So……what DO I do up here?

On the heels of what Yellowknife is like for us up here comes the question about the actual position I hold, and how it relates to previous work?

When I applied to this job – Information Coordinator, I can assure you that what I read in the job description and what it actually is, reveals some distinct differences. Though I’m inclined to believe my perception at the time of applying was filled with hope and inspiration and the huge desire to make a change in my life and, therefore prompted me to see the role a certain way, I also believe that job ads, as thorough as they sometimes are, tend to be a muddle of words verging on gobbilty gook. Therefore, it’s difficult to imagine that I would have been able to see the ‘real’ job between the lines of the crafted description. With no intent to convey any dissatisfaction with the reality of the job – plain and simple it is different from what I expected and time will inevitably reveal the entire magnitude of relevant tasks and duties.

Specifically, my role lies within the Petroleum Products Division (PPD) of the Department of Public Works and Services, Government of the Northwest Territories. PPD sells select petroleum products to businesses, residents, and government departments in 16 NWT communities where there is no private sector supplier. We are also responsible for purchasing these petroleum products and arranging for transportation of the products to those communities, as well as for sales, inventory management, and other related functions.  Transportation to communities is provided on a contract basis and consists of barge, and truck transportation: the two most common products sold by the division are home heating fuel and gasoline. The primary feature that makes PPD’s environment different from many other petroleum product distribution companies is the location; PPD operates in geographically dispersed, environmentally hostile, sparsely populated locations that may not be year round accessible.

Since a picture is worth a thousand words…..here is the actual building that houses the Public Works and Services department - my division is on the 2^nd floor.

Back to point – what do I do? Well, as we have been living in an information age for some time now, my role is to manage some (or most) of that information as it pertains to the Petroleum Products Division. When I came into the position in November, the government had converted their electronic records management to a new system. While it would be safe to assume they had been using a standardized system previously, it doesn’t appear it was as efficient and procedural as it should have been given many comparables across Canada that have been doing so for quite some time. Needless to say it was recognized that in effort to account for record management integrity, it was time to move towards complete immersion in that task – no matter how painful that might be.

Basically, the role currently involves managing paper files and electronic files and making sure they have been classified according to the Administrative and Operational Filing Structure and that they are filed correctly within the electronic filing system (which is huge). Working with active and non-active records and transferring to a Records Centre takes up most of my time. Additionally, I support the division with meetings and correspondence and contract editing etc. In the near future we will endeavour a website overhaul which will be a project I will manage. Though it is 100% different and requires major adaptation from the recent past, I do enjoy the variations – some subtle, others not so much and have determined that next weeks’ blog will be a more suitable place to explore those variations further. Until then, enjoy your work week - however that looks.