Specialist, Communications

Mississauga
Full time, 35 hours/ week, Hybrid

At Alectra, we're not just about
powering communities
; we're about
empowering our people
. We prioritize well-being through a culture that fosters collaboration, innovation and continuous growth. We believe in providing a supportive and inclusive environment where everyone can thrive and make an impact.
What You'll Do
The Communications Specialist provides strategic communications advice, planning, execution and support to business units across the company including executives. This position plans, creates and disseminates content for Alectra's key owned, earned, and paid customer and public communications channels, including its three websites, various social media platforms, customer newsletters, email marketing, media relations, corporate brand, advertising campaigns and produces official corporate reports such as the Annual Sustainability Report. The position also serves as the official spokesperson for the company during system emergencies and other occurrences that attract public interest. This role also plans and delivers the company's AlectraCARES Community Support Program budget and proactive community outreach, dozens of community and stakeholder partnerships, fundraising and event activation. The role deals with strategic and confidential corporate information, ensures compliance with regulatory obligations (ARC) and consumer legislation (CASL), and confidential employee and customer information as directed by the executive committee, senior management, and Human Resources. The Communications Specialists provide quarterly input to the Board of Directors Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee in the areas of shareholder and stakeholder communications and sponsorships and donations budget and communications management

• Researches, plans, develops, and executes integrated multi-channel communications plans and strategies; project manages multi-media campaigns to inform and influence the 1.1 million customers as well as strategic partners (not for profit agencies, municipal shareholder community offices, college, university and hospital partnerships) in Alectra's service territory in accordance with the corporate brand strategy.
• Researches, writes, edits and disseminates information and imagery through various channels, including but not limited to: electronic and printed newsletters; media advisories, news releases and backgrounders; publications, awards submissions, websites and intranet content; e-blasts, social media, customer correspondence and information notices; advertisements, newspaper, direct mail and bill inserts; industry articles, board and annual reports, as well as Government and Corporate Relations Management Reports
• Provides communications support and advice to the SVP Regulatory, Government & Corporate Relations, executive and senior leadership on confidential and sensitive matters involving executive and board decisions, mergers and acquisitions, shareholder communications, government announcements, HR, and executive appointments
• Provide communications support and advice to the SVP Regulatory, Government & Corporate Relations, executive committee and senior leadership team on confidential and sensitive change management initiatives impacting employees, customers, and other key stakeholders
• Provides communications advice and support for Rates and Regulatory filings such as rate applications, as well as mergers and acquisitions submissions which may contain sensitive business and staffing information
• Provides customer communications support and advice to the Customer Service executive team and develops proactive and reactive communications and campaigns across multiple channels.
• Plans and leads customer change management communications for capital projects to help pre-condition and prepare customers for pending changes such as digital processes, customer services, and rate increases, and to help reduce impact on the call centre
• Provides strategy, research, content, writing and imagery expertise to other departments when collaborating on projects, and build positive relationships with them, such as Customer Service, Employee Communications, Metering, Finance, the GRE&T Centre, Business Transformation/Change Management and new business development
• Serves as the official spokesperson for Alectra by handling media inquiries; researches, plans and develops the corporate crisis communications plan; assists with managing sensitive issues as required, including requesting, drafting and issuing quotes from key executives and team members for news releases or official company statements.
• Provides communications and stakeholder engagement support during storm/outage and emergency situations by liaising with senior operations executives, front-line operations supervisors and news media.
• Participates in regular media line rotation, serving as official corporate spokesperson to reporters (by video, phone, or email interviews) and social media response lead (monitoring social feeds, writing prompt responses, adding to ongoing response templates, and escalating issues appropriately).
• Using identified communications mechanisms, provides regular updates regarding corporate and industry-related news, to ensure key stakeholders are aware of current events impacting the company and electricity industry in general.
• Provides copy writing and creative direction to creative agencies on the development of marketing and communications materials including corporate videos, advertisements, social media content and the corporate websites.
• Provides brand compliant photography and graphic design support, including fulfilling photo requests, evaluating imagery for brand compliance and creating publication layouts.
• Plans and delivers the company's AlectraCARES Community Support Program, providing advice on how to allocate a budget of over $1m, managing the budget, managing relationships with community partners, and directing event activations and fundraising activities.
• Works with community partners through our AlectraCARES Community Support Program to ensure sponsorship deliverables are met and drafts quarterly reports to the Board of Directors.
• Assists in development of electronic communication visuals such as graphics, images and videos.
• Support's Alectra's electrical Demand Side Management activities across owned, earned and paid communications channels to raise awareness of the programs
• Provides technical expertise in the planning, design, and implementation of key initiatives.
• Ensures compliance to legislative, regulatory, and Health & Safety policies, procedures, and standards.

