Senior External Communications Advisor

Emergency Medical Care Inc. (EMC) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Medavie Health Services that manages and operates ground ambulance, air medical transport and medical communications operations in Nova Scotia through a performance-based contract with the provincial government's Emergency Health Services (EHS) division and the Department of Health and Wellness. EMC also operates TeleHealth 811 Mental Health and Addictions for Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island for the Department of Health.

EMC delivers a high-quality pre-hospital care program and Telehealth service to Nova Scotians every day. We achieve this through more than 1,400 employees, including highly-trained paramedics, nurses, medical communication officers, and support staff.

As an employee of EMC, we are accountable to our patients and coworkers by participating in and supporting all safety-related initiatives and acting in a manner that fosters a culture that focuses on patient safety and a healthy, safe and respectful workplace.

Job Title:
Communications Advisor Department:
Talent & Communications Competition:
87321 Internal/External:
Both Employment Type:
Full Time, Permenant Location:
Dartmouth- Hybrid Salary:
Competitive Compensation Reports To:
Sr. Manager Communications & Public Affairs
The Senior External Communications Advisor will contribute to the development of external communications and special project strategies, aligning with Emergency Medical Care’s (EMC) strategic priorities, values and operational goals. This opportunity plays a key role in the development of public relation strategies focused on building trust and growing awareness of operations, including developing and delivering media relations strategies, building and strengthening relationships with key media and health care partners, supporting business activities, reputation/issue management, proactive media relations, and a mix of communications activities including messaging, press releases and Q&As.

Reporting to the Senior Manager, Communications and Public Affairs, the successful candidate will work collaboratively with all levels of EMC and Medavie Health Services (MHS). The Senior External Communications Advisor will have a strategic approach to communications tactics and will excel in a collaborative fast-paced environment. The ideal candidate will have experience in proactively building relationships, extensive media relations experience, including acting as spokesperson and reputation/issue management.

Main Responsibilities:
Lead the development and delivery of communications strategies and tactics in support EMC business objectives.

Act as the main point of contact for EMC media; working in close consultation with business partners to support timely responses to requests for information from media and interviews.

Generate and foster relationships with media and health care partners, helping to identify emerging opportunities and challenges that require proactive communication, including new opportunities for enhanced media profile.

Maintain a big picture view of the organization, issues and/or topics of relevancy and knowledge of the media cycle to inform strategic thinking and advice about communications; supporting the generation of an ongoing news-cycle/regular earned media coverage.

Daily monitoring of key regional and national news media to identify issues that may impact the operations and/or reputation of our group of companies.

Develop and deliver effective communication strategies to support business initiatives and other operational announcements; creating relevant materials and liaising directly with internal and external business partners.

Develop and deliver monthly report on media relations activities.

Oversee writing and editing content for communications channels including (but not limited to) external communications (key messages, news releases, speaking remarks, Q&As, social media etc.) and liaising directly with internal and external business partners to obtain relevant detail/input.

Work collaboratively with Medavie and EMC communications colleagues to manage brand and reputation, creating a steady stream of relevant content that is suitable for target audiences.

Provide advice and support in counselling business partners on strategic communication strategies.

Ensure external communication messages are consistent with internal messages and the communications strategies are complementary.

Supports design and translation requirements for communications and partner relations needs, working with creative services and translation teams.

Provide support for issues and crisis communications, including on call coverage.

Required Qualifications:
Minimum of 5-10 years of progressive experience in a strategic communications role and a post-secondary education in Communications or Public Relations field.

Proven delivery of communications and media relations strategies in a fast-paced environment with tight timelines.

Experience as a corporate/organizational spokesperson and extensive reputation/issue management experience.

Demonstrated ability to advise senior leaders and create approaches that address business demands/needs.

Ability to support highly confidential and sensitive subjects/issues in a professional manner.

Team player with a focus on supporting colleagues, trying new approaches and delivering results.

Exceptional written communication skills, including editing, proofreading and attention to detail.

A storyteller with an ability to take complex information and distill into digestible, engaging, informative pieces for employees; ability to modify writing tone and voice.

Solid time management skills, with the ability to balance multiple priorities and produce materials to meet tight deadlines.

Strong interpersonal, project management and relationship-building skills with an ability to work with multi-stakeholder teams in a fast-paced environment, across locations and operating companies; responds to requests quickly and professionally.

A self-starter and problem-solver who works well independently and as part of a geographically dispersed, virtual team.

Flexible to work outside of normal hours and open to occasional travel.

Bilingualism (French and English) is considered an asset, but not required, for this position.

#CBM1
EMC falls under the Nova Scotia provincial protocol for mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination. In accordance with this mandate, subject to any approved accommodation, all new employees hired or existing employees (applying for new positions) will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. For clarity, "fully vaccinated" means 14 days or more after receiving the number of doses or combination of doses of a vaccine approved by Health Canada or local public health agencies in the jurisdiction in which they will be employed.

Our goal is to be a diverse workforce representing the citizens we serve. We are committed to building an inclusive team that represents a variety of backgrounds, cultures, races, perspectives and skills. We encourage applications from all qualified candidates, including women, persons of any sexual orientations and gender identities and/or expressions, Indigenous persons, African Canadians, other racialized groups, and persons with disabilities. Candidates who identify as being from any of these groups are encouraged to voluntarily self-identify.

We thank all applicants for applying, however only those selected for an interview will be contacted.