Coordinator, Advocacy and Public Engagement

Heart & Stroke; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 46,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Health, dental, vision benefits

Life insurance

Disability benefits

Employee assistance program (EAP)

Pension plan with employer matching

Flexible hybrid work model

Home office stipend

Professional development

Job summary

Heart & Stroke is seeking a Coordinator, Advocacy and Public Engagement to support the Stop Marketing to Kids Coalition and related advocacy efforts across Canada. You will work with the Policy & Advocacy team, Coalition members and the Youth Against Marketing to Kids council to advance healthier food environments for kids.

The role includes coordinating meetings, drafting materials, coordinating external stakeholders, managing project budgets and contracts, and maintaining the coalition website

Qualifications

• Post-secondary degree or equivalent in political science, public policy or public health preferred.
• Experience in government Relations, health policy or communications is desired.
• Experience coordinating volunteers and stakeholder relations.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate Coalition working group meetings, draft agendas, prepare minutes and liaise with members.
• Document and track government meetings and draft advocacy materials.
• Coordinate updates to the stopmarketingtokids.ca website with internal teams.
• Prepare newsletters and distribute communications to coalition supporters.
• Maintain and update Coalition stakeholder contact lists.
• Guide the Youth Against Marketing to Kids council and coordinate engagement plans.
• Support project coordination, budget administration and contract filings.

Skills

Analytical skills

Teamwork

Multitasking

Independence

Confidentiality

Willingness to learn

Adaptability to digital tools

Education

Post-secondary degree or equivalent

Tools

Google Drive

Google Docs

SharePoint

MS Teams

Job description

Who We Are

At Heart & Stroke our mission is to promote health, save lives and enhance recovery. We are committed to a culture that exemplifies our core values: champion health, practice humility, embrace change, drive impact, learn and grow and be heartfelt as we work together to beat heart disease and stroke.

Who We Are

At Heart & Stroke our mission is to promote health, save lives and enhance recovery. We are committed to a culture that exemplifies our core values: champion health, practice humility, embrace change, drive impact, learn and grow and be heartfelt as we work together to beat heart disease and stroke.

We believe in equity, diversity and inclusion ― it’s embedded in our values and core mission work to support all people in Canada to lead healthier lives. We are committed to applying this principle to cultivate a welcoming environment that embraces diversity among our employees. Candidates from diverse backgrounds, including but not limited to, Indigenous peoples, racialized communities, 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, women, and people living with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

To learn more about our mission, values, commitment to EDI, and the difference Heart & Stroke makes in the lives of people in Canada at every age, please visit our website.

The opportunity

Please note Heart & Stroke offers a hybrid work option.The successful candidate must be flexible and willing to travel occasionally (1-2 times per year). Candidates can work from anywhere in Canada.

The Coordinator, Advocacy and Public Engagement, supports, in conjunction with the Senior Manager, Campaigns, the Stop Marketing to Kids Coalition and select advocacy and public engagement efforts.

In this role, the incumbent will support the work of the Stop M2K Coalition. This will entail working with Heart & Stroke’s Policy & Advocacy team, members of the Coalition and members of the Youth Against Marketing to Kids council to help achieve a healthier food environment for kids. In particular, our key objective is to advance progress on federal regulations to implement restrictions on the marketing of unhealthy food and beverages to kids. The individual will support ongoing Coalition activities and campaign specific advocacy work, including coordination of meetings, communications with external stakeholders and preparation of materials to support Coalition and Heart & Stroke advocacy on M2K. The incumbent would also work to build strong relationships with the Coalition and take the lead in guiding the M2K youth council activities. This position will also support all public engagement campaigns led by the Policy & Advocacy team.

The support of advocacy and public engagement efforts could include engaging external stakeholders in advocacy actions, campaign budget administration, and short-term advocacy project coordination in support of the Senior Manager, Campaigns and/or Senior Manager, Government Relations.

How You Will Make An Impact Every Day

Planning and coordination of Coalition meetings

• Coordinate Coalition working group meetings, draft agendas, prepare minutes and liaise with members
• Support members on sharing materials or prompting on action items that need to be followed up on or presented to the group

Support Coalition advocacy projects and activities

• Coordinate meetings with external stakeholders, government officials and H&S constituents, based on the Coalition’s advocacy plans
• Documentation and tracking of the Coalition’s government meetings
• Drafting of advocacy and communications materials (e.g. briefing materials, letters, emails to federal bureaucrats), with support of Coalition members and H&S
• Coordinate updates to the stopmarketingtokids.ca website with H&S and Childhood Health Living Foundation staff to keep the site maintained
• Prepare and distribute regular newsletter/list-serve communications for broader coalition supporters
• Maintain and update Coalition stakeholder contact list

Coordinate and guide the Youth Against Marketing to Kids council

• Co-develop annual plans to support the ongoing engagement of the youth council with advocacy activities aligned with the Coalition work plans
• Facilitate and coordinate regular meetings with group
• Support the execution of their plan
• Document and report back to Coalition on their activities, and identify opportunities for linking the two groups

Advocacy and public engagement project coordination

• Maintaining existing project budgets, filing contracts and invoices, appropriately filing advocacy briefings/policy updates/ new research
• Supporting the team to follow-through on H&S processes for internal content reviews, legal and/or brand review processes
• Supporting dissemination of project updates or new evidence/materials to stakeholders (internal and external)

Who We Need

Education

• Post-secondary degree, diploma or equivalent combination of education and related work experience in political science, communications, public policy, or public health preferred

Experience

• General understanding of government relations and demonstrated interest in advocacy, health policy or communications
• Stakeholder relations experience
• Experience with Google Drive and Google Docs, SharePoint and MS Teams
• Experience coordinating volunteers

Skills

• Analytical and decision-making skills, creative problem-solving approaches
• Demonstrated ability to work in a team environment: flexibility, communication skills, reliability and collaboration
• Ability to multitask, work well under pressure in a fast-paced environment and handle changes of plans or “course of action”
• Ability to work independently and effectively with minimum supervision
• Ability to adhere to strict confidentiality guidelines
• Eagerness to learn, capacity to adopt new digital tools

What We Offer

At Heart & Stroke, we make it a priority to foster a culture of caring by implementing practices and programs that foster respect, compassion, trust and attentiveness to our own and others’ health and well-being.

This role offers a hiring range of $46,000 to $60,000, aligned with our compensation framework and your professional background. We believe that time off is integral to the personal health and wellness of our employees. We offer a generous paid time-off package including vacation days, personal days, wellness days, and paid company-wide closure between December 25 and January 1. We also provide competitive health, medical, dental and vision benefits, life insurance, disability benefits, an employee assistance program (EAP) and a defined contribution pension plan with employer matching. Our employees also enjoy a flexible hybrid working model and reimbursement for mobile phones and home office setup, as well as opportunities for professional development.

Accommodation

We are committed to fostering an inclusive, barrier-free and accessible environment. If you have been contacted for an interview and require accommodation to participate in the recruitment and selection process, please let us know and we will do our best to address your needs.