Job Specification

Purpose :

- To plan, lead and develop the creative strategy, execution and evaluation of advertising and marketing campaigns for the ministry, including leading and managing the relationship with ad agencies, media buyers and research firms on behalf of the ministry.
- To ensure all marketing campaigns are consistent with the ministry's business plans and the government's strategic direction.
- To provide key oversight of timelines, budgets, production, agencies and media planning on key campaigns supporting the Ministry of Finance, in partnership with Cabinet Office and ministries.
- To ensure the strategy, design, technical needs and analytics of Ontario websites and social channels are linked and supported by strategic marketing campaigns.
- To research new marketing trends and evaluate marketing effectiveness.

Key Responsibilities :

Leadership and Project Management
- Define marketing and communications strategies for initiatives that effects ministry and cross-ministry wide.
- Researches, develops and implements marketing and communications plans, strategies and priorities for short and long-term marketing campaigns.
- Provides strategic marketing expertise to assist with policy and program decision making and offers advice that assesses reactions and impacts for senior management within and outside of the ministry.
- Leads, develops and executes strategies to ensure the desired effect on audiences is achieved.
- Leads a variety of multi-phased, multi-channel, concurrent marketing and advertising campaigns that involve multiple partner
ministries, along with multiple external vendors
- Coordinates with counterparts within and outside the ministry to ensure consistency
- Provides strategic issues management, consultation, guidance and advice to senior management
- Leads research, design and production of marketing materials, either in-house or through a third-party creative agency.
- Manages external suppliers and consultants to ensure coordination, timing and successful completion of contracts.
- Develops and manages budgets for materials to be produced and services to be contracted to meet commitments in marketing plans.

Marketing Planning and Analysis
- Lead, coordinate and evaluate market research, including in partnership with Cabinet Office and other ministries, to optimize the provision of useful and timely advice.
- Conducts analyses, writes reports and prepares briefing materials and recommendations on significant policy/program initiatives.
- Develops and applies performance measures, reporting techniques and tools to monitor and provide ongoing assessment of marketing programs and initiatives.
- Monitors marketing, production and agency trends for new content and ideas.
- Evaluates the effectiveness of marketing strategies, plans and products.

Marketing Advice and Liaison
- Provides guidance to other branches and ministries on identification, analysis, and evaluation of emerging trends and coordinates information on new and existing trends.
- Provides strategic advice to clients, colleagues, senior leaders and other ministries on areas where polling/marketing research would be useful.
- Leads multiple multi-ministry projects and represents the team on special task forces, key marketing and working committees.

Knowledge / Skill :

- Contemporary strategic planning, marketing and communications theory, principles and practices, social media, creative design, branding strategies, media planning and market research analysis to present information about the organization's initiatives or products to capture the audiences' interest and buy-in.
- Oral and written communications skills to articulate complex policy/legislation and present in clear easy-to- understand language for the public and media audiences, and craft and review a wide variety of marketing material useful to ministry clients, Minister's office and Cabinet office incorporating the appropriate government messaging.
- Government and ministry priorities, core businesses and goals to develop strategic marketing advice to achieve various program objectives and ensure consistency with government priorities.
- Government policy development and political decision-making processes and Cabinet Office Communications guidelines and templates to ensure timely integration of strategic market support and obtain approvals
- Understanding and knowledge of new and emerging trends in the traditional, social and digital media landscape, and the acuity to transfer new market trends into actionable marketing campaigns and projects for the ministry.
- Research and analytical skills to provide accurate environmental communications assessments and measurement analysis.
- Behavioral science insights, including how individuals interact online, and react to content, brands and campaigns, and how they behave on different platforms and devices in order to improve outcomes and deliver better services.
- Ability to use large and complex datasets to plan, build and execute effective marketing campaigns, including the development of specific marketing objectives and strategies, developing targeted metrics, driving future advertising spends and identifying opportunities to optimize future campaigns.
- Market/public opinion research, media monitoring and polling techniques to interpret a variety of information sources and analyze emerging trends.
- Presentation and communication skills to articulate, present, influence, negotiate and advise.
- Project management skills in order to ensure marketing activities are coordinated and effectively rolled-out.
- Diplomacy and relationship management skills to develop effective partnerships within the OPS and with external stakeholders
- Proficiency in using standard office software applications e.g. Word, PowerPoint,
Excel, Internet, Outlook, to develop marketing products, conduct research and communicate with internal and external stakeholders.
- Leadership skills in order to ensure marketing activities are coordinated and effectively rolled out .

