Communications Consultant

Reporting to the Associate Director, Strategic Communications and Public Affairs, the Communications Consultant is responsible for enhancing corporate and departmental objectives by providing strategic communications counsel and tactical support to internal clients. The role provides assigned department client leadership in the areas of public relations, community relations, public affairs, resource development, internal communications, and media relations. The Communications Consultant is a member of the Crisis Communications Response Team.

• College or university degree/equivalent in communications, public relations, journalism or related discipline.

• Five years’ experience in issues management, internal communications, public relations, public affairs, community consultation and media relations.\
• More than five years’ experience in issues management, internal communications, public relations, public affairs, community consultation and media relations is preferred.
• Professional accreditation in Public Relations or other communications-based professional organization an asset is preferred.

• Provides advice and counsel to clients on matters of reputation, internal communication, public affairs and media relations.
• Anticipates potentially contentious issues impacting the Corporation and/or client, advising on best methods of proactively and positively addressing them.
• Researches and prepares communiqués on behalf of Commissioners, Directors or the CAO and for presentation to Regional Councilors, Regional Chairman, and the Corporate Leadership Team on potentially contentious or sensitive issues to ensure positive outcomes and accurate information sharing with external stakeholders.

• Prepares media products, organizing media conferences, and identifying and encouraging opportunities for positive media coverage.
• Initiates and maintains contact with the media by monitoring news media, reviewing and analyzing media coverage and maintaining media contact list.
• Assists in the development and maintenance of Strategic Communications and Public Affairs policies and procedures to ensure that public relations services provided by the division are delivered consistently to all clients.
• Facilitates all phases of public relations required to reach a client’s internal and external target audiences.
• Co-ordinates projects, programs or events, collaborating with internal resources to manage plans and logistics.

• Researches, analyzes, plans, develops and implements communications plans and strategies designed to assist the Corporation in building positive relations with the public.
• Provides advice on public consultation, web-based communications, social marketing, and business literacy areas.

• Identifies opportunities to improve/enhance internal communication vehicles and channels for client departments and the Corporation.
• Maintains corporate identity standards, ensuring Visual Identity Guidelines and graphics and design standards are followed.

• May be required to support emergency operations under the incident management structure, at the direction of the Emergency Operations Centre Director
• Regional staff strive to enable the strategic priorities of council and the organization through the completion of their work. Staff carry out their work by demonstrating the corporate values.