Position Title: Director, Marketing & Communications

Organization: Special Olympics Canada

Reports to: VP, Business Development & Marketing

ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND

• Special Olympics Canada (SOC), a program within the worldwide movement, is dedicated to enriching the lives of Canadians with an intellectual disability through sport.
• SOC is a national not-for-profit grassroots organization that provides sport training and competition opportunities for more than 35,000 athletes of all ages and abilities.
• More than 17,000 volunteers, including over 13,500 trained coaches, currently support Special Olympics programs every day in virtually every community nationwide.
• Special Olympics Canada’s programs are supported by corporate sponsorship, fundraising activities, government funding, foundations, individual donors and the involvement of volunteers in communities across the country.
• Special Olympics in Canada follows a federated program delivery model with a National Office and incorporated program Chapters in each province/territory.

PRIMARY AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY

The Director Marketing & Communications is responsible for the development and management of direct communication, media relations, brand strategy, and advertising to grow and maximize stakeholder experience, raise awareness, and further establish the public image of the organization including its community and national presence, profile and reputations. Reporting to the VP, Business Development & Marketing, the Director of Marketing & Communications will also work to develop and implement a fully integrated strategic communications plan to support the organization’s mission and goals.

The Director is supported by and manages a Communications Officer. Mastery of communications, project management and media/brand strategy will be critical to your success in this role. You live and breathe communications and community engagement and your day-to-day interactions will help demonstrate our Brand and inspire your team to do the same!

Responsibilities

1. Develop and guide the overall public relations and brand marketing strategy to grow awareness of Special Olympics in Canada inclusive of all Special Olympics sports programs, Special Olympics Festival, World and National Games, Team Canada, sponsor driven campaigns and other events and initiatives;
2. Develop effective communications strategies to increase the brand awareness, visibility and leadership of the organization and its programs;

1. Develop, negotiate and liaise with all communications and marketing sponsors/partners;
2. Ensure that effective communications tools, processes and procedures are in place to successfully articulate communications messages to all stakeholder groups;
3. Oversee the development and implementation of campaigns (including the production, design, photos, editing of all advertising materials, monitoring and final reports);
4. Gather information regarding market trends, opportunities, and competitive activities as input to develop effective communication strategies and tactics;
5. Develop and identify content and themes for print and email publications;
6. Work effectively and collaborate with all Chapters on marketing and communications;
7. Implement a media plan in order to obtain maximum media exposure for the organization;
8. Develop and maintain content for the Special Olympics website and Team Canada website;
9. Oversee the quality of and co-develop all digital communications and social media strategies;
10. Work with and support Business Development department in its efforts to manage partnership relationships and increase revenue through partners activations and donor recognition;
11. Develop brand research requirements, managing the information-gathering activities, and presenting the results;
12. Write speeches and oversee event production and/or media interviews;
13. Write and distribute press releases and articles, and coordinate press conferences and similar media events;
14. Monitor media coverage;
15. Build relationships with professional counterparts to further support awareness initiatives;
16. Respond to public requests for information from stakeholders;
17. Play a mentorship role and works collaboratively with support from Communications Officer.

QUALIFICATIONS

The successful candidate will possess the following experience, knowledge and abilities:

1. A Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing or equivalent discipline;
2. A minimum of 7-10 years of public relations, media and communications experience;
3. Possess superior communications skills, leadership and managerial skills with a strong customer service orientations;
4. Experience in choosing, deploying and using public relations and media applications to grow awareness and stakeholder engagement;
5. High degree of creativity and proven track record to work collaboratively with all stakeholders;
6. Experience preparing successful proposals, speech writing, and press releases;
7. Bilingualism an asset.