Job Specification

Purpose :

To provide leadership and advice in planning, leading and coordinating the development of communications plans, products, and services for major divisional initiatives that support the division's service delivery and change management objectives.
To develop and manage the division's stakeholder management strategy and provide strategic change communications advice to division/ministry senior management and stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities :

Communications Planning
Plans, leads, coordinates and provides senior level expertise for the planning and development proposals and strategic priorities, plans, products and services to support divisional service delivery and change management objectives.
Provides content expertise and leads consultations with senior division management to identify communications requirements relative to new change management initiatives and anticipates, identifies impacts for senior management.
Coordinates the development and delivery of communications products and services, including the Modernization project to support the ongoing communication activities of the division.
Develops communication plans and actions to meet requirements, monitors implementation to ensure plans and deadlines are met.
Presents/promotes division messages and delivery proposals to division and ministry management, staff, other ministries/central agencies and stakeholders and provides advice to support divisional business plans, submissions.
Develops presentations regarding implementation methods, communications messages and materials to ensure sensitivity to the interests/requirements of management, staff and stakeholders.
Manages/develops the division's stakeholder management and outreach strategy and establishes consultation mechanism for the public and stakeholders.
Develops partnerships and relationships with officials of other ministries and jurisdictions to establish a framework for discussion of communications initiatives and modernization implications, assess opportunities for project linkages and ensure messaging goals for related proposals are consistent, clearly understood and synchronized.
Change management
Leads evaluation of change management recommendations and reports on results against goals and objectives of the divisional communications strategy and develops recommendations and approaches for improvements to ensure that communications strategies promote initiatives for the reengineering of the business environment of the division.
Coordinates/ manages the development of presentation to senior management recommending acceptance of the strategic change communication plan
and seeking approval.
Materials production:
Coordinates the creation and/or updating of standards and print materials for the intranet to reflect changing and additional programs.
Oversees the creation of text and graphic materials and edits materials developed by branch staff and others to ensure that the contents addresses clients or end user needs.
Project leadership:
Provides technical leadership for communications activities including determining resource requirements to implement communications plans and providing direction to branch staff.
Oversees contractors, fee for services employees and project teams, and monitors performance to ensure communications projects, plans, programs, information, etc. are delivered and ensures they reflect the ministry's position accurately.
Leads/conducts and coordinates a range of communications and change management projects including developing project plans and terms of reference, determining resource requirements, priorities and timelines, resolving project issues, and ensuring project deliverables meet project time frames.
Leads the implementation of communication training for staff across the division and establishes, coordinates and chairs regular meeting with a team of communications advisors from across the division and the Communications branch to ensure information is shared, messages are consistent.
Represents the division at corporate communications planning meetings and committees with other ministry areas and ministries to ensure that division/ministry needs are expressed and ensure consistent scheduling, messaging and timing.
Monitors budgets for provision of communication support.

Knowledge / Skill :

Knowledge of and skills in:
Communication theory and techniques, communication planning methods and practices, marketing and advertising to provide advice and consultation to clients and clarification of communication objectives; develop communication strategies, design and implement short and long term communication plans.
Division, ministry and OPS mandate, direction and organization, policies and initiatives to link and align government priorities, and support division service delivery and change management objectives.
Web-based communications tools and techniques to oversee the design and development of the divisional intranet, develop formats and standards and ensure the effectiveness of messaging and presentation.
Administrative and financial budgeting processes, in order to provide effective management and control of projects and service providers.
Project management and leadership skills to lead and coordinate inter-ministerial working groups, external service providers, and complete projects within time and budget.
Government agenda and the functions of the central agencies and legislative processes and the relationship between the ministry's communication branch and Cabinet Office Communications in order to coordinate the preparation of materials for approval by Cabinet Office.
Stakeholders' interests and issues to develop communication strategies to encourage and attract their interest in partnership on specific projects.
Research and analytical techniques to monitor and analyze issues/trends/opinions, identify potential policy or contentious issues and assess their impact on ministry initiatives, to provide advice, and develop communications strategies.
Oral and written communication, to prepare/edit materials (e.g. speeches, briefings) and to convey information and ministry position in a clear, concise manner to appropriate target audience.
Writing/editing skills to write a variety of materials, edit copy for style, language usage, flow and logical presentation of information.
PC proficiency using MS Office suite (Word, Excel, Power Point, etc.) to produce reports and correspondence and other materials, access databases and use internet, for research.

