Communications Lead, Alberta
Position Overview
The Pembina Institute is seeking a motivated, conscientious and experienced communications lead to join our team, based in Calgary, Alberta. This position reports to the Alberta Regional Director with management/supervision from the Communications Director, and is responsible for providing communications support for various program areas. The communications lead will be a key contact for journalists and public inquiries related to the region, while interacting with other members of the communications team and staff across the organization on a regular basis.
The role requires strong writing/editing ability, familiarity with emerging communications trends (including social media), strategic planning and project management skills, media relations experience and familiarity with digital publishing. Strong interpersonal, time management and writing/editing skills are essential; experience in social media, marketing, strategic communications, media relations and journalism are assets for this role. The ideal candidate will be familiar with the Calgary, Edmonton and/or regional Alberta media markets and have a strong interest in our programs focused on responsible fossil fuels and clean economy.
Why the Pembina Institute?
The Pembina Institute is a national non-partisan think tank that advocates for strong, effective policies to support Canada’s clean energy transition. Through research, consulting and convening, we employ multi-faceted and highly collaborative approaches to change to reduce the environmental impacts of energy production and use.
Our people are passionate about sustainability and dedicated to enabling positive social change. Our organizational culture encourages creativity and collaboration, and we offer a flexible and fast-paced work environment that rewards honest character, personal initiative and innovation. The successful candidate will join our dynamic team of nationally recognized professionals working on delivering clean energy solutions into the hands of Canada’s decision makers and key influencers.
Compensation and Benefits
The salary rate is competitive for a communications professional in the environmental in the non-profit sector and will be based on skills, experience and qualifications of the successful candidate.
Benefits include:
• extended health and dental
• four weeks of holidays per year
• RRSP plan
• training and development opportunities
Further terms of employment will be discussed with candidates during the interview process.
Roles and Responsibilities
In this role, you’ll have the opportunity to apply a wide range of communications skills and approaches to help staff communicate effectively and strategically with the Pembina Institute’s core audiences, which include government and business decision-makers, policy influencers and journalists. Working within a dynamic and collaborative communications team, you’ll have the opportunity to play to your strengths while also developing new skills through mentoring and hands-on experience.
Depending on the day, you will be asked to help design and manage projects and develop communications strategy. You’ll mentor technical writers to help them hone their style, messaging and focus. You’ll do a lot of reading, writing and editing for our publications, blogs and other materials. You’ll monitor media coverage, coordinate interviews, and develop relationships with journalists following energy and environmental policy issues. You’ll coach spokespeople on their performance skills and provide support on message development and media outreach. Ultimately, you’ll have a variety of tools at your disposal — including mainstream and digital media, webinars, publications, popular writing, multimedia projects and commentary pieces — to help the Pembina Institute shape the debate around Canada’s transition to clean energy.
This role is primarily focused on supporting regional communications efforts in Alberta around oil and gas, oilsands, electricity, energy efficiency and clean technology. Regional communications leads also play a significant role in shaping and supporting organizational communications initiatives, under the leadership of the Communications Director.
The full-time position may require some travel and occasional work on evenings and weekends.
Skills and Qualifications
Essential Skills
Candidates must clearly reflect the following skills and experience in their application:
• Post-secondary education in communications, marketing, media relations or journalism
• Two or more years of work experience in a related field
• Attention to detail and a commitment to personal excellence
• A superb command of the English language (reading, writing and speaking)
• Proven skills and experience in media relations, digital engagement, popular communications, technical and copy editing, online publishing and multimedia
• Excellent editing and popular writing skills in English
• Demonstrated knowledge of CP style and other academic grammar and style conventions
• Demonstrated familiarity with various social media tools, platforms and strategies
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office programs and Adobe Creative Suite
• Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to exercise tact, discretion and sound judgment at all times
• Commitment to the Pembina Institute’s values, vision and mission
• A deep interest in Canadian energy and environmental policy issues
Preference will be given to candidates who also demonstrate:
• Familiarity with the Edmonton, Calgary and rural Alberta media markets
• Experience developing communications strategy and/or plans
• Experience using social media to build community and/or advocacy campaigns
• Familiarity with basic HTML editing, blogging and online publishing
• Experience developing, editing and producing multi-media products (audio/video podcasts, audio slideshows, YouTube, etc.)
• Ability to evaluate projects based on desired outcomes and develop strategies for improving results in the future
• French language proficiency (speaking and writing)
• Familiarity with Salesforce or similar CRM software
• Experience working in the non-profit sector
The ideal candidate will be:
• An independent and confident self-starter
• A creative and critical thinker
• Teachable and eager to learn
• A positive and collaborative team player
• Adept at tailoring communications approaches to suit the intended audience
• Able to juggle competing priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced environment
• Capable of engaging effectively with remote colleagues (via virtual tools)
• Good at managing stress and personal resiliency
• Committed to advancing Canada’s transition to clean energy
• Someone with a great sense of humour
To Apply
Email your cover letter and resume to careers@pembina.org. Please ensure the following:
• Subject line includes “Communications Lead – Calgary” and your last name
• Cover letter (max. two pages) explains why you are interested in working with the Pembina Institute and how your skills and qualifications meet the criteria outlined for this position
• Resume outlines your relevant skills, education and experience
• Cover letter and resume are saved as one PDF document using the naming convention lastnamefirstletter-application-position-year.pdf
- example: smithm-application-Comms-Lead-Calgary-2016.pdf
Application deadline: Midnight on Sunday, July 3, 2016.
The Pembina Institute is an equal opportunity employer.
We thank all applicants for their interest but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
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