Sandy Graves

Biography

Sandy joined the Nova Scotia public service in 1990, spending a great deal of her career in various programs within Community Services, Labour and Advanced Education, and Education and Early Childhood Development, mainly with a focus on attaching people to the labour market. She was appointed Associate Deputy Minister of Community Services / Status of Women in 2021, and is currently serving as Associate Deputy Minister for Labour, Skills and Immigration in Nova Scotia.

Sandy has a passion for equity, diversity and inclusion work and an interest in ensuring that citizens accessing government services receive fair and respectful service. Sandy has a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Dalhousie University and is known as a creator of environments for people to do their best work, on behalf of the citizens of Nova Scotia.

Current role

Associate Deputy Minister, Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration

The Associate Deputy Minister of the Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration supports the Deputy Minister in all aspects of the department and advises the deputy minister and minister on key issues.

Responsibilities include:

• supporting leadership of the branches of Skills and Learning; Labour Services; Equity, Engagement and Belonging; Corporate Policy and Services, Safety, Immigration and Population Growth, and the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency
• working with the Executive Leadership Team to ensure the department meets its mandate
• providing advice to the Minister, Deputy Minister and government

Previous roles

• Associate Deputy Minister, Department of Community Services / Status of Women
• Executive Director, Service Delivery, Department of Community Services
• Executive Director, Employment Support & Income Assistance, Department of Community Services
• Executive Lead, Collective Impact, Executive Council Office
• Director, Employment Nova Scotia, Labour & Advanced Education