Be a Returning Officer or Assistant Returning Officer

The Jobs

Manage the returning office – insure a free and fair election in your community.

Keys to success:

excellent people skills and the ability to motivate others
project management experience
organizational skills, attentive to detail
ability to work independently
time management skills, the ability to multi-task
good written and oral communications skills
computer literate, experienced with Microsoft Office

Would be an asset:

experience with record keeping
experience hiring and training

Returning Officer Job Description

Assistant Returning Officer Job Description

Work Term

You must be available on an intermittent basis for training and planning activities up to an election and to work full-time during an election. Manitoba now has a set date for General Elections. The first set date election is planned for October 4, 2011. In that case, the position will be staffed full-time for a three month period from mid-July 2011 to mid-October 2011. However, provisions in Manitoba's election legislation still allow for an election to be called at any time. In that scenario, the full-time period of work is shorter, approximately five weeks.

This is a paid position. In past elections, payment was approximately $8,500 for Returning Officers and $6,300 for Assistant Returning Officers, plus compensation for training and planning work done before the election. The pay schedule is currently under review.

Election law requires employers, in most circumstances, to grant unpaid leave to anyone wanting to work as a Returning Officer or Assistant Returning Officer.

To Qualify

You must be an eligible voter in your electoral division, i.e.:
- a Canadian citizen
- at least 18 years of age
- a resident in Manitoba for at least six months

You must demonstrate that you can conduct the Office in a non-political manner

Knowledge of your electoral division is also an asset. You can use the search on the Electoral Divisions Boundaries Commission website to determine which division you live in.

There are vacancies in the following divisions ONLY:

Burrows	Spruce Woods
Concordia	St. Boniface*
Kildonan	St. Norbert*
La Verendrye*	St. Vital*
Logan	Steinbach
Minto	The Pas
Rossmere	Thompson

*French language skills are preferred in designated bilingual electoral divisions.

How to Apply

Complete the application form. A resume alone will not be accepted and is not required.

If you have questions about how to complete the form, please call 945-7940 or 1-866-628-6837 ext. 7940 or email ROrecruit@elections.mb.ca

Apply before: N/A

We thank all who apply and advise that only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.

Selection Process

Returning Officers and Assistant Returning Officers are appointed based on merit with respect to qualifications and skills. There are three steps in the selection process:

Evaluation of the application. This evaluation will establish whether your experience has included activities relevant to the position(s). It is therefore in your best interest to include all related experience, including any in the election field. This would include full-time and part-time employment, paid and unpaid positions, social, community and volunteer experience. Only those applicants who successfully pass this evaluation stage will be called for interviews. An interview kit will be sent to those applicants to help them prepare.
Interviews. The interview will be conducted by a selection board.
Second interviews with top candidates. Lastly, the recommended applicants will have a second panel interview before an appointment is made.