Communications Advisor

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Communications Advisor is a key member of the Communications, Public Affairs & Stakeholder Relations team, responsible for providing advice and support to key program areas and leaders in the hospital. A skilled communicator, the Advisor will use superior listening and writing skills to develop strategic communication plans with measurable goals and objectives, generate storytelling ideas for multiple platforms, and shape compelling pitches/plans for both internal and external audiences. S/he will liaise with internal and external stakeholders to assess their corporate communication needs and work closely with team members to ensure seamless development, production, and presentation of all corporately produced communication materials (print, digital, and multimedia). The Advisor will consult with the Senior Communications Advisors when necessary. With a background in marketing, communication, journalism, or public relations, the Advisor will have up-to-date knowledge of best practices in strategic communication planning and theory and will apply expertise to support the department and hospital's brand standards and strategic corporate communication needs.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Degree in Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, or a related field with additional college-level education required.
• Minimum 2 years of relevant experience in Corporate Communications, Marketing, or Public Relations required.
• Must have excellent multi-tasking and time management skills, and the ability to prioritize work to meet conflicting demands.
• An understanding of the health care system is preferred.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Develops and implements strategic communication plans that support the overall corporate objectives of St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, and its mission, vision, and values.
• Leads and is accountable for supporting strategic and measurable communication planning for identified program areas of the hospital.
• Responsible for proactively partnering with internal and external stakeholders to understand and advise on communication needs and working with these stakeholders to develop strategic and measurable communication plans that address existing gaps, and producing the required material to meet their needs.
• Consults with multidisciplinary stakeholders to ensure consistency of messaging in all materials.
• Advises leadership, and identifies and coordinates opportunities for leadership on staff engagement and multiple platform storytelling in planning communications for assigned programs and projects.
• Writes and communicates effectively using strategic and measurable communication tactics to reach distinct audiences across multiple media platforms as part of project planning.
• Seeks opportunities and innovative methods to develop storytelling approaches to enhance the strategic goals of the Public Affairs department and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, and its mission, vision, and values.
• Develops storytelling approaches that can be used on multiple platforms internally and externally.
• Works closely with other team members to develop regular digital messaging to all staff through emails and newsletters.
• Uses multiple storytelling approaches to identify and pitch positive new stories to various media platforms, including social media, websites, traditional media, and industry media.
• Advises leadership, and identifies and coordinates opportunities for leadership on storytelling opportunities to enhance successful communication on projects and programs.
• Partners with media lead for issues management and crisis communications.
• Handles media inquiries as assigned, prepares quotes/media statements, and schedules interviews.
• Develops and maintains media contact database related to program areas.
• Responsible for writing clear, compelling, persuasive, and informative copy, adhering to CP Style Guide.
• Able to strategically align content to reach distinct audiences using effective communication tactics, seamlessly delivering comprehensive cross-platform materials that achieve established and measurable strategic communication goals.
• Reviews and edits all print and web materials ensuring branding guidelines are adhered to.
• Supports hospital communication campaigns that have an internal or external focus or alignment with the work of SJHH (e.g., Organ Tissue Donation Drive, Choosing Wisely Campaign).
• Acts as the department liaison for standing committees such as the ECO Committee, AODA Committee.
• Supports the work of St. Joseph’s Health System as requested/required.
• Other duties as assigned.

NOTE: This position may require travel between sites and may involve on-call work.