Welcome to your 98.6 sq km office
Learn what it's like to work for the City of Burnaby and discover the benefits we offer.
Our city
Burnaby is the third-largest city in British Columbia. More than 240,000 residents call our city and its stunning surrounding environment home. Burnaby occupies 98.6 square kilometres (38 square miles) of land that includes mountains, trails, parks and lakes, and as a workplace, it offers no end of challenges and adventure.
We're a vibrant, green, inclusive community committed to creating and sustaining the best quality of life for all and offer purposeful and rewarding career opportunities for our employees.
The City of Burnaby has been named as one of BC’s Top Employers. We’re honoured to be included among industry leaders and innovative organizations across the province. We’re committed to continuing to build the best workplace in B.C.
Who we hire
We look for candidates with top skills, knowledge and abilities. If you share our core values (Community, Integrity, Respect, Innovation and Passion), have a positive attitude and want to positively impact the future of Burnaby, we want to hear from you.
We are committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workforce that authentically mirrors the vibrant community we proudly serve. We consistently embrace diversity and endeavor to build an inclusive workforce that celebrates the richness of our community. We warmly welcome applicants of all genders, ages, ethnicities, cultures, abilities, sexual orientations, and life experiences to join us in shaping a more vibrant and equitable future together.
If you're looking for a great career opportunity, look no further.
Why work here
We provide facilities and services that support a safe, connected, inclusive, healthy and dynamic community. We manage laws that affect Burnaby and are in charge of parks, roads, sewers, libraries, public safety, transportation, water systems and more.
There are many great reasons for you to join us, but most importantly you'll be part of a team that always puts people first. In the past year, we:
- Finalized Burnaby's Housing + Homelessness Strategy, which specifies actions the City will take to improve housing opportunities for the community in the next 10 years.
- Delivered over 20,000 frozen meals to seniors and vulnerable people.
- Became one of the first cities to join the Building Benchmark BC program to achieve our climate goals.
- Participated in another season of the Walk30 Burnaby challenge that inspires residents to walk more to improve mental and physical health.
We're only able to achieve these amazing things because we have dedicated and committed employees.
What we offer
Apart from the rewards of supporting our community and working for one of Canada's best cities, we offer for some staff:
- extended health and dental coverage
- life insurance
- Municipal Pension Plan
- sickness plan
- Employee and Family Assistance Program–employees have access to certified counsellors 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- vacation time starting at 3 weeks (prorated for the first year of employment)
- supplementary employment insurance benefits for maternity leave
- healthy living and work-life balance–we promote and encourage employee well-being by offering a variety of programs including, lunchtime information sessions, team events, discounted fitness classes and online health and well-being resources
- Learning and growth opportunities–we offer an extensive selection of in-class and online courses to enable employee learning and development and provide funding to support career development
- Hour-long lunch breaks with the option to enjoy a stroll through nearby Deer Lake Park
- Free parking
Pay Transparency Report
The City of Burnaby proudly publishes an annual Pay Transparency Report, highlighting our commitment to pay equity and fair treatment for all workers. We’re ahead of the provincial average for pay equity in BC, reflecting our dedication to a workplace rooted in fairness and inclusion. We remain committed to closing the gap and ensuring all employees are compensated equitably for their contributions.
How to become a Burnaby Firefighter
Read moreQuestions and answers
Search for roles and apply online on our careers page.
To work for the City of Burnaby, you must be at least 16 years of age and either a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or a valid work permit holder. We’re an equal opportunity employer and encourage applications from anyone who meets those requirements.
A resume is an opportunity to differentiate your skills, knowledge and abilities from others with potentially similar backgrounds. In essence, it’s important to accurately showcase your accomplishments to ensure that the hiring manager can see you have the skills needed to do the work. You can use whatever format you prefer, but listed below are the 3 general formats typically used.
