DND Area of Selection Framework
Identification
Date of Issue
2005-12-31
Application
This Framework applies to:
 advertised external appointment processes; and
 advertised and non-advertised internal appointment processes.
This Framework does not apply to:
 external non-advertised appointment processes;
 incumbent-based appointment processes;
 deployments; and
 persons who are entitled to a priority for appointment in accordance with the:
- Public Service Employment Act (PSEA); and
- Public Service Employment Regulations (PSER).
Enquiries
Director Civilian Employment Policies (DCEP)
Document
Contents
This document contains the following topics:
Topic
Page
Basic Information:
 Overview
 Definitions
 Special Considerations
Internal Appointment Process
 Geographic Criterion
 Organizational Criterion
 Occupational Criterion
External Appointment Process
Annex A (EX, EX Minus 1and EX Minus 2 Equivalencies
2
2
4
5
6
7
9
11
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Basic Information
Overview
Purpose
This document describes how to go about determining an area of selection for internal
or external appointment processes.
Area of Selection An area of selection is established under section 34 of the Public Service Employment
Act (PSEA) to provide:
 reasonable access to internal and external appointments; and
 a reasonable area of recourse for internal non-advertised appointments.
An area of selection determines who is eligible in an appointment process by
establishing geographic, organizational or occupational criteria or by establishing, as a
criterion, belonging to any of the Employment Equity (EE) designated groups.
Context
This document is to be read in conjunction with DAOD 5029-1, Area of Selection and
with the Public Service Commission’s Area of Selection Policy.
Considerations
The following are some of the factors that will have an impact on determining the area
of selection:
 group and level;
 location of the job;
 number of positions to be staffed;
 specializations required;
 language requirements;
 organization’s Human Resources (HR) plan;
 EE requirements;
 tenure of position;
 pool of candidates;
 costs.
The higher the level of the position, the broader the area of selection should be.
Definitions
Advertised
Appointment
Advertised appointment process means a process in which persons in the area of
selection:
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Process


Employee
Employee means a person employed in that part of the public service to which the
Commission has the exclusive right and authority to make appointments.
are informed of a job opening; and
have an opportunity to apply and demonstrate their qualifications against merit
criteria.
Area of selection employment equity criterion means the criterion that consists in
Employment
Equity Criterion limiting an area of selection to one or more of the designated groups.
Different geographical, organizational or occupational criteria may also be established
for designated groups.
Employment
Equity
Designated
Groups
Are defined in the Employment Equity Act, and include members of visible minorities,
women, persons with disabilities, and aboriginal peoples.
External
Appointment
Process
External appointment process means a process in which persons may be considered
whether or not they are employed in the public service.
Geographic
Criterion
Area of selection geographic criterion refers to where persons must reside or be
employed in order to be eligible for appointment. The area of selection may be local,
regional or national.
IncumbentBased
Appointment
Process
Incumbent-based appointment process means an appointment in the SE-RES, DS, HR,
or UT groups where the classification of the employee is dependant upon their
professional qualifications, as opposed to being dependant upon the classification of
their position.
Internal
Appointment
Process
An internal appointment process is one in which only persons employed in the public
service may be considered.
Non-Advertised
Appointment
Process
Non-advertised appointment process means a process where there is no advertised
notice given of a job opening.
Occupational
Criterion
Area of selection occupational criterion refers to an occupational stream that may span
several occupations or classifications, or may be more specific and refer to a particular
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occupation or participants within a developmental program.
Organizational
Criterion
Area of selection organizational criterion refers to the organization(s) in which persons
must be employed, or in the case of students, the educational institution they attend.
Public Service
The public service means the several positions in or under
(a) the departments named in Schedule I to the Financial Administration Act;
(b) the organizations named in Schedule IV to that Act; and
(c) the separate agencies named in Schedule V of that Act.
Separate Agency A separate agency means an organization named in Schedule V to the Financial
Administration Act.
Special Considerations
Sliding Area of
Selection
When it is not certain that a reasonable candidate pool exists within the normal Area of
Selection, it is possible to establish an area that indicates that a larger Area of Selection
will be used if an insufficient number of persons from the smaller area apply.
Suggested wording for the “open to” clause:
“Open to employees/persons employed in DND at CFB Edmonton. Should an
insufficient number of candidates be identified, then employees/persons employed in
the Public Service in the greater Edmonton area will also be eligible”.
Lifeline
Provisions
Lifeline provisions were implemented to provide job opportunities to employees who
agreed to relocate with their organization from the National Capital Region (NCR) to
another location in Canada, but who wish to return to their original work location.
These provisions apply to persons who joined the National Energy Board in Calgary,
Alberta before July 1, 1996, and to Veterans Affairs Canada in Charlottetown, PEI, if
the Area of Selection is open to the public service in the NCR. It is significant to note
that in such a situation, the home department pays for expenses to attend a selection
process, and for any relocation costs if the person is appointed to DND.
