City : Toronto, Canada

Category : Marketing & Communications

Industry : Financial Services

Employer : Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan - OTPP

Senior Manager, External Communications (24 month contract)

The opportunity

Reporting to the Director, External Communications, the Senior Manager, External Communications leads the development and implementation of strategic communications programs and initiatives to help build and grow Teacher’s brand and reputation.

You will be responsible for indirect management and evaluation of one to two highly skilled and experienced team members who provide external communications services to the organization.

Who you'll work with

You will collaborate with internal and external partners at all levels, including third party vendors, media, government, peer Pension Plans.

What you'll do

Lead development of strategic communications programs to the organization by:

• Developing and implementing proactive communications strategies to build Ontario Teacher’s brand and profile in Canada and globally.

• Developing critical communication solutions to the organization’s challenges and opportunities.

• Responsible for annual reporting communications strategy including the development of the print and online annual and responsible investing reports and all materials and planning related to the annual general meeting (speeches, presentations, webcast).

• Developing and implementing comprehensive communications plans and strategies including the communications strategy, messaging, content development along with the delivery of the communications plan and the associated important metrics.

• Leading development of narrative, messaging, and other content in relation to Ontario Teachers’ approach to making a positive impact across its investments, operations, and community engagement.  

• Developing and executing related strategies to communication our impact strategy in our Annual Report, website, social channels, intranet and other forums, in collaboration with colleagues across the enterprise

• Planning, researching and preparing strategic/complex communication materials, including news releases, speeches, statements, key messages, brochures, web & social media content, presentations, etc.

• Leading projects with other team members and providing expert advice on communicating with our external partners. Includes working closely with other teams within Ontario Teachers’ on messaging, materials and timing of same.

• Advising senior staff (ET and IET members) on communications and reputational impacts on a wide range of issues.

• Identifying issues and responding to external partners and managing resources to ensure a product of excellent quality is produced on budget on time.

Provide media relations and issues management services by:

• Manage and develop company response to key issues/media inquiries and act as an occasional point of contact with media

• Monitoring issues and co-coordinating strategic response, including developing briefing notes for the Executive Team and Board to ensure all are apprised and prepared to respond to sensitive issues.

• Flexible hours during evenings and weekends to meet tight timelines and fast turnarounds as necessary is needed.

• On call for crisis communications support.

• Other duties as assigned.

• Indirectly manage 1 -2 highly skilled direct reports, including: coaching, mentoring and evaluation

• Project management: Time sensitivity of project delivery directly impacts project success.

• Efficiency of communications strategy directly impacts the success of major corporate communications projects which represent significant investment. (eg.: partner surveys)

• Ensure complete confidentiality and discretion while preparing communication plans for sensitive issues such as annual results or funding decisions.

What you'll need

• Bachelors Degree in Corporate Communications, Journalism or related field of study

• Expertise in areas of ESG and impact related reporting an asset  

• Critical analysis, strategic thinking, problem-solving, negotiating and planning skills

• Outstanding writing ability, creativity, and oral communication skills

• Project leadership and management will full accountability for results

• Supervise, mentor, monitor and deliver feedback to non-reporting staff and external consultants

• Demonstrated ability to manage conflicting priorities and to deliver multiple projects to tight timelines

• Excellent leadership, teamwork and collaborative skills

• Highly motivated and results-driven

• Ability to work during evenings and weekends as needed

• Translate technical knowledge into user-friendly comprehensible information.

• Minimum 10 years of communications or equivalent experience

• Experience in financial services or investment organizations is a plus

• Extensive experience in a wide variety of communications vehicles and styles

#LI-OTPP, #LI-VN, #LI-Hybrid

What we’re offering

• Competitive compensation

• Numerous opportunities for professional growth and development

• A flexible/hybrid work environment combining in office collaboration and remote working

• Our Flexible Travel Program gives you the option to work abroad in another region/country for up to a month each year

• Employee discount programs including Edvantage and Perkopolis

• Degreed: a digital platform that helps you quickly and easily discover, share, and track various learning resources — from courses to videos to articles and more

At Ontario Teachers', diversity is one of our core strengths. We take pride in ensuring that the people we hire and the culture we create, reflect and embrace diversity of thought, background and experience. Through our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategy and our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), we celebrate diversity and foster inclusion through events for colleagues to connect for professional development, networking & mentoring.  We are building an inclusive and equitable workplace where our talent is respected, accepted and empowered to be themselves.  To learn more about our commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, check out Life at Teachers'.

How to apply

Are you ready to pursue new challenges and take your career to the next level? Apply today! You may be invited to complete a pre-recorded digital interview as part of your application.

Accommodations are available upon request (peopleandculture@otpp.com) for candidates with a disability taking part in the recruitment process and once hired.

Candidates must be legally entitled to work in the country where this role is located.

The privacy of your personal information is important to us. Please visit our Privacy Centre to learn how we handle your personal information.

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