How to Select a Recipient-Appointed Advisor

Who is this guide for?

This guide is for recipients of departmental funding who need and/or are required to seek advisory support in addressing individual program areas (e.g. educational services, social assistance services, financial management, etc.), and recipients who are in default or in risk of defaulting on the terms and conditions of their funding agreement with Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC).

What to look for in Selecting a Recipient-Appointed Advisor?

It is the recipient's responsibility to identify, select, manage and remunerate the appropriate Recipient-Appointed Advisor (RAA) to address area(s) of risk or default. The Chief, Council members, and other appropriate administrative personnel managing the funding agreement should be involved with the selection process.

From a departmental standpoint, the regional office and/or department official who manage the Funding Agreement can support the recipient in finding a Recipient-Appointed Advisor. Identifying the qualifications suitable for the particular challenge is the key and some suggestions can be found below.

Suggested Recipient-Appointed Advisor Qualifications

Minimum Suggested Qualifications

The following minimum qualifications are suggested for the Recipient-Appointed Advisor:

• Ability to work with the recipient to build capacity in risk or default areas identified.
• Possession of a college diploma or university degree.
• Possession of a Chartered Accountant, Certified Management Accountant, Certified General Accountant or Certified Aboriginal Financial Manager designation in good standing if the default relates to financial management.
• Experience in working with communities, especially First Nations and Aboriginal organizations.

Other Suggested Qualifications

A number of other qualifications can help to find the right advisor, especially knowledge of the work:

• Knowledge of the federal government's funding relationship processes (e.g. funding agreements, program delivery requirements, Provincial/Territorial program guidelines).
• Knowledge of the Default Prevention and Management Policy.
• Knowledge of Recipient Reporting Requirements.

Experience in the following areas would be an asset:

• Previous experience as a Recipient-Appointed Advisor, Co-Manager, Expert Resource, or Third Party Manager.
• Project management.
• People management (e.g. coaching, training, developing staff, providing leadership).
• Developing and implementing human resource strategies.
• Dispute resolution.
• Negotiating agreements with creditors.

A suitable Recipient-Appointed Advisor will have direct expertise in the management area that requires attention, for example:

For specific program areas, experience with related responsibilities is considered an asset for the Recipient-Appointed Advisor, for example:

Once the qualifications have been identified:

• Get the word out: contact Tribal Councils, First Nation Governments or other First Nations, the regional Human Resources and Skills Development Canada office, other associations of professionals.
• Look to region specific 'communities of practice' or other supports.
• Go online: post an offer on various media outlets such as an internet job site, newspapers, social media, etc.

For legal reasons, the department may not name or provide actual potential Recipient-Appointed Advisors to recipients, but the recipient can contact the department to obtain the name of a recipient who has had a similar experience and who may be willing to help.

Reference Checking

Since the recipient will be working closely with the Recipient-Appointed Advisor for an undetermined amount of time, selecting a Recipient-Appointed Advisor with the best qualifications is a very important part of the process. Consequently, once the list of Recipient-Appointed Advisor potential candidates has been narrowed, references should be sought to look for consistency among comments. One resource is the Public Service Commission of Canada's Structured Reference Checking Guide.

Conflict of Interest

Avoiding real or perceived conflicts of interest needs to be taken into account during the selection process. If not properly addressed, conflicts of interest can cause problems and affect program and service delivery. A conflict of interest does not relate exclusively to matters concerning financial transactions.

A conflict of interest is defined as a situation in which an individual has private interests that could improperly influence the performance of his or her official duties and responsibilities or in which the individual uses his or her office for personal gain.

Before the recipient enters into an agreement with the Recipient-Appointed Advisor, the department must obtain from the Recipient-Appointed Advisor a signed 'Conflict of Interest Declaration for Recipient-Appointed Advisor' form (Annex B) regarding all outside activities or assets that might give rise to a conflict of interest with respect to their official duties. The form should be updated every time a major change occurs in their personal affairs or official duties.

With respect to the arrangements necessary to prevent real, apparent or potential conflict of interest, or to comply with the requirements set out above, it is expected that situations will be resolved through discussion and agreement between the department and the recipient.