Senior Director, Strategic Communications

at  Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan HOOPP

Why you’ll love working here:

• high-performance, people-focused culture
• our commitment that equity, diversity, and inclusion are fundamental to our work environment and business success, which helps employees feel valued and empowered to be their authentic selves
• learning and development initiatives, including workshops, Speaker Series events and access to LinkedIn Learning, that support employees’ career growth
• membership in HOOPP’s world class defined benefit pension plan, which can serve as an important part of your retirement security
• competitive, 100% company-paid extended health and dental benefits for permanent employees, including coverage supporting our team’s diversity and mental health (e.g., gender affirmation, fertility and drug treatment, psychological support benefits of $2,500 per year, and newly extended maternity/parental leave top of 26 weeks)
• optional post-retirement health and dental benefits subsidized at 50%
• yoga classes, meditation workshops, nutritional consultations, and wellness seminars
• access to an annual wellness reimbursement program for health and wellness-related expenses for permanent and temporary employees
• the opportunity to make a difference and help take care of those who care for us, by providing a financially secure retirement for Ontario healthcare workers

Job Summary
Reporting to the VP, Marketing & Communications, the Senior Director, Communications leads and provides strategic guidance to the teams that deliver strategic communications for HOOPP’s key internal and external audiences, including employees, members, employers and other external stakeholders. This individual leads direct and indirect reports who serve as dedicated strategic business partners for internal partner groups, supporting them with effective development, management and execution of key communications initiatives. The Senior Director, Communications oversees the planning and implementation of all internal and external communications campaigns, while ensuring alignment with organizational and divisional strategic priorities, strengthening our value proposition.
The Senior Director, along with the VP, is a key member of the M&C and COS senior management teams and committees. They regularly contribute to strategic discussions and decision making on issues and opportunities affecting HOOPP’s key audiences, stakeholders and overall brand and reputation.
The successful candidate is a proven leader, experienced in providing strategic communications counsel to senior leaders, collaborative and audience-focused. They have strong people management and interpersonal skills, exceptional leadership and organization skills and an ability to connect the dots between strategy and execution. They also ensure the team always upholds HOOPP’s core values in everything we do. They are passionate about quality and audience-relevant communications. They are committed to leading and developing their team and encouraging them to think outside the box and look for opportunities to innovate and elevate HOOPP’s marketing and communications campaigns.
What you will do:

Communications Strategy, Vision and Leadership

• Oversee the effective development and execution of communications strategies to inform, engage and inspire HOOPP’s internal and key external audiences to achieve short- and long-term objectives.
• Oversee team planning and processes that enable the effective implementation of communication campaigns that align with strategic priorities.
• Oversee cross-divisional initiatives that reinforce HOOPP’s brand, reputation and core values.
• Continually observe and make recommendations for departmental efficiencies (e.g., streamlining processes and organization of projects and workflows), and ensure timely escalation of potential issues and opportunities.
• Coach the team to identify and pursue opportunities with existing business partners, offering traditional and non-traditional ideas to address needs and goals.
• Track, measure and report on the effectiveness of communications strategies, making data-driven adjustments as necessary.
• Identify communication challenges and emerging issues faced by the organization, work with the M&C Management team and staff to recognize internal and external communications opportunities and solutions, and define and execute appropriate strategies to support them.
• Develop and implement an internal communications strategy that supports the informational needs of HOOPP’s employees, fosters a diverse and inclusive workplace, and promotes a healthy culture.
• Support the development and deployment of content for HOOPP’s various internal channels including the intranet, all-staff newsletters etc.
• Explore new emerging communications vehicles for both internal and external communications.
• Collaborative with leaders from other divisions to ensure that divisional communication needs are met.

Communications Operations

• Oversee the team responsible for all communications including the annual report, marketing collateral materials and electronic communications (public website and internal intranet)
• Support the VP in the oversight of day-to-day activities through budgeting, planning, staff development, etc.
• Chair the regularly scheduled meetings of the division’s Communications Committee.

Team Development/Management

• Responsible and accountable for the successful leadership, mentorship and management of the Communications team while facilitating a Diversity and Inclusion mindset that aligns with HOOPP’s core values.
• Promote a culture of high performance and continuous improvement that values learning, a commitment to quality, healthy risk taking, a team-first collaborative mindset, and analytics-based recommendations.
• Inspire, empower, coach and mentor employees to personal and professional success using a supportive and collaborative approach on a consistent basis.
• Oversee and monitors staff performance and development goals, assign accountabilities, set objectives, establish priorities, conduct annual performance appraisals, quarterly performance check-ins and administer salary adjustments.
• Provide regular and timely feedback and coaching to direct reports and the team.
• Foster a spirit of teamwork and consciously enable a culture that is consistent with HOOOPP’s vision and core values.

What you bring:

• University degree or college diploma in journalism, communications or public relations, or equivalent training, education and/or experience
• 10+ years of demonstrated marketing and communications experience working in a comparable position, supporting delivery of major client-facing projects
• Experienced in supporting senior leaders across divisions with strategic counsel related to marketing and communications
• Ability to adapt to a fast paced and matrixed business culture that prioritizes collaboration and collective decision making across various teams, functions and levels
• Proven leadership, exceptional interpersonal, team management and performance management skills in order to successfully lead large teams of direct and indirect reports
• Advanced knowledge of audiences, segments, demographics and psychographics
• Proven expertise in leading marketing and communications for pensions or similar financial services and products
• Superior written and oral communication skills including demonstrated writing and editing skills for diverse platforms and channels that could be promotional, informational or marketing-focused
• Advanced knowledge and use of social, digital and communications channel delivery methods and approaches
• Proven organizational skills, including balancing multiple responsibilities and effectively meeting deadlines
• Exceptional leader, coach and collaborator, experienced in managing communications teams
• Ability to analyze business problems/requirements and develop/communicate meaningful and effective marketing solutions and strategies in a clear, well-organized manner
• Ability to work effectively as part of an energetic and entrepreneurial team
• Ability to adapt to a fast-paced, collaborative and matrixed business culture
• Exceptional relationship building skills
• Resourceful, dependable, creative
• Dedication to quality and accuracy
• A critical thinker who identifies gaps and opportunities and solves problems creatively
• Demonstrated ability to solve problems creatively, challenge the status quo and a willingness to take calculated risks in order to support HOOPP’s vision.

Please refer the Job description for details