Interpersonal / Influencing Skill :

- Leadership and motivational skills to work cooperatively with colleagues, senior management and other in the OPS in coordinating marketing rollouts.
- Diplomacy and relationship management skills to develop and maintain effective partnerships within the OPS and with external stakeholders to obtain their endorsement in marketing campaigns.
- Persuasion skills to convince clients of alternate marketing advice that is consistent with government priorities.
- Strong social acuity when liaising with senior leaders and partner ministries to ensure campaign success, in alignment with ministry-specific objectives.
- Conflict management and consensus-building skills to obtain agreement on deadlines and changes to products to achieve a high-quality.
- Advisory skills to provide strategic marketing advice to ministry clients, Minister and Deputy Minister's offices.
- Relationship building skills to provide guidance and direction to staff and ministry contacts, to liaise with senior ministry and political staff, and to develop effective partnerships within and external to the ministry.

Analyzing / Problem Solving Skill :

- Identify marketing opportunities and potential issues, and suggest options to respond
- Research and investigate issues form environmental scans to draft strategic marketing plans to determine issues that need to be addressed
- Prioritize multiple projects, giving first priority to deal with contentious issues, - Apply impact evaluations to ensure strategic marketing positioning is consistent with government priorities
- Evaluate marketing plans to ensure best practices are implemented.

Decision Making / Responsibility :

- Providing strategic marketing advice on addressing complex, contentious marketing issues
- Drafting marketing strategies, plans and products and managing the approval of these products to ensure accuracy and consistency of messaging
- Making recommendations to ministry clients on ongoing marketing needs.
- Demonstrating good judgment of overall marketing strategy and execution, and understanding the ability to course-correct, as needed, in alignment with project deliverables and goals
- Coordinating launch of marketing initiatives and implementation of marketing plans
- Managing the work of others contributing to product develop or launch of campaign
- Revising marketing plans and approaches as identified by ongoing environmental scans
- Has latitude to determine which marketing activities, products and channels are appropriate, determine which areas of the ministry need to be involved and to what extent, manage the work of others contributing to product development for compliance with marketing protocols and standards, ensure budgets are adhered to and timelines/deadlines are met.

Contacts / Stakeholder :

- Ministry clients to asses marketing needs, provide background information
- Branch units and other project team leads to coordinate and implement marketing strategies
- Program and communications staff within and external to the ministry to plan and coordinate corporate marketing initiatives
- External stakeholders and with suppliers to manage marketing contracts and exchange information
- Partners in private/public sector to do research or exchange information and build relationships to represent the ministry

Guidance / Supervision :

- Provides strategic marketing advice and expertise to senior management and staff within and outside the ministry and manages external suppliers that support marketing projects, plans and deliverables.

Demands / Pressures :

Work Demands :

- Frequently, changes requested to marketing products (e.g. scripts, photography) by Deputy's office or Cabinet Office Communications often just prior to campaign launch, presentations, etc.
- Frequently, works with unexpected work demands for new/revised marketing products requested by Minister's Office, Deputy's Office or Cabinet Office Marketing with tight deadlines
- Frequently, works with tight time pressures for products often need to be developed under very tight deadlines and circulated through ministry approval process urgently.
- Frequently, works with conflicting demands to deal with new priority projects assigned by Minister's Office, Deputy's Office or Cabinet Office Marketing requiring extensive product development and short timelines that conflict with existing work demands
- Frequently, Minister's Office/Cabinet Office set pace of work based on government priorities. Several projects can become a priority at the same time with different demands placed by different groups, all with urgent priorities, directions are given by Division heads, branch manager and director, Deputy's Office, Minister's Office and Cabinet Office on the same project.
- Frequently, workloads demands often cannot be met within normal working hours as requests made by Minister's and/or Deputy's Office and/or Cabinet Office arrive late in the day with deadline of next morning.
- Frequently, new priority projects or existing ones that suddenly take on new urgency often require extensive work hours to ensure tight deadlines are met.

Mental / Sensory :

- Frequently, read complex policy and legislation and research/data sets without interruption so that marketing products can be developed in a timely manner.
- Frequently, concentrate on marketing and communications products to ensure marketing and communications projects and campaigns are handled and executed effectively and with accuracy
- Frequently, observe interactions keenly so as to gauge reactions to proposed marketing advice and make alternate recommendations as required
- Frequently, giving instructions to other sections within communications branch on rollout of a marketing initiative or campaign

Conditions / Environment :

- Work is performed in a typical office environment.