Assurance. Reporting to the Executive Director, Humanities, Languages & Curriculum Strategy, this leadership role provides direction and oversight for research and policy, curriculum assurance and continuous improvement, and strategic planning  to support Kindergarten to Grade 12 education across Alberta.

This role leads multidisciplinary teams, provides advice to senior ministry executives, fosters collaboration with education partners and stakeholders, and ensures curriculum aligns with legislation, government priorities, emerging research, digital literacy, and the responsible use of artificial intelligence. Success in this position requires strong leadership, political acumen, relationship management skills, and the ability to navigate complex issues while advancing high-quality educational outcomes for Alberta.

This role is responsible for:

• Leading the development and continuous improvement of Kindergarten to Grade 12 curriculum development guidelines and policy frameworks.
• Providing strategic leadership on curriculum assurance, continuous improvement, evaluation, and risk management.
• Guiding how literacy, numeracy, competencies, digital literacy, and artificial intelligence are incorporated into curriculum to support student learning.
• Overseeing curriculum policy interpretation, legislative alignment, and implementation.
• Building and maintaining effective relationships with ministry partners, school jurisdictions, educational stakeholders, and government partners.
• Leading complex projects, strategic initiatives, and cross-divisional collaborations.
• Managing branch human, financial, and operational resources, while fostering a high-performing and inclusive workplace culture.
• Providing executive briefings, strategic analysis, and recommendations to senior leadership on emerging issues and opportunities.

The Job Description is provided for Further details on this position.

APS Competencies

Competencies are behaviors that are essential to reach our goals in serving Albertans. We encourage you to have an in depth understanding of the competencies that are required for this opportunity and to be prepared to demonstrate them during the recruitment process.

• Agility: Demonstrates the ability to lead and adapt through change in a complex and evolving environment. The successful candidate can anticipate emerging issues, adjust priorities in response to shifting organizational needs, and maintain focus during periods of uncertainty. This includes supporting staff through change initiatives, implementing new approaches to improve outcomes, and responding effectively to competing priorities while maintaining operational excellence.
• Drive for Results: Takes accountability for achieving outcomes and delivering high-quality results in a fast-paced environment. This includes proactively identifying risks, removing barriers, making sound decisions, and holding self and others accountable for performance. The ability to balance political, stakeholder, operational, and fiscal considerations while delivering on ministry priorities is essential.
• Build Collaborative Environments: Builds trust and fosters meaningful collaboration across teams, ministries, school authorities, education partners, and stakeholder groups. This competency includes the ability to engage diverse perspectives, facilitate constructive dialogue, resolve conflict, and create alignment among groups with competing interests to achieve shared outcomes
• Develop Networks: You will build and maintain strong working relationships with internal and external partners to support engagement, knowledge exchange, and coordinated action on AI in education.
• Creative Problem Solving: Uses sound judgment, research, analysis, and critical thinking to address complex and often unprecedented challenges. This includes synthesizing diverse information, evaluating potential impacts, identifying innovative solutions, and making recommendations that consider stakeholder needs, political sensitivities, operational realities, and strategic outcomes
• Develop Self and Others: Creates a culture of continuous learning, engagement, and excellence by coaching, mentoring, and supporting the growth of staff and leaders. The successful candidate empowers teams, promotes innovation and knowledge sharing, establishes clear expectations, and develops talent to build organizational capacity and succession readiness

Qualifications

University graduation in a related field (Public Administration, Education, etc.), plus 7 years of related experience or equivalent as described below.

Equivalency: Directly related education or experience considered on the basis of:

• 1 year of education for 1 year of experience; or
• 1 year of experience for 1 year of education.

The ideal candidate will possess:

• Extensive leadership experience within public administration, policy, education or a related environment.
• Experience leading complex policy, strategic planning, curriculum, or program initiatives.
• Demonstrated success managing diverse stakeholder relationships and navigating politically sensitive issues.
• Strong experience in strategic engagement, organizational leadership, and project management.
• Exceptional verbal, written, presentation, and briefing skills.
• Experience managing multiple priorities while delivering high-quality results in a dynamic environment.

Assets:

• Knowledge of Kindergarten to Grade 12 curriculum development, implementation, and evaluation.
• Understanding of legislation, policy development, and government decision-making processes.
• Experience working with artificial intelligence tools and applications to support research, analysis, and operational effectiveness.
• Understanding of ethical, privacy, and responsible-use considerations related to artificial intelligence.

Note: For professional work related to Communications (e.g. Public Affairs Officer), a directly related diploma is considered equivalent to university graduation in a related field.

Minimum recruitment standards outline the minimum education and experience required for appointment to a job classification.

Notes

This is a permanent position, and the hours of work are a total of 36.25 hours per week working out of Edmonton.

A cover letter demonstrating your qualifications, experience and skills for this position is required and will be used as a screening tool. 

Any costs associated with obtaining the required documents/checks as noted or interview travel expenses will be the responsibility of the candidate. Out-of-province applicants can obtain the required documents/checks from the province they currently reside in.

Any costs associated with obtaining the required documents/checks as noted or interview travel expenses, will be the responsibility of the candidate. Out-of-province applicants can obtain the required documents/checks from the province they currently reside in.

Links and information on what we have to offer:

• Working for the Alberta Public Service
• Management Employee Pension Plan (MEPP)
• Alberta Public Service Benefit Information
• Professional learning and development
• Research Alberta Public Service Careers tool
• Positive workplace culture and work-life balance