Senior Communications Specialist (Media, Issues and Outreach), Media Issues, VP Advancement

Position Overview

The Office of Advancement is currently seeking a Full-time Regular Senior Communications Specialist (Media, Issues and Outreach).

The Senior Communications Specialist (Media, Issues and Outreach) is a core member of the University of Calgary's Advancement Communications team. Well versed in all aspects of media relations, and other internal communications practices, the key goal of this role is to help build, maintain and protect the reputation of the university locally, nationally and internationally by developing communication opportunities, plans and high-quality materials. Strategies will incorporate the vision, goals, priorities and success stories of university students, faculty, staff and alumni. This position may also act as a first point of contact for media seeking information or writing stories about the university. The pace is intense, the workload demanding, and the position sometimes requires irregular work hours, particularly during peak periods for the institution. The position reports to the Director, Media, Issues and Outreach.

Position Description

Summary of Key Responsibilities (job functions include but are not limited to):

• May act as a first point of contact for media seeking information, requesting subject matter experts or writing stories about the university
• Will work on special media based projects as required
• Identifies, researches, writes and proactively pitches stories of interest to the media, in line with institutional priorities and objectives
• Liaises and builds relationships with local, regional, and national media, etc.
• Work collaboratively with the main Advancement social media team to tell the University of Calgary story and enhance and protect its reputation
• Prepares media plans, media releases, media kits, media advisories, key messages, and feature stories highlighting accomplishments and success stories of the university
• May be required to work afterhours, and or assist with on-call issues and crisis communications coverage
• Contributes and helps to develop strategic media, issues management, crisis communications, and social media plans
• Recommends and oversees media strategies for other communication professionals working within Advancement communications and for the core communicators working for the faculties and other service providers
• Contributes to an prepares stories for publication in UToday, and or Arch Magazine as required
• Liaises with internal stakeholders (administration, students, faculty, staff, alumni) and assists with media relations and in some instances issues management related needs
• Liaises regularly with teammates within the Media, Issues and Outreach team
• Works and co-ordinates with other communicators, students, faculty and staff across campus to help shape and edit their news releases and stories or assist with other media relations requirements

Qualifications / Requirements:

• Post-secondary degree or diploma in Journalism, Communications, Public Relations or a related field
• Minimum of five years experience in communications with a strong focus on proactive media relations, working with national, regional and local news outlets
• An equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered
• Demonstrated excellence creating and executing effective communication plans and programs aimed at various internal and external audiences
• Experience in internal communications, media relations, public relations, social media, digital communications, publications management and news and feature writing
• Experience handling critical communication issues under extreme pressure
• Demonstrated relationships with local and national media, including understanding of relationship building for both traditional and new media platforms
• Media relations training experience
• The ability to work well under pressure and with tight deadlines, and adept at handling simultaneous priorities
• The ability to work collaboratively in a team environment or independently
• Experience in a post-secondary environment or a complex public institution is an asset

Application Deadline:  February 14, 2023

We would like to thank all applicants in advance for submitting their resumes. Please note, only those candidates chosen to continue on through the selection process will be contacted.

Additional Information

This position is part of the AUPE bargaining unit, and falls under the Specialist / Advisor Family, Phase 3.

To find out more about management and staff opportunities at the University of Calgary and all we have to offer, view our Management and Staff Careers website. 

The University strongly recommends all faculty and staff are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

About the University of Calgary

The University of Calgary is Canada’s leading next-generation university – a living, growing and youthful institution that embraces change and opportunity with a can-do attitude. Located in the nation’s most enterprising city, the university is making tremendous progress on its Eyes High journey to be recognized as one of Canada’s top five research universities, grounded in innovative learning and teaching and fully integrated with the community it both serves and leads. The University of Calgary inspires and supports discovery, creativity and innovation across all disciplines. For more information, visit ucalgary.ca.

The University of Calgary has launched an institution-wide Indigenous Strategy in line with the foundational goals of Eyes High, committing to creating a rich, vibrant, and culturally competent campus that welcomes and supports Indigenous Peoples, encourages Indigenous community partnerships, is inclusive of Indigenous perspectives in all that we do.

As an equitable and inclusive employer, the University of Calgary recognizes that a diverse staff/faculty benefits and enriches the work, learning and research experiences of the entire campus and greater community. We are committed to removing barriers that have been historically encountered by some people in our society. We strive to recruit individuals who will further enhance our diversity and will support their academic and professional success while they are here. In particular, we encourage members of the designated groups (women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, members of visible/racialized minorities, and diverse sexual orientation and gender identities) to apply. To ensure a fair and equitable assessment, we offer accommodation at any stage during the recruitment process to applicants with disabilities. Questions regarding [diversity] EDI at UCalgary can be sent to the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion ([email protected]) and requests for accommodations can be sent to Human Resources ([email protected]).

We encourage all qualified applicants to apply, however preference will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada.