Manager, Public Affairs

HR à la carte; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading organization in mental health is seeking a Manager of Public Affairs to shape the voice of Ontario's addiction and mental health sector. You will develop strategic communications initiatives, engage with government, and lead advocacy campaigns. The ideal candidate has strong writing skills, experience in public affairs, and a collaborative approach. This hybrid role offers competitive compensation and an industry-leading benefits package.

Benefits

Health and dental coverage

Defined-benefit pension plan (HOOPP)

Flexibility of a hybrid work environment

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of experience in public affairs, communications, marketing, or journalism.
• A collaborative approach with strong relationship-building skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of strategic communications and public affairs initiatives.
• Translate complex issues into persuasive narratives for government and media.
• Manage multiple projects ensuring timelines and budgets are on track.

Skills

Exceptional writing and content development skills

Strong campaign planning and project management

Deep understanding of Ontario's political landscape

Ability to build relationships across teams

Familiarity with community-based health services

Strong understanding of digital media strategies

Education

Degree in communications, political science, or related field

Tools

Project management software

CRM systems

WordPress

Media monitoring platforms

Job description

Overview

Position: Manager, Public Affairs

Organization: Addictions and Mental Health Ontario (AMHO)

Location: Toronto, ON (Hybrid)

Summary

Reporting to the Director of Communications and Public Affairs, the Manager, Public Affairs plays a key role in shaping the voice and impact of Ontario’s mental health and addictions sector. You’ll lead the development and execution of strategic communications and public affairs initiatives that elevate our mission, amplify the perspectives of our members, and drive meaningful systems change.

From crafting powerful messages and building relationships with media and government, to mobilizing members and creating public awareness campaigns, you’ll use storytelling and strategic communications to strengthen our influence and ensure the voices of individuals and communities with lived experience are always at the forefront.

About the Organization

Addictions and Mental Health Ontario (AMHO) represents over 150 organizations that provide front-line substance use, addiction, and mental health support and services. AMHO members support Ontarians through their mental health and substance use health challenges by providing community-based and hospital-based services including counselling, structured psychotherapy, case management, crisis support, withdrawal management, live-in addictions treatment, peer support and consumer-survivor programs, harm reduction, and supportive housing.

We engage our members, government, and allies to lead change that will revolutionize the addiction and mental health care experience for people in Ontario. AMHO is known for its thoughtful, evidence-informed research projects, policy advocacy, capacity building and system transformation initiatives, knowledge exchange, education, and quality improvement programs. We are a small, energetic, and nimble team dedicated to advancing AMHO’s mission.

In addition to market competitive compensation, we offer an industry-leading benefits package including health and dental coverage, a defined-benefit pension plan (HOOPP), and the flexibility of a hybrid work environment.

About the Opportunity

The successful candidate will have a background in health or social policy, public administration, community services, or a related field, with experience in policy, communications, or public affairs within health care, social services, government, or the non-profit sector. You bring strong research and analytical skills, a solid understanding of government policy-making, and familiarity with the mental health and addictions landscape. Lived experience and applications from equity-deserving groups are strongly encouraged, as is a deep commitment to advancing equity, inclusion, and safe care.

Key Responsibilities

Communications, Storytelling, and Campaigns

• Translate complex system-level issues into persuasive narratives for government, AMHO members, media, and the public.
• Lead the creation of compelling public affairs content, from policy briefs and toolkits to op-eds, presentations, and digital campaigns.
• Support and lead campaign rollouts, writing copy, building toolkits, briefing members, managing timelines, and tracking engagement.
• Collaborate with communications, research, and external consultants to ensure content is on-brand, evidence-informed, and audience-specific.
• Identify and uplift community voices, provider stories, and the perspectives of individuals with lived experience to help strengthen AMHO’s advocacy messages.

Government Relations

• Support the implementation of AMHO’s public affairs strategy and government relations plan.
• Prepare backgrounders, messaging documents, and briefing notes for meetings with elected officials, political staff, and policy stakeholders.
• Monitor the legislative landscape to identify opportunities for influence or rapid response.
• Contribute to issue-specific policy submissions, support letters, and media engagement.
• Work with the Director, Membership to engage AMHO members in the development of materials, webinars, and training to support member mobilization.

Project Management and Strategic Operations

• Manage multiple projects and campaigns, ensuring timelines, deliverables, and budgets stay on track.
• Track key metrics and prepare reports on sector impact, media coverage, member engagement, and campaign performance.
• Collaborate across departments to ensure alignment on member priorities.
• Support collaboration with AMHO’s key external partners in the mental health and addiction sector to advance AMHO’s priorities, e.g., the Canadian Mental Health Association, Children’s Mental Health Ontario, academic institutions, and community leaders.

Qualifications and Experience

Qualifications

• Degree in communications, journalism, political science, public policy, marketing, or a related field.
• 3–5 years of experience in public affairs, communications, marketing, journalism, or political campaigning.

Skills and Competencies

• Exceptional writing and content development skills, with a knack for crafting persuasive, engaging, and accessible materials that are tailored for specific audiences.
• Strong campaign planning and project management skills, including experience with timelines, budgets, and KPIs.
• A deep understanding of Ontario’s political landscape and how to engage with government, media, and the public on policy issues.
• A collaborative approach, with a strong ability to build relationships across teams and stakeholders.
• Familiarity with community-based health or social services, particularly mental health and addictions, is an asset.
• Comfort using digital tools such as project management software, CRM systems, WordPress and media monitoring platforms.
• Strong understanding of digital and social media strategies, particularly in amplifying campaigns or calls to action.

Please inform us if you require any accommodations during the hiring process. We thank all applicants in advance however, only those under consideration will be contacted.

Addictions and Mental Health Ontario is an equal opportunity employer, and we are committed to building an inclusive, diverse, accessible and respectful workplace. AMHO always encourages people with lived experience with addiction and mental health service delivery to apply.

Please note: we are only accepting applications from those authorized to work in Canada and we are not currently sponsoring any work visas.

AMHO is working in partnership with HR à la carte for our recruitment efforts.