Senior Manager, Communications and Public Relations

Open Date: September 11, 2023
Close Date: October 15, 2023

About the opportunity

We are seeking an experienced and highly motivated individual to join our team as Senior Manager of Communications and Public Relations. This role will be responsible for leading BCcampus public relations, communications, community engagement, and marketing efforts. Your expertise and strategic approach will play a vital role in advancing our organization’s objectives, enhancing our reputation, and promoting positive relationships with government and post-secondary partners.

The successful applicant will have proven experience in strategic communications and government relations, with experience in the B.C. post-secondary system an asset. You must be creative, able to solve complex problems, and have a passion for building strong relationships.

Infrequent travel will be required, and you may occasionally need to adjust your schedule to meet organizational priorities.

This role includes, but is not limited to:

Strategic Planning

Develop audience-focused engagement strategies that collect and address feedback from the identified audience.
Create and execute strategic visual and verbal communication plans, encompassing both external and internal communications, to align with organizational goals.

Public Relations and Engagement

Coordinate design, delivery, marketing, administration, and evaluation of outreach programs across a range of digital, print, and other formats.
Build and maintain strong relationships with media contacts at government ministries, post-secondary institutions, and related organizations.
Communicate the company’s strategic direction, support key priorities, and advance the company’s reputation through well-designed, strategic initiatives.

Content Development and Management

Design, build and deliver innovative, creative communication tactics and materials for varied internal and external communication channels.
Ensure consistent messaging and brand voice across all communication platforms.

Stakeholder Collaboration and Leadership

Work closely with internal teams to integrate marketing, outreach, engagement, and communication efforts with other strategic initiatives.
Promote thought leadership and provide strategic counsel, guidance, and support to senior leadership and internal teams on their communication needs and initiatives.
Provide leadership and direction to a geographically distributed team of staff and contractors.

Measurement and Evaluation

Establish performance metrics and track the effectiveness of strategic campaigns.
Conduct regular evaluation and analysis of communication efforts, providing recommendations for improvement and innovation.

The ideal candidate will have:

8+ years of experience as a communications professional with progressive accountability.
Experience designing, developing, and delivering strategic marketing, communications, and engagement strategies.
Strong managerial skills, including budget, organizational, project management, and problem-solving skills.
Excellent leadership skills, including motivating, developing, and coaching teams, as well as promoting cooperation and collaboration.
Exceptional abilities in written, visual, and oral communication.
Excellent public speaking skills with ability to assess outreach and engagement opportunities, create imaginative and innovative concepts, and translate them into campaigns and communications that resonate with target markets.
Proven ability to work closely with, influence, and develop strong business relationships with cross-functional teams, senior leadership, board members, and external stakeholders.
Excellent sense of initiative, ability to set priorities, and work under pressure with accuracy and dedication while maintaining connection between day-to-day activities and long-term vision.

See all the details about this job description.

EDI statement

BCcampus is committed to inclusion. From the workplace to our learning spaces, we value diversity and are actively working to decolonize our organization and the ways in which we collaborate with others. We believe that a more diverse team will help us better support the individuals and communities we work with. Our definitions for this work are as follows:

Equity is the absence of barriers that exclude people with non-dominant or marginalized lived experiences, perspectives, and identities. We recognize that everyone is not starting from the same place and that there is a need for intentional interventions to allow people who experience exclusion to be present and contribute.

Diversity is the presence of people in a group with a variety of lived experiences, perspectives, and identities that may include (but are not limited to) race, ethnicity, colour, ancestry, place of origin, political beliefs, religion, marital status, family status, ability, sex, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, and class and/or socioeconomic status. We recognize that these categories are not fixed or independent of each other. They are fluid and can intersect in all sorts of ways. We respect an individual’s right to self-identification and affirm that no one way of being is intrinsically superior to another.

Inclusion is the practice of creating and sustaining environments and communities in which everyone feels welcomed, valued, respected, and empowered to participate fully and authentically in ways that work for them.

We encourage applications from members of groups with historical and/or current barriers to equity, including but not limited to:

First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples, and all other Indigenous Peoples;
members of groups that commonly experience discrimination due to race, ancestry, colour, religion and/or spiritual beliefs, or place of origin;
persons with visible and/or invisible (physical and/or mental) disabilities;
persons who identify as women; and
persons of marginalized sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions.

We recognize that many of these identities intersect and that therefore, equity, diversity and inclusion can be complex. We value the contributions that each person brings, and are committed to ensuring full and equal participation for all in our community.

You may notice this position does not require a degree. We are conscious that many people experience barriers to post-secondary education. And while we place a high value on education, we are actively examining our role in perpetuating credentialism. It may be that for some candidates, getting a master’s degree helped them achieve the competencies this role requires, whereas others may have gained this experience in other ways.

If you anticipate needing accommodations for any part of the application and hiring process, contact us at jobs@bccampus.ca. Any personal information provided will be maintained in confidence.

What it’s like to work at BCcampus

BCcampus is supportive of family lives: we enjoy a 35-hour work week, have options for flexible work schedules, and take five weeks of vacation per year.

Location

This position is based in Victoria or Vancouver, onsite or hybrid, with a preference for applicants in Victoria. Some travel is expected, primarily in the Capital and Lower Mainland regions.

Compensation

This is a full-time position until September 30, 2024, with the likelihood of renewal based on funding, and an annual salary range of $94,369 – $106,193. In addition, BCcampus employees receive 5% of their salary in lieu of pension contribution and are provided extended health and dental benefits.

Candidates must be eligible to work in Canada and possess a valid work permit, if applicable.

To apply, please submit a cover letter and CV in a single PDF file to jobs@bccampus.ca. Please use the naming convention: lastname_CV_SrMgrCommsPR_date

BCcampus

At BCcampus our mandate is to drive innovation in teaching, learning, and open education in alignment with B.C.’s postsecondary system priorities. To fulfill its mandate, BCcampus:

leads projects and facilitates collaboration in teaching, learning, and open education that support post-secondary educators.
develops and delivers professional development for educators and curates, manages, and distributes collections of open educational resources.
collaborates with and is responsible to the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills, post-secondary institutions, and other system partners.

Our operational methodology falls somewhere between a government agency and an agile start-up, ensuring we’re consistently demonstrating our flexible, responsive approach to improving the teaching and learning landscape of B.C.