The Opportunity

ABOUT US

As the largest commercial centre north of Edmonton, Grande Prairie draws people from all over the world to work and live. With 69,000 residents, a trade area of almost 300,000 people and the status as one of Canada youngest and most entrepreneurial cities in Canada, the City of Grande Prairie is a great place to live and work and a place where you can thrive.

THE ROLE

Tasked with overseeing the merger of the City of Grande Prairie's Strategic Communications department and Marketing department, the Manager of Communications and Marketing will be responsible for organizing, refining, and unifying the development of the corporate communications and marketing strategies to deliver on the objectives of City Council and senior administration.

Reporting to the Director of Corporate Services, the Manager of Communications and Marketing will be entrusted with providing expertise in public relations, media relations, event planning, social media strategy, public engagement, and marketing campaigns including the positioning of our community facilities as exciting advertising and sponsorship prospects.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Manage the City's internal and external corporate communications including strategic communications, issues management, media relations, web services, publications, corporate marketing and reinforcing the City's brand.
• Create and manage the marketing and advertising strategies to maximize revenue and achieve fiscal business objectives through accurate costing and budgeting.
• Develop, implement and evaluate integrated, strategic communications and public consultation plans that effectively support business objectives, communicate change, raise awareness and generate understanding about City of Grande Prairie priorities and initiatives.
• Provide Department Managers, Senior Administration and Council with coaching support to effectively manage media relationships, communicate the organizations key messages, anticipate, and respond to public concerns.
• Provide coverage for emergency communication services by acting as the Public Information Officer (PIO) in municipal or regional emergencies or designating an alternate where appropriate.
• Establish and enforce communications standards while seeking out best practices and emerging communications trends.

YOU BRING

The successful candidate will be a proven performer with at least seven years of progressively more complex experience in managing communications and/or public affairs programs including at least two years in a comparable senior position that includes supervisory experience. An undergraduate degree in communications, marketing, public relations, or related field is required. An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered. Experience in a municipal or public sector setting and/or professional accreditation are considered assets.

The successful candidate will also have:

• Applied knowledge of communications principles, including but not limited to, public relations, issues management, government relations, promotion, branding, media relations, public consultation/engagement, social media, event planning, crisis communications, electronic communications as well as marketing and public affairs.
• Experience in providing strategic advice on complex issues to senior management on policy, program or other stakeholder related initiatives.
• Ability to organize, clarify and communicate complex or ambiguous ideas effectively through engaging, easy to understand messages.
• Exceptionally strong research, writing and editing skills.
• Demonstrated ability to drive and manage transformational change and the ability to adapt in a changing environment.
• Sound knowledge of effective marketing practices and financial analysis.

Hours

Monday to Friday, 40 hours per week. Occasional after-hours work will be required.

Salary/Wage

Annual Salary Range

• $116, 126
• $142,584

Selection Process

We thank you in advance for your interest. Those selected for an interview will be contacted by phone or email. We will contact those who did not make it to the interview stage by email within one month of the closing date of this job posting.

1. Submit cover letter and resume using the "Apply Now" tab on this web page.

2. Applications will be reviewed, short-listed and interviews will be scheduled.

Note: Once you apply and upload a resume you should receive an email confirming that your application has been submitted for this position. If you receive this email, there is NO further need to contact us regarding this position.

• This posting will be open until a suitable candidate(s) is/are found.

Due to the high volume of applications that we receive per job posting, we are not able to answer job specific questions before the interview stage. If you are successful in getting to the job interview stage, we will be more than happy to answer any questions you might have at that time.