- Chronological
- Functional
- Combination of Chronological and Functional
Chronological
This format reflects each job and a summary of the key skills you gained from each position. This type of resume is usually of value for job seekers who are job searching in one core area of expertise they have worked in for most of their career.
Functional
This format showcases the relevant skills necessary for the position usually listed under one title instead of different jobs. This is the ideal format to use when changing careers to highlight the transferable skills you may have gained from various positions.
Combination
This format includes a listing of the sought after skills and touches on the tasks performed for each job. It’s the most detailed and can potentially be the most repetitive of the formats if not done well.
Whatever the format you chose, ensure that your resume clearly describes your skills, education, knowledge and experiences and relates to the positions advertised.
The tips provided here are just a starting point. The internet and our libraries are excellent resources to get more information.
Congratulations. Preparing for your interview is important. Before you meet with our hiring panel, read through the job posting carefully and ensure you’re aware of the role's requirements. Next, consider tasks you’ve performed, problems you've solved and experiences you’ve had in the past that you could apply to the job you’re interviewing for.
The interviewer may ask you a mix of technical, situational and behavioural questions related to the role. Check online resources for sample interview questions. Practice your answers on your own or with someone you trust.
The information below will help you understand how you can prepare for an interview with the City.
Technical questions
Technical questions help interviewers learn about your skills, knowledge and abilities and how you approach problems, process information etc.
Examples:
- What does WHMIS stand for and its purpose?
- Explain a technology (e.g. blockchain) in simple terms.
Situational or hypothetical questions
These questions ask you to put yourself in an imaginary situation and describe how you would handle it.
Examples:
- As a cashier, what would you do if your cash wasn't balancing?
- How would you deal with a difficult coworker?
Behavioural questions
These questions ask you to recall an experience and describe how you handled it. Choose an experience where you successfully resolved the issue or perhaps learned from your mistakes.
The best way to answer behavioural questions is by using the STAR technique outlined below.
Examples:
- Tell us about a time when you had multiple deadlines and how you handled them?
- Give us an example of when you successfully persuaded someone to see things your way at work.
STAR technique
- Situation: Set the scene and describe the situation you were in. What were the challenges/obstacles?
- Task: explain the task you were asked to complete.
- Action: describe the steps you took to complete the task.
- Result: what results did you accomplish? Were the results positive or negative? Would you do anything differently the next time? What were your learnings?
The tips provided here are just a starting point. The internet and our libraries are excellent resources to get more information.
We take the following steps:
- All our positions are posted online. Once the application period ends, we begin reviewing and shortlisting candidates.
- Depending on the vacancy, shortlisted candidates may be required to complete a standardized test to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and/or abilities.
- Candidates who pass the test are interviewed, by a panel. Every candidate is asked the same set of questions and ranked based on their performance. If you have the best skills, knowledge and aptitude for the job, you're selected to move to the next round.
- The HR team conducts employee reference checks. Depending on the job, we may also require a criminal record search.
- If everything goes well, we make you an offer.
If any of the information on your resume changes –such as an address, phone number or email–you can update your profile information by logging into the account you may have created with us.
Every position may have specific requirements. You can apply for multiple positions if you qualify.
Yes. Seasonal work is essential to the ongoing maintenance of our city and can range from temporary full-time roles to on-call work.
That will depend on the kind of job you're applying for.
If you’re applying for a position where you may be in contact with vulnerable people, we require a satisfactory criminal record search before making you an offer of employment.
In addition, positions in the Burnaby Detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) require a comprehensive Enhanced RCMP Security Clearance or Top-Secret RCMP Security Clearance.
A criminal record doesn’t exclude you from employment with the City of Burnaby. When we review your application, we’ll consider the nature of the offence, when it took place and its relevance to the position you’re applying for.
We handle all information confidentially and expect you to be truthful throughout the application process. Failure to inform us may result in forfeiture of your rights to employment with the city.
Because of the large number of resumes we receive, we regret that we’re only able to contact shortlisted candidates.