Who You Are
Education

• Bachelor's degree or college diploma in Communications, Journalism, Public Relations, or related discipline or equivalent experience.
• Accreditation through IABC or CPRS considered an asset
• Must hold and maintain a valid class "G" driver's license

Specialized knowledge

• Solid understanding of marketing and digital communications
• Familiarity with media buys/booking advertisements
• Experience with Adobe Creative Suite including Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign
• Understanding of HTML and website development/maintenance, including various CMSs
• Political acumen, understanding of the electricity sector, political and municipal shareholder structure.
• Skills in video development and production considered an asset
• Proficiency with MS Office applications

Experience

• Minimum of 3 years' experience including corporate communications, public relations, issues management, social media, event, and media management in a multi-stakeholder environment
• Extensive media relations and communications experience
• Ability to interact effectively with senior management and advise on key communication strategies and how they support the business objectives
• Experience in a unionized utility environment an asset

Skills/Abilities/Competencies

• Solid problem-solving skills with the ability to provide practical and/or innovative solutions to complex issues and make critical decisions
• Strong written and presentation skills, with the ability to explain technical information in an organized and concise way
• Ability to plan, prioritize and execute multiple projects and initiatives within established timelines
• Ability to build and maintain collaborative working relationships with stakeholders
• Experience working with senior leadership and handling confidential and sensitive information

Corporate Values and Conduct:
Demonstrate professional conduct and align with Alectra's core values of safety, teamwork, and customer focus.

Other Duties:
Perform additional tasks as assigned to support operational objectives

Where you will work

• Hybrid: This role is based in a hybrid environment, allowing for a mix of remote and in-office work to support team collaboration and business needs.

Who We Are
As the largest municipally owned electric utility in Canada, we are committed to growing, evolving and remaining innovative to build a sustainable and brighter future. Our values set us apart and are our fundamental beliefs about our organization:

Safety:
Stay aware, prevent risks and protect each other.

Respect:
Value everyone, act honestly and foster inclusion.

Customer Focus:
Be reliable, anticipate needs and deliver exceptional solutions with care.

Excellence:
Elevate performance, embrace diversity and deliver quality through collaboration.

Innovation:
Drive growth by embracing change, creativity and continuous improvement.

Here's Why Alectra Might Be Your Ideal Workplace

• We offer comprehensive benefits. From health and wellness programs to financial security though our Defined Benefit Pension Plan – we offer a robust benefits package that supports you and your family.
• We invest in your career development. At Alectra, we care about our team's future through offering ongoing trainings, mentorship and learning opportunities.

• We care about you work-life balance. Understanding that taking time off is essential to employee well-being, sustained productivity and high performance, we offer the following:

• Time off: At Alectra, we offer various time off options for our employees including vacation time, personal days, milestone parental leave top-up, volunteer days and bereavement days.

• Disconnecting from work: We prioritize your well-being through our "Disconnect from Work" policy which ensures you can maintain a healthy work-life balance.
• Hybrid work environment: Based on operational requirements, we offer flexible working arrangements that include working remotely or on-site.

At Alectra, your unique contributions matter and help drive our collective success to a more sustainable and brighter future.

Ready to Apply?

If this sounds like you and gets you excited, we'd love to hear from you Simply click the apply button to submit your resume and take the first step toward joining our team. *Due to the high volume of applications, we are unable to accept resumes via email. All applicants must apply through our careers page to be considered.

At Alectra, we celebrate diversity and are committed to an inclusive recruitment process that honours the dignity and independence of all applicants. If you require accommodation during the process, please contact

.
We will work with you to ensure your needs are being met to the point of undue hardship.
Thank you for your interest in building a career with us. While we appreciate all applicants,
only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
Please note: We kindly request
no unsolicited resumes or agency referrals.
Alectra does not accept resumes from recruitment agencies for any open positions unless a valid contract is in place.