Telework
For the purposes of area of selection, the workplace of persons who telework is the
organization where their substantive position is located.
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Internal Appointment Process
Geographic Criterion
Options
Because National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ) is organized differently from base or
support unit levels, the area of selection geographic criterion shall be, in many cases,
defined differently for NDHQ and the base or support unit levels, as outlined in the
following table:
For…
base or support
unit levels,
NDHQ
“local” means…
 a base or
support unit
with or
without its
lodger and
integral units
and
detachments;
or
 a single lodger
or integral
unit, or
detachment as
long as it
permits a
reasonable
area of
selection;
“regional” means
an area that is
smaller than
national, but larger
than local.
“national” means
across Canada and
may include
employees working
abroad.
Note - The
following may be
used to describe a
regional area:
 counties;
 municipalities;
 postal codes;
 radii; and
 other
definitions of
regional areas.
Note - To include
employees from
outside Canada, the
"open to" clause shall:
 make specific
reference to such
employees; or
 be silent with
regards to the
geographic
element.
the area defined in
the Schedule to the
National Capital
Act, generally
known as the
National Capital
Region;
the area defined in
the Schedule to the
National Capital
Act, generally
known as the NCR.
Example:
The "open to" clause
could state:
 "open to
employees of the
Public Service in
Canada and
abroad"; or
 "open to
employees in the
Public Service".
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Organizational Criterion
Options
The organization(s) to which a candidate must belong to be eligible can be described in
one of four different ways: Org 1, Org 2, Org 3 and Org 4, in ascending order of
magnitude.
Org 1
Part of the Department smaller than that defined in Org 2, where such a definition
permits a reasonable area of selection. As a minimum, it includes all positions in the
unit where the position in located.
Org 2
Because of the differences between bases and NDHQ, Org 2 is defined differently for
NDHQ and the base or support unit levels, as outlined in the following table:
For…
Org 2 means…
base or support
a unit which may be defined as a branch, or a lodger or integral
unit levels,
unit where such organizations permit a reasonable area of
selection.
NDHQ
one or more of the following organizations in such a way as to
provide for a reasonable number of candidates:
 ADM (Mat)
 ADM (Pol)
 ADM Fin (CS)
 ADM HR (Mil)
 ADM HR (Civ)
 ADM (IE)
 ADM (IM)
 ADM (S&T)/DRDC
 ADM (PA)
 CFHA
 NSS
 Ombudsman
 All of the following:
 MND
 DM
 CDS
 DCDS
 VCDS
 CAS
 CLS
 CMS
 CRS
 JAG
 CFLA
 CMJ
Org 3
The Department of National Defence.
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Note: Org 3 may be expanded progressively without proceeding directly to Org 4. As
an illustration, to advertise a ship’s officer vacancy, the Area of Selection may be
expanded to include the Department of National Defence, plus the Departments of
Transport and Fisheries and Oceans, which are organizations where ship’s officers are
known to exist.
Org 4
Employees of the public service at large, depending on the wording, as follows:
 “Open to employees of…”: This includes employees of the public service at large,
employees of separate agencies, and employees of the Public Service Staffing
Tribunal (PSST). This wording excludes secondees or assignees and those
appointed on an acting basis, unless they specifically meet the organizational
criterion via their substantive positions. For example, for persons who are on
secondment or acting from another department, the “open to” clause would have to
include their home department.
 “Open to persons employed... ”: This includes all those in the section above,
employees of those organizations so designated by the Governor in Council as per
Section 35 (4) of the (PSEA), as well as secondees, assignees, and those
appointed on an acting basis.
In addition to the above, as of 1 April 2006, members of the Canadian Forces (CF) will
be eligible to apply on an internal advertised process where the Area of Selection
specifically includes them. A member is defined as a person enrolled in the CF.
Appropriate wording to use would be “Open to employees of…and members of the
Canadian Forces”.
Note that the terminology to use for an “Open to” clause is “employees”, “persons
employed”, and “CF members”. Terms such as “occupying a position” or “appointed
pursuant to the Public Service Employment Act” are not to be used.
Internal nonadvertised
processes
For internal non-advertised appointment processes, the area of recourse shall include,
as a minimum, the:
 work unit to which the appointment is made; and
 previous work unit of the selected candidate.
Occupational Criterion
Definition
Refers to the occupational groups, sub-groups and levels at which potential candidates
must be classified in order to be eligible to compete.
Use
The occupational criterion to be used:
 when numbers of potential candidates could become unmanageable;
 for participants within a developmental program; or
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
for positions where a high degree of technical, administrative or professional
expertise and knowledge is required, which would normally be found only among
employees already in the groups where the vacancy exists.
