Manager, Communications

**Classification & Regular Hours**: Hours per Week: 35 Salary Grade: 15 **About Western**: Since 1878, Western University has been committed to serving our communities through the pursuit of academic excellence and by providing students, faculty, and community members with life-long opportunities for intellectual, social, and cultural growth. We seek excellent students, faculty, and staff to join us in what has become known as the "Western Experience" - an opportunity to contribute to a better world through the development of new knowledge, new abilities, new connections, and new ways to make a difference. **About Us**: The Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) is a large, diverse, and comprehensive unit, comprised of six Schools (Nursing, Kinesiology, Health Studies, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Communication Sciences and Disorders), a large Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and four Research Centres. The Faculty has more than 3,200 undergraduate students and more than 800 graduate students (200 PhD students). **Responsibilities**: The Manager, Communications has a key role in the Faculty of Health Sciences, to provide strategic communications for the Faculty. In conjunction with the Director, Operations the Dean and the Faculty’s senior leadership team, the Manager will determine the most effective communications and marketing strategies to deliver on the strategic planning outcomes for Health Sciences. The Manager will design, implement, coordinate, and assesses a broad range of communication strategies aimed at enhancing internally and externally focused communications both within and among faculty, staff, students, public, potential donors, media, and the University. The role will research and deliver best practices for creating meaningful communications and digital strategies. The Manager, Communications will regularly interact with senior leaders in Health Sciences and Western Communications on a wide variety of initiatives to support this mandate. This position is accountable for the planning, implementing, evaluation and budgeting for all internal and external branding initiatives. The Manager leads and directs the work of the Communications team, coaches and trains staff, and provides comprehensive consultation on a variety of processes to ensure Health Sciences is served effectively. **Qualifications**: - Education: - Undergraduate Degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Communications, Public Relations or a related field - Master’s degree in Business or Communications/Marketing preferred - International Association of Business Communicators Designation preferred - Experience: - 5 years of professional progressive experience in strategic communications, marketing and/or journalism with responsibility for developing communications and marketing strategies and managing projects - 3 years of management experience with accountability for managing staff and projects - Knowledge, Skills & Abilities: - Proven experience with communications, public relations, branding and marketing policies and strategies - Proven public relations skills and professionalism to handle complex situations with the media; well-developed public speaking skills - Demonstrated coaching and mentoring skills to enable team members to achieve high - quality outcomes- In-depth knowledge of principles of writing, including grammar and style, argument, and coherence and attention to detail, proofreading abilities with an excellent command of the English language - Marketing skills with solid communications judgment to present and package information to maximize interest - Ability to analyze metrics and consider past communications to craft engaging written communications using social media or other appropriate channels - An understanding of the Canadian Press Style Guide and sound knowledge of print and web production - In-depth knowledge of e-communication tools including website and graphic design principles and of social media platforms relevant to student populations - Knowledge and experience participating in strategic planning processes with the ability to write strategic communications plans - Demonstrated expertise in developing and executing integrated communications strategies - Strong analytical research skills and the ability to use market research information strategically to improve and enhance communications to target audiences in support of the Faculty and University brand - Advanced technical skills in desktop publishing (e.g. Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite) and Western’s Content Management System for website development (Cascade) - Proven project management skills, from planning through execution to completion; ability to manage multiple projects with strict deadlines - Demonstrated ability to work independently and take initiative to achieve results - Ability to establish and build healthy working relationships with clients, peers and externa