Communications Officer

Universities Canada; Ottawa; Hybrid; CAD 59,000 - 81,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Four weeks vacation

Pension plan

Group insurance

Gym membership

Scholarships for children of employees

Job summary

Universities Canada seeks a Communications Officer for Internal & Member Communications in Ottawa. You will craft engaging content across newsletters, announcements, presentations and social media, translating complex ideas into clear messages for diverse audiences.

The role spans content for internal teams and member institutions, with focus on audience engagement and storytelling. You will collaborate across the organization to support events, manage the member portal, and analyze metrics to

Qualifications

• Three to five years of professional communications experience with strong writing and content development.
• Experience delivering content across multiple channels (email, web, social, events).
• Familiarity with email marketing and CMS (WordPress).
• Knowledge of SEO, UX and accessibility standards.
• Experience with digital content, events or multimedia production.
• Canva and Adobe tools proficiency.

Responsibilities

• Develop engaging content for internal and member audiences across channels.
• Write and edit newsletters, announcements, briefings, and speaking notes.
• Create digital and multimedia content (infographics, social, video).
• Manage day-to-day content for the member portal and events.
• Collaborate with teams to translate complex information clearly.
• Support larger communications campaigns and post‑event summaries.
• Monitor engagement metrics and identify improvement opportunities.

Skills

Writing & editing

Storytelling

Audience targeting

Bilingual (English/French)

Education

Bachelor's degree in communications, marketing, journalism, public relations or related field

Tools

WordPress

Canva

Adobe Photoshop

Premiere Pro

InDesign

Job description

Universities Canada (UC) is the voice of Canadian universities, at home and abroad. We are a membership organization providing universities with a unified voice for higher education, research and innovation. Universities Canada advances the mission of our member institutions to transform lives, strengthen communities and find solutions to the most pressing challenges facing our world. As one of Canada’s leading advocacy organizations, we are seeking a creative, collaborative and audience-focused communications professional to join our team as Communications Officer, Internal & Member Communications.

Reporting to the Manager, Internal and Member Communications, the Communications Officer develops and delivers engaging communications for Universities Canada’s internal teams and member institutions. The role produces clear, relevant and compelling content across a variety of traditional, digital and multimedia channels, helping audiences stay informed, connected and engaged.

The Communications Officer works closely with internal teams and leaders across the organization to develop newsletters, announcements, presentations, speaking notes, event communications and other content. The role also supports events, manages day-to-day content for the member communications portal and uses audience feedback and performance data to identify opportunities to strengthen communications.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Develop engaging, audience-focused content for internal and member audiences across traditional, digital and social media channels.
• Write and edit e-newsletters, announcements, updates, notices, briefing notes, agenda, presentations, promotional content and speaking notes.
• Create and distribute digital and multimedia content, including infographics, social media content, images, videos and audio products.
• Manage the day-to-day content of the member communications portal, ensuring information is current, accessible and responsive to audience needs.
• Work with teams and leaders across the organization to translate complex information into clear, relevant and compelling communications.
• Support the delivery of larger communications campaigns that require coordination across several teams.
• Provide communications support for UC and member events, including leading real-time content capture at events, transforming live sessions, meetings and missions into engaging digital, social and member-facing stories.
• Coordinate post-event communications and summaries to maintain member interest and engagement.
• Contribute to the planning and maintenance of the organization-wide communications calendar.
• Monitor audience engagement and analyze communications metrics to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Monitor emerging communications trends, tools and technologies and recommend new approaches where appropriate.
• Support colleagues in strengthening their storytelling and communications skills.
• Contribute to the maintenance of customer relationship management, photo management and other communications tools.
• Help expand and maintain the organization’s collection of written, visual and multimedia assets.

The ideal person for this job will have the following:

Education

An undergraduate degree in communications, marketing, journalism, public relations or a related field.

Knowledge and Experience

• Three to five years of professional experience in communications, with demonstrated success in writing, content development and the delivery of creative communications strategies.
• Experience developing content for a wide range of audiences, platforms and communications channels.
• Experience using email marketing and mass-email distribution software.
• Knowledge of content management systems, such as WordPress.
• Understanding of search engine optimization, user-experience practices and web accessibility standards.
• Experience supporting digital communications, events or multimedia content development.
• Proficiency with Canva, Adobe Photoshop, Premiere Pro or InDesign.
• Knowledge of the Canadian university sector or Canada’s federal political environment is considered an asset.
• Experience working in a membership-based organization is considered an asset.

Abilities

• Strong writing and editing skills, preferably in both English and French. Bilingualism is considered a strong asset.
• Strong storytelling skills and the ability to turn complex information into relevant and engaging content.
• Ability to adapt tone, format and messaging for different audiences and platforms.
• Sound judgment, initiative and attention to detail.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and deliver high-quality work within tight deadlines.
• Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills, with the ability to work effectively with employees and stakeholders at all levels.
• Ability to plan and develop printed and digital communications materials.
• Ability to interpret engagement data and use it to recommend improvements.

The position is based in Ottawa. Universities Canada has adopted a hybrid work model where employees are expected to work in the office a minimum of two days a week.

The hiring range for this position is from $59,153 to $70,000; with the ability to progress to a maximum of $81,336. To ensure fair and equitable pay at Universities Canada, placement on the salary range will be based on years of experience, skills, and qualifications relevant to the position. Candidates who do not meet all of the position requirements may be considered in an underfill capacity, in which case the candidate would be hired at a lower level than the position level.

Universities Canada is a National Capital Region Top Employer. We offer a comprehensive benefit package which includes four weeks of vacation, an attractive pension plan, group insurance, free gym membership and scholarships for children of our employees.

While all responses will be appreciated and handled in strictest confidence, only those being considered for interviews will be acknowledged. You must be legally allowed to work in Canada to be eligible for this position.

AI-enabled tools may be used for administrative purposes (e.g. interview transcription). All candidate screening, assessment and hiring decisions are made by humans.

Universities Canada promotes the principles of diversity and inclusion and adheres to the tenets of the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Ontario Human Rights Code. We encourage applications from women, Indigenous peoples and persons of all races, ethnic origins, religions, abilities, sexual orientations and gender identities and expressions. Universities Canada provides accommodation during all parts of the hiring process, upon request, to applicants with disabilities. If contacted to proceed to the selection process, please advise us if you require any accommodation.

Universities Canada respectfully acknowledges that our offices are situated on the traditional lands of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg people.