Job Description

About Our Organization:
When you join the City of Guelph, you join a team of 2000 full and part-time employees who deliver services the community relies on every day. Together, we are bringing to life Guelph’s vision of an inclusive, connected, and prosperous city where we look after each other and our environment.

As a regional top employer, the City of Guelph values its employees and offers competitive salaries, excellent benefit packages, opportunities for professional development, a healthy work-life balance, and many roles with flexible work options. Our corporate values are integrity, service, inclusion, wellness, and learning. Guelph is consistently ranked as one of the best places in Canada to live, work, and play—all good reasons to consider a career in this beautiful city. Job Summary:
Resumes are being accepted for the position of Communications Officer within the Strategic Communications and Community Engagement department. The successful candidate will use their well-rounded knowledge and experience in communications to implement multi-faceted, integrated communications programs for the businesses of the organization, deepening communication and engagement between the City and those impacted by our work. Guided by the goals and objectives of the City’s Strategic Plan and five-year communications and engagement plan, and committed to the Corporate Values of integrity, service, inclusion, wellness and learning, the candidate will support the organization to build an engaged community that listens to and learns from one another to shape Guelph’s future.

Your role

• Work as part of the corporate communications and community engagement team to provide fully integrated communications services and solutions to the corporation.
• Develop communications strategies to support City projects, programs and services as assigned.
• Implement multi-faceted communications programs in support of organizational objectives.
• Create and curate content, from ideation and development to editing and dissemination, to reach broad and segmented audiences.
• Develop effective content strategies that are driven by goals; audience; citizen experience; metrics; and with thought to paid, earned, shared and owned channels.
• Assist in the creation and editing of written, video, and photo content.
• Make use of analytics to improve programs and campaigns.
• Take part in measuring and analyzing the effectiveness of communication strategies, report on results, and provide recommendations for improving future communications plans.
• Support the corporate media relations program by fostering good relationships with media, and supporting and coaching City employees.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Considerable experience related to the duties listed above, normally acquired through the completion of a post-secondary degree, diploma, or post-degree certificate in Public Relations or Corporate Communications or a related discipline and work experience in the field of public relations. Candidates with equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.
• A critical-thinking, creative professional who delivers innovative communications solutions.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Solid understanding of strategic public relations best practices with experience developing, implementing and evaluating comprehensive communications programs.
• Ability to work well under pressure, advance multiple projects simultaneously, and function effectively in a future-focused, fast-paced organization.
• Excellent writing, editing, research and project management skills.
• Ability to apply a digital lens to business challenges and opportunities.
• A passion for digital communication and proficiency with major social media platforms and social management tools.
• Proficiency with video and photo editing tools, digital media formats, and HTML.
• Ability to exercise good judgement, make data-informed decisions, think critically, and act with a client- and citizen-first focus.
• Strong interpersonal skills with an ability to establish and maintain co-operative relationships with individuals at all levels of the organization, and representatives of external organizations.
• Business and political acumen.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook) and Word Press
• Previous experience and/or knowledge of municipal government is an asset.
• Professional membership and/or accreditation with CPRS and/or IABC is an asset.

In accordance with the City of Guelph’s employment practices, new employees are required to be fully vaccinated as a condition of hire, subject to accommodations required in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code.

Rate

$34.97 - $42.96 per hour

How to apply

Qualified applicants are invited to apply using our online application system by Sunday, September 11, 2022. Please note all applicants must complete the online questionnaire specific to this position at the time they submit their resume and cover letter in order to be considered. Proof of qualifications will be requested at the interview stage.
The City of Guelph is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity in the workplace. We are therefore happy to accommodate any individual needs in keeping with the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. If you require an accommodation in order to participate in the hiring process, please contact us to make your needs known in advance.
Personal information collected through the recruitment process will be used solely to determine eligibility for employment. We thank all candidates in advance; however, only those being considered for an interview will be contacted.