Communications Specialist – Vancouver Acute

National Media Awards Foundation; Vancouver; On-site; CAD 48,000 - 69,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits package

Leadership development opportunities

Wellness supports for staff

Awards and recognition programs

Staff discounts

Job summary

Vancouver Coastal Health is seeking an intermediate Communications Specialist to support internal and corporate communications for the Vancouver Acute Community of Care. The role focuses on planning, writing, and delivering communications across multiple channels to engage staff, leaders, and external partners.

Ideal candidates will have a degree in a relevant field and at least five years of related experience, with strong storytelling, editing, and video production skills.

Qualifications

• Education or experience equivalent to an undergraduate degree in Journalism, Communications, Marketing or Public Relations.
• Five years of recent related experience.
• Health care/public sector experience is desirable.
• Excellent writing, editing and proofreading with attention to detail.
• Content planning and video production experience.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and event coordination skills.
• Advanced computer skills with WordPress, Adobe InDesign, Photoshop and SharePoint.

Responsibilities

• Plan and execute internal communications and engagement strategies across local and regional audiences.
• Create original copy for newsletters, memos, web content, intranet updates and social media.
• Coordinate events and liaise with stakeholders to meet communication needs.
• Develop posters, invitations and other visual materials.
• Support the Communications Leader with strategy input and timely implementation.

Skills

Writing & editing

Interpersonal skills

Project management

Video production

Education

Undergraduate degree in Journalism/Communications/Marketing/PR

Tools

WordPress

Adobe InDesign

Photoshop

MS SharePoint

Job description

The salary range for this position is CAD $34.68/Hr. – CAD $49.85/Hr.

Come work as a Communications Specialist with Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH)!

Vancouver Coastal Health is looking for an intermediate level communications professional to support all aspects of internal and corporate communications in the Vancouver Acute Community of Care. Apply today to join our team!

Vancouver Acute Services includes Vancouver General Hospital, University of British Columbia Hospital and the G.F. Strong Rehabilitation Center. These three sites support more than 900 inpatient beds, 100,000 emergency department visits, 35,000 inpatient visits and 28,000 surgeries annually.

The Communications Specialist is on the front lines of planning and executing internal communications and engagement strategies to advance local, regional and VCH-wide initiatives.

The Specialist is proactive, has superior written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills and is extremely detail oriented, capable of simultaneously managing multiple projects and client expectations. The Communications Specialist has a flair for ‘productive innovation’, meaning they bring new ideas for content and communication approaches to the table, but uses intuition and a keen sense of observation to understand what will work for leaders, adapt on the fly, and consistently meet deadlines.

When it comes to content, the Specialist does it all – from original storytelling in newsletter articles, video scripts, succinct operational communication in memos, web copy, intranet updates, social media posts and also has the skills to develop posters, invites and more. The Specialist works with the Communications Leader to provide input on communication strategies, but ultimately thrives on implementation, executing on the myriad of communication tools and tactics necessary to engage internal audiences and all the different people who are impacted by the hospital system on the issues, changes, opportunities and everyday successes happening in the world of health care.

The Specialist also has outstanding customer service skills, with the ability to build rapport and trust with a broad group of internal and external stakeholders, and listen closely for insight about what clients really need in order to advance audience engagement. On daily basis, the Specialist will attend project and team meetings, coordinate special events, conduct interviews and write original copy for numerous communication channels, run down the hall to shoot a quick video or two, and liaise with colleagues to assess emerging communication priorities.

The Specialist also serves as a local point person to supplement the efforts of the Public Affairs team by investigating flagging potential good news opportunities and identifying emerging issues.

Education & Experience

• Education or experience equivalent to an undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline such as Journalism, Communications, Marketing or Public Relations.
• A strong communicator with five (5) years’ recent, related experience.
• Previous experience working in health care or a public sector environment is desirable.

Knowledge & Abilities

• Demonstrated excellent writing, editing and proofreading skills, with exemplary attention to detail.
• Demonstrated critical thinking coupled with the ability to produce effective products and campaigns.
• Demonstrated content planning skills.
• Demonstrated experience with video production.
• Demonstrated solutions-focus, positive attitude, maturity and ability to engage a variety of busy stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to plan and coordinate events and forums to advance stakeholder engagement with organizational initiatives.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to independently research, prioritize and assemble details for all aspects of a project or initiative.
• A results-oriented and enthusiastic team player who thrives on new challenges and responds nimbly to new priorities.
• Strong customer service skills to adeptly investigate client needs and negotiate communication solutions that are both cost effective and aligned with stated audience needs.
• Demonstrates flexibility and the willingness to work across individual roles to deliver collaborative communication solutions.
• Demonstrated project management skills and ability to work well under pressure to meet tight deadlines.
• Contributes to a team environment by working efficiently, professionally and in a friendly manner, and establishes and maintains a harmonious working relationship with all colleagues.
• Advanced computer skills in organizational electronic communication technology, publishing and web-based communications. Demonstrated expertise with WordPress, Adobe, InDesign, Photoshop, and MS SharePoint is desirable.
• Physical ability to perform the duties of the position.

As per Ministry of Health policy, all health care workers working in publicly-funded health care facilities are required to report their past receipt of certain vaccines or history of certain infections. Collecting these records will allow for offering of any missing vaccines, and for appropriate actions to be taken in the event of any future exposure to a communicable disease or during outbreaks. For all new hires and appointments to Vancouver Coastal Health, you will be asked to provide this information as part of the onboarding process.

Why Join Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH)

VCH is a world class innovator in medical care, research and teaching, delivering service to more than one million BC residents. At VCH, we embrace thinking boldly, taking smart risks, and ‘going first’ when we believe it will lead to the best possible outcomes for patients and their families. We invite you to join us in creating healthy lives in healthy communities by showcasing our passion for care, connection to the communities we serve and our culture of teamwork that makes VCH a great place to work.

• Comprehensive health benefits package, including MSP, extended health and dental and municipal pension plan
• Grow your career with employer-paid training and leadership development opportunities
• Wellness supports, including counselling, critical incident and innovative wellness services are available to employees and their immediate families
• Award-winning recognition programs to honour staff, medical staff and volunteers
• Access to exclusive discount offers and deals for VCH staff

At Vancouver Coastal Health, our vision of healthy lives in healthy communities inspires us and our values and pillars guide us. We support equitable practices, diverse teams and inclusive environments, which are vital to creating welcoming spaces where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and feel supported. We encourage applications from equity‑deserving communities, including Indigenous Peoples and members of racialized groups, people with disabilities and people of all gender identities and expressions and sexual orientation.

Vancouver Coastal Health is proud to be recognized as one of BC’s Top Employers, Canada’s Best Diversity Employers and Canada’s Top Employers for Young People in 2025.

Only short‑listed applicants will be contacted for this posting.

Thank you for your interest in Vancouver Coastal Health.

Job Criteria

• Seniority level: Not Applicable
• Employment type: Full-time
• Job function: Marketing, Public Relations, and Writing/Editing
• Industries: Hospitals and Health Care