General Manager, Strategic Communications and

About Our Organization:
When you join the City of Guelph, you join a team of 2000 full and part-time employees who deliver services the community relies on every day. Together, we are bringing to life Guelph’s vision of an inclusive, connected, and prosperous city where we look after each other and our environment.

As a regional top employer, the City of Guelph values its employees and offers competitive salaries, excellent benefit packages, opportunities for professional development, a healthy work-life balance, and many roles with flexible work options. Our corporate values are integrity, service, inclusion, wellness, and learning. Guelph is consistently ranked as one of the best places in Canada to live, work, and play—all good reasons to consider a career in this beautiful city.

Job Summary:
**Your role**:
**Leadership**:

- Be responsible for the strategic communications function including but not limited to issues management, internal and external communications, media relations, social media and advertising.
- Be a champion for modernization and ensure Guelph’s strategic communications and community engagement efforts respond to changes in the external environment and keep pace with new and emerging methods and practices.
- Act as a key senior advisor to the CAO and the Executive Leadership Team, taking the lead in reputation management and acting as the chief spokesperson for the City.
- Be a strategic business partner, working collaboratively with department leaders to advance service delivery as One City, One Voice.
- Participate in strategic planning for the department as a member of the CAO Service Area leadership team.
- Provide visible, positive and engaged leadership to staff.
- Lead and foster an engaged, high performing team; promote continuous learning, accountability, professional development, and innovation.
- Contribute to and show leadership in corporate initiatives, corporate planning and other corporate activities as a member of the Corporate Management Team.

**Department Management**:

- Lead communications and engagement strategy, policy and governance for the organization consistent with the City of Guelph Strategic Plan and Guelph’s Community Plan.
- Oversee the ongoing development and implementation of a digital strategy including a social media program, and the continued enhancement of policies and practices to ensure the City’s communications needs are effectively met at all times.
- In partnership with others across the organization, support the City’s efforts to standardize, enhance, modernize customer service efforts, including though the City’s digital platforms.
- Lead the work of the Strategic Communications and Community Engagement department and manage the department’s human, physical and financial resources.

**Performance Monitoring and Measurement**
- Monitor the department’s annual performance against established departmental objectives, key performance indicators and industry best practices.
- Oversee the refinement of departmental goals and key performance indicators, and support ongoing program evaluation for communications and engagement plans

**Financial Management**
- Be responsible for the preparation, presentation and management of the department’s multi-year budget.

**Qualifications**:

- Experience providing leadership, guidance and direction to a team of communications and engagement practitioners in the public sector or similar environment.
- Experience in the administration of budgeting, financial control and human resource management.
- Skills in effective community engagement, issues management, change management, strategic planning, group facilitation, project management and continuous improvement.
- Excellent communication, presentation and relationship management skills with a proven record of establishing effective relationships with elected officials, staff at all levels, the community, and strategic business partners.
- Ability to manage complexity and multiple competing priorities in fast-paced environments or with projects that are nonlinear.

**Rate**:
$136,800-$171,000 per year

**How to apply**:
The City of Guelph is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity in the workplace. We are therefore happy to accommodate any individual needs in keeping with the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. If you require an accommodation in order to participate in the hiring process, please contact us to make your needs known in advance.