Career story: senior policy analyst at Health Canada

What does a day in your shoes feel like? And what are the key skills that can make or break a career in your field?

We’ve asked a diverse group of Apolitical members to share their career story with us and the tips they have for junior public servants. In this article, Laetitia Guillemette explains why it’s important to let go of misplaced pride in their role as a senior policy analyst at Health Canada.

What is your current role and how do you spend your time on a standard day?

I currently work as a Senior Policy Analyst for Health Canada, our country's federal department of health. As I am split between two teams - policy and stakeholders' outreach - my standard day may seem atypical to other analysts. On one hand, I provide input on Canada's regulatory and policy positions related to projects linked to international agreements we are a part of; on the other hand, I coordinate meetings with our provincial and territorial counterparts to enable discussions of our common priorities and approaches. The main reason I accepted this role was for the unique possibility of grounding my department's positions and powers (jurisdictions) both regarding other countries and regarding its provinces and territories on similar files. In an ever-expanding public service where roles are becoming increasingly narrow in scope, I saw a chance of being a bit of a Jane-of-all-trades and took it.

What did you do before taking up this role?

Prior to this role, I was replacing a maternity leave as a scientific coordinator (coordinating both internal and external scientific advisory committees), and originally I entered the public service as a scientific evaluator for prescription drugs.

In your opinion, what are the most important skills someone needs to excel in your field?

After having worked in a few different fields - scientific evaluation, scientific coordination, policy - I would say that the most important skills to excel in policy are humility, transparency, strong interpersonal abilities, and communication.

Humility: No policy is perfect. A brief can always be improved. Know that, accept it, and let go of misplaced pride: comments and criticisms on your work aim to make your work better, for the benefit of entire communities. Take your ego out of the equation.

Transparency: Since our work will never be perfect, we need to be transparent about the pros and cons, on the consultations that were skipped, on the possible unintended effects, etc. Our citizens don't expect perfection, but they do want to understand how we are juggling priorities.

Strong interpersonal abilities: at its core, policy is teamwork. And since you never know who your most valuable teammate will be - sometimes someone in your team, but often it will be someone from a different team or even a different department - you need to cultivate your interpersonal skills. As an introvert, I had to learn and practice, outside of my comfort zone, but good news: it does get easier the more you do it. Learn how to listen, be patient and empathetic, how to ask questions and manage meetings efficiently, and you'll be setting yourself up for success.

Communication: policy isn't created in a void and it can't lead to anything if it's not communicated - first communicated internally to obtain approval, and then communicated externally to be implemented. Writing clearly and succinctly is a must, but so is communicating verbally to solicit feedback and generate enthusiasm around your ideas.

What is your favourite part of your job?

My absolute favourite part is the value I bring to Canadians and the tangible impacts my everyday work has on their opportunities to improve and maintain their health. I can trace the impact of my decisions from file to pharmacy (when I worked in drugs) or file to field (in my current role), and it brings me incredible pride to know that every day, I am contributing to improving the life - ever so slightly, but ever so positively - of my fellow citizens.

What advice would you give to new public servants who are interested in a career in your field?

Don't hesitate to do something unrelated to policy in school or in your career. In fact, actively pursue something different. Be a generalist before you try to become a specialist. A role in operations or regulations will give you a better understanding of realities "on the ground" and will help you make more informed policies later on. Many worthwhile initiatives fail because the analysts didn't consider operational barriers within their own organisation (sometimes even on the same floor!) and those aren't always things that can come up in an environmental scan. Additionally, the long-term benefits of multidisciplinarity on creative problem-solving in complex environments are undeniable. The "10 000 hours rule" is the exact opposite of what's needed in policy: better to dabble in many things than to have laser focus - and strong blinders - in one area.

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