Discretion shall be exercised so the use of the occupational criterion does not become
excessively restrictive.
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External Appointment Process
Overview
When established for an external appointment process, the area of selection enhances
access to persons who reflect a myriad of backgrounds, skills and professions needed
to serve Canadians in their official language of choice.
Geographic
Criterion
For external appointment processes, this criterion refers to where persons must reside
or be employed. Students or other individuals temporarily residing outside the area of
selection who have a permanent residence within the area of selection are eligible to be
considered. As well, students or other individuals who are temporarily residing inside
the area of selection are also eligible.
The definitions for local, regional and national are different than those for internal
appointment processes, as outlined in the following table:
The term…
local
national
means…
the area that is considered normal commuting distance to the location
of the position.
Note - The following may be used to describe a local area of
selection:
 counties;
 municipalities;
 postal codes;
 radii; and
 other definitions of local areas.
across Canada and may include Canadians living abroad.
Note - A national area of selection (NAOS) shall be established for
all external recruitment for senior level positions. Senior-level
positions include:
 executive and equivalent positions; and
 positions at one and two levels below.
regional
See Annex A – EX, EX Minus 1 and EX Minus 2 Equivalencies for a
list of those positions by group and level.
smaller than national, but larger than local.
Occupational
Criterion
There may be situations where it would make sense to use the occupational criterion to
limit the selection to an occupational stream that spans several occupations (such as
administrative services, health care services, social sciences, functional communities
such as Science and Technology, etc.) or one specific occupation.
Organizational
There may be situations where it would make good business sense to use the
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criterion
organizational component to open competitions to employees of other levels of
government, not-for-profit organizations, professional associations, or private sector
organizations, to name a few.
In the case of students, the organizational criterion means the attending educational
institution.
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Annex A
EX, EX Minus 1 and EX Minus 2 Equivalencies
Occupational Groups and Levels
EX
AC 03
AI NOP 06
AI NOP 07
AI NOP 08
AO ETP 01
AO ETP 02
AR 07
AS 08
AU 06
CO 04
CS 05
DE 03
DE 04
DS 05
DS 06
DS 07
DS 08
DS 7A
DS 7B
DS AAA 07
DS BBB 07
ED EDS 06
EG ESS 11
EN ENG 06
EN SUR 06
ES 07
ES 08
LA AAA 02
LA AAA 03
LA BBB 02
LA BBB 03
LA CCC 03
LAI 02
LAII 02
MA 06
MA 07
MD MOF 02
MD MOF 03
MD MOF 04
MD MOF 05
MD MSP 01
MD MSP 02
MD MSP 03
MT 08
PC 05
PM 07
SE REM 01
SE REM 02
SE REM 03
SE RES 03
SE RES 04
SE RES 05
SG PEM 09
SO MAO 13
TI 09
UT 04
VM 05
WP 07
EX Minus 1
AC 02
AG 05
AI NOP 04
AI NOP 05
AI OPR 04
AI OPR 05
AO CAI 05
AO HPS 03
AR 06
AS 07
AU 05
BI 05
CA 02
CH 05
CO 03
DE 02
DS 04
ED EDS 05
EG 08
EL 09
EN ENG 05
EN SUR 05
ES 06
FI 04
FO 04
FS 02
GT 08
HE ADV 03
HE HME 05
HR 05
IS 06
MA 05
MD MOF 01
MT 07
ND ADV 03
ND HME 05
NU CHN 08
NU CON 01
NU HOS 08
OM 06
OP 04
PC 04
PE 06
PG 06
PH ADR 04
PM MCO 00
PM 06
PR 05
PS 05
RO 07
SE RES 02
SG PAT 07
SG PAT 08
SG PEM 08
SG SRE 08
SI 07
SI 08
SO INS 02
SO MAO 12
SW SCW 05
TI 08
TR 05
VM 04
WP 06
EX Minus 2
AG 04
AI NOP 02
AI NOP 03
AI OPR 03
AO CAI 04
AO HPS 02
AR 05
AS 06
AU 04
BI 04
CA 01
CH 04
CO 02
CS 04
DE 01
ED EDS 04
ED LAT 03
EG 07
EL 08
EN ENG 04
EN SUR 04
ES 05
FI 03
FO 03
GT 07
HR 04
IS 05
LA 01
LS 05
MA 04
MT 06
NU CHN 07
NU HOS 07
OM 05
OP 03
PC 03
PE 05
PG 05
PH 03
PH ADR 03
PI CGC 08
PM 05
PR 04
PS 04
RO 06
SG PAT 06
SG PEM 07
SG SRE 07
SI 06
SO INS 01
SO MAO 11
TI 07
TR 04
UT 03
VM 03
WP 05
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