Employees

Assistant Deputy Minister

Employee Name:

Shauna Brouwer

Title:

Assistant Deputy Minister

Ministry:

Ministry of Community and Rural Development

Background:

Education: Bachelor of Arts (UVIC); MBA (Loma Linda University)
Member of the BC Public Service Since: 1990

My Role

As the Assistant Deputy Minister of Management Services, I lead a fantastic team of people whose key objective is to support staff in our Ministries to operate as efficiently and effectively as possible as they deliver important services for the citizens of the province. My team and I make sure the resources - people, space, money, systems, and business processes - are in place and functioning well across all areas of the two Ministries. We are the backbone for budget negotiation, IT support, strategic Human Resources. We bring people in, train them up and keep them happy so they can help deliver programs to the public.

Career Path:

I began with the public service in the Office of the Auditor General. It was a great place to gain an overall perspective of government. From there, I progressed through several financial positions including the Senior Financial Officer role, Executive Director to the position I currently have - the Assistant Deputy Minister, Management Services for the Ministries of Community Services and Tourism, Sports and the Arts.

What I Like Best:

I always wanted to be Assistant Deputy Minister. I like the fact that something new and challenging happens every day; there is always an element of surprise. The complexity of work and the problems I get to help solve are lots of fun. It's been a great career here. I work with some really wonderful, dedicated, inspiring people.

Ideas At Work:

Daily, I see my ideas and those of my team come to life in the Ministries. The biggest difference I make is contributing to a positive, respectful work environment for my team and myself. This "work family" environment we have collectively created here has been an effective model that is not only great to work in, but really motivates our team to deliver top quality services and also helps us attract great people to work here. We put together a lot of business cases to support getting new programs on the ground or to enhance programs on already on the ground. My job is to give the ministers the best advice and facts and figures I can, so they can make decisions.

Advice:

Take all the tough jobs and serve others both in the work you do and your leadership style. This has been the source of the daily joy of my work and has made all the difference to my career. It's your mental stamina that matters more than your skill set. The hard skills will get you your first few jobs, but it's your people skills and negotiating that get you to those higher levels. Leadership abilities are essential to this role.