Job Description

Department: Food from Thought
This position is classified under the Grant & Trust Professional Group
Temporary full-time from 01/05/2026 to 12/31/2027
If you are a current employee of the University of Guelph you must apply on the internal Career Page in order to be considered as an internal applicant.
General Purpose
The Arrell Food Institute (AFI) is improving global food systems. Building on world-class strengths at Canada's Food University, AFI has had a very successful first 8 years, forming a wide network of national and international experts, and running a variety of events and creating excellent communications products. AFI is expected to communicate clearly and effectively across a range of complex and nuanced issues - this post is crucial to that endeavour.
AFI is expanding its thought leadership work - taking opportunities to shape national and international discourse on food systems issues, elevating the Arrell Chairs and rooted in the depth of expertise at UoG, Canada's Food University. We offer Scholarships, run international awards, and host an annual Summit. Major programs run from within the AFI team are i) Sustainable Food Systems for Canada (SF4C), a national platform advancing innovation and training to strengthen Canada's sustainable agri-food sector. The initiative brings together leading academic institutions, Indigenous organizations, and industry partners to help close productivity gaps and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. ii) Food from Thought, the University of Guelph's Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) initiative, a $76.7M, 7-year project aimed at catalyzing a new digital agricultural revolution involving over 100 faculty members.
Duties and Responsibilities
The Communications Coordinator is a vital part of the AFI team, with responsibilities including:

• Creating and drafting content for emails, newsletters, toolkits, media.
• Editing website.
• Maintaining social media channels and creating and scheduling posts.
• Coordinating email marketing including monthly newsletter and event communication.
• Maintaining photo and video files.
• Coordinating photo and video for events.
• Providing branding support to team.
• Working with vendors (e.g. graphic designers, printers, website developers).

Reporting to the Communications Manager, the Communications Coordinator will deliver high quality communications products on time and on budget to meet AFI, FfT and SF4C objectives and will work closely with other members of the team on specific project deliverables. The successful candidate is likely to demonstrate many of the following qualities.

• 2 year College Degree or Diploma in communications or marketing. Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline also preferred (e.g. communications, marketing, public relations, media) or in an agriculture or food discipline with a postgraduate certificate in communications.
• Two years of experience in a communications role.
• Experience or willingness to use these tools to help fulfil the responsibilities listed above: Wordpress, Sprout Social, Microsoft Office and OneDrive, Canva, Mailchimp, Adobe Creative Suite.
• Attention to detail including proofreading and editing skills and ability to follow branding principles and graphic design best practices.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, presentation and organizational skills and the ability to work in a cross-functional team environment.
• Ability to work independently and complete tasks professionally.
• Demonstrable commitment to supporting equity.
• Flexibility of approach and ability to adjust to rapidly evolving environments and conditions to function effectively and ensure continuity.
• Some travel will be encouraged in this role (e.g. event attendance).

The Communications Coordinator will be a valued member of a collegiate team, with a high degree of capability and an appetite for solutions. The successful candidate will likely have the opportunity to flex their communications skills, add tangible outcomes to their resume and build their personal networks.
Employee Type: Temporary
Classification: Grant/ Trust fund position, P&M FT- Band 02
At the University of Guelph, fostering a is an institutional imperative. The University invites and encourages applications from all qualified individuals, including from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in employment, who may contribute to further diversification of our Institution.
Posting Date: 12/19/2025
Close Date: 01/05/2026
*Tentative evaluation; subject to committee review.

Skills Required