Interpersonal / Influencing Skill :

Consultation skills to advise ministry policy/program areas of the communications implications of different options or tactics relating to a recommended strategy or policy.
Communication and presentation skills to provide explanations on communication options and strategies to senior managers in the ministry and other ministries and stakeholder groups, and to communicate persuasively with senior officials, management, staff and stakeholders.
Interpersonal and diplomacy skills to foster relationships with stakeholders, including the media to increase support for the ministry's mandate.

Analyzing / Problem Solving Skill :

Analyzing and problem-solving skills to:
Identify and evaluate emerging issues, brief appropriate senior officials and recommend ministry response plans.
Assess a situation and anticipate consequences to determine the most appropriate response to safeguard the Minister or government's position on a matter; to anticipate and assess public opinion, media perceptions and stakeholder positions on ministry issues; to develop communications strategy and/or messaging to support options in Cabinet Submissions; to select from a variety of media types and outlets (e.g., information packages, advertisements, the Internet) in order to project the ministry's message or position to the public.
Plan/manage a major change communication strategy, assess communication techniques and best practices, identify related synergies and conduct strategic analysis of change management initiatives.

Decision Making / Responsibility :

Leading the planning and development of the division's communications strategy to support service delivery and change management objectives.
Managing/delivering concurrent communications initiatives and coordinating the design and development of the content and standards for the division's intranet and in developing and recommending major change management and communications strategies and initiatives.
Development of strategic communications processes and initiatives to promote and ensure effective on-going relations between the division/ministry, other ministries and stakeholders, service partners and the public on joint strategies/issues.
Identifying communication synergies and linkages, assessing techniques and best practices, conducting evaluations to determine application for division use or recommending relative and innovative methods to meet program culture and service delivery objectives.
Establishing stakeholder communication priorities, providing advice, developing and implementing stakeholder communication strategies, and responding to stakeholder issues.
Ensuring strategic initiatives are undertaken and in providing project leadership and expertise to inter- ministerial team members and senior management.
Ensuring the accurate, timely, cost effective development, implementation and delivery of communications planning, advice and assistance to ministry clients.
Has latitude to: develop communications materials, follow through to trouble-shoot issues and problems, design and reformulate events; determine priorities and identify key messages and direction for sensitive, high profile events; determine the urgency of communications issues and develop options, recommendations and presentations for strategies to senior management to support effective issues resolution and change management objectives.
Decisions are guided by: the Director, Strategic Planning and Change Management and within ministry and OPS policies, standards and guidelines related to service delivery, change management and communications and marketing theory and practices.

Contacts / Stakeholder :

Directors and manager s in the division and ministry to discuss their needs for communications initiatives, recommend strategies and plans, identify ways to improve proposed initiatives and materials.
Ministry specialists in finance and administration to discuss any budgetary control issues.
Officials and colleagues in other ministry areas and other ministries to discuss ideas for linkages and projects, evaluate communications tools and techniques and collaborate on joint issues and projects.
Service providers to arrange for consulting services, providing advice on project requirements and monitor work to ensure timely completion of deliverables.
Service delivery partners, stakeholders, external organizations and interest groups to advise of modernization implications on their operations/customers, discuss change management agendas/initiatives and assess relevance for ministry application.
Communications firms, media sources and other agencies to identify synergies, discuss and evaluate communications methods and techniques confirm factual data an exchange information and materials.
External suppliers to develop assignments to provide support to various electronic communications initiatives.

Guidance / Supervision :

Provide technical leadership for communications activities and provide direction to branch staff.
Administrative staff to provide leadership and guidance in the production of communications products and printed materials to ensure accuracy and high quality of products being distributed.

Demands / Pressures :

Work Demands :

Occasionally required to respond to requests from Offices of Minister on short notice.
Frequently required to produce quality written materials such as news releases and speeches under tight time pressures and demand.
Frequently required to simultaneously manage a variety of communications projects and events.
Regularly required to deal with conflicting work demands from ministry branches and Minister's Office staff.

Mental / Sensory :

Frequently required to read and concentrate intently on media scans, stakeholder position papers, speeches, news releases, emails and writing and editing communications materials, and in creative-thinking to draft communications strategies, plans, design of documents.
Frequently required to observe program staff meetings, media responses, speeches,
Regularly required to give instructions to suppliers and contract consultants in logistical arrangements in executing high profile media events and development of printed and web based communications materials.

Conditions / Environment :

Work is performed in a typical office environment.