Communications Officer

Durham College; Oshawa; On-site; Full time

Job summary

Durham College is seeking a Communications Officer to develop strategic communication plans and manage both internal and external communications. The successful candidate will have a strong background in media relations and a proven track record in creating engaging content for various platforms. This full-time position offers a collaborative work environment and opportunities to impact the college’s visibility and engagement with the community.

Qualifications

• Five years of experience in a communications role across different sectors required.
• Extensive experience writing effective and creative content essential.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement communications plans for college initiatives.
• Establish positive relationships with media outlets for proactive media relations.
• Draft and distribute communications to employees and students.

Skills

Creative thinking

Problem-solving

Collaboration skills

Project management

Writing skills

Media relations

Education

Three-year diploma or degree in Journalism, Public Relations, Communications, or English

Job description

About Durham College:

Durham College (DC) is a leading post-secondary institution that supports students to develop career-ready skills for the ever-changing job market. With a focus on experiential learning, led by expert faculty, through field placements, applied research, co-ops and other hands-on opportunities, DC grads are known for having the skills and knowledge they need to adapt to the ever-changing workforce.

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Durham College offers a wide range of market-driven programs across multiple disciplines, including culinary management, farming and horticulture, business, IT, construction and trades, science and technology, health care, engineering, social and community services, media, art and design.

Our modern campuses in Oshawa and Whitby offer 145 programs – including six honours bachelor’s degrees and 11 apprenticeship programs – to more than 13,700 full-time post-secondary and 2,300 apprenticeship students. In addition, more than 14,600 students participate in professional and part-time learning. More than 110,500 alumni represent the college, both locally and around the world.

A forward-looking organization committed to collaboration, innovation and sustainability, Durham College is ranked annually as one of the GTA’s Top 100 employers and one of Canada’s Greenest Employers and has been recognized as a Top 50 Research College in Canada, 10 times.

DC has an estimated annual economic impact of more than $913 million on Durham Region and is proud to be an active and engaged member of the communities we serve by contributing resources and expertise to enhance social and economic well-being through partnerships, investments and collaboration.

Position Information:

Full-time Support Staff Position Opportunity

Payband - I; Starting Rate: $39.34; Four Year Rate: $45.59

Department: Communications & Marketing

Hours: 35 hours per week; one (1) hour lunch; Mon – Fri (8:30 am – 4:30 pm)

Reporting To: Director, Communications

Campus Location: Oshawa

Duties and Responsibilities:

The Communications Officer is an experienced and strategic communicator, responsible for developing and executing communications plans, identifying and generating content and materials for a wide range of communication channels, providing communications guidance and counsel to internal clients, and supporting media relations.

Primary duties and responsibilities include:

External Communications:

• Developing and implementing communications plans to support college initiatives and business plan goals to enhance engagement and reach.
• Writing, editing and developing engaging and relevant content, tailored for prospective students, current students, alumni, parents and community members, for digital channels (web, social media, video, email marketing). May include basic design skills.
• Supporting the strategic creation of webpages as well as ongoing content updates.
• Providing issues management support, including crisis communications and emergency planning.
• Delivering communications support for key events including annual convocation ceremonies, recruitment events, student orientation and campus initiatives such as Job Fair, grand openings, etc.
• Writing remarks for college leadership.
• Collaborating with external partners on joint communications projects and initiatives.

Internal Communications:

• Developing and executing communications plans to support college initiatives and business plan goals as well as to enhance engagement and reach.
• Providing strategic communications counsel to internal clients and departments.
• Collaborating with internal clients to support internal corporate initiatives.
• Drafting and distributing communications to employees and students to share important college news and information.
• Supporting key internal events and projects including Academic Kickoff and Employee Appreciation.
• Drafting and posting content and information on employee intranet site and newsletter.

Media Relations:

• Establishing positive relationships with media outlets and conducting proactive and reactive media relations.
• Identifying and leveraging media opportunities to share college news and stories.
• Writing media releases and advisories.
• Coordinating interviews with spokespeople/media outlets, as well as on-campus media visits for campus events.
• Preparing spokespeople for media interviews with Q&As and key messages, and media preparation documents.
• Supporting media crisis communications and issues management.
• Monitoring and reporting on media coverage.

Qualifications:

• Three-year diploma or degree in Journalism, Public Relations, Communications, or English.
• Minimum five years of experience in a communications role across a minimum of two different sectors.
• A self-starter with excellent creative thinking, problem-solving and collaboration skills and strong project management skills.
• Proven record of successfully developing and executing comprehensive strategic communications plans.
• Superior writing skills with extensive experience writing effective and creative content, such as media releases, blogs, web stories, speeches, video scripts, promotional copy, corporate publications, editorials, etc.
• Solid understanding of editorial design, internal, external and digital communications, media relations, social media and web writing practices.
• Strong research, interviewing, fact-checking and proofreading skills.
• Experience with social media platforms and media monitoring platforms.