Director, Communications
Director, Communications
The Federation of Law Societies of Canada is seeking a strategic communications professional with exemplary writing skills, media relations savvy and demonstrated experience as a day-to-day manager of a corporate communications team for the position of Director, Communications.
The Federation is the national association of the 14 law societies mandated by the provinces and territories to regulate Canada’s legal profession in the public interest. It is the body through which Canada’s law societies collaborate at the national level, share information on trends and issues affecting the legal profession, and engage in collective action and decision-making. The Federation is also the law societies’ national and international voice on important issues related to the regulation and core values of the legal profession.
Key Responsibilities
Based in the Federation’s Ottawa headquarters and reporting to the Executive Director, Policy and Public Affairs, the successful candidate will be responsible for all aspects of the Federation’s internal and external strategic and operational communications needs.
The key areas of focus for the Director, Communications will include:
- Providing overall and issue-specific strategic communications advice to the Federation through the CEO and Management Team;
- Proactive and responsive media relations including handling of media inquiries, developing key messages, briefing spokespersons and writing news releases;
- Managing staff, outside contractors and budgets for the delivery of all of the Federation’s communications products and services, including websites, intranets, social media, newsletters, marketing and branding materials, internal briefing tools and Council (Board) meeting materials;
- Writing and editing communications products, as well as managing freelance providers;
- Managing translation resources to ensure fully bilingual communications products and services;
- Supporting the communications needs for Federation conferences, special events and meetings;
- Managing media monitoring and news clipping services for Federation audiences; and
- Liaising with law society communications and other staff leaders to foster consistent national approaches to issue management, as required.
The Ideal Candidate
You are a communications generalist with a strong grounding in corporate communications and demonstrated experience in media relations. You are at ease working with and leveraging the benefits of digital communications tools to maximize audience engagement, and you care deeply about meeting the highest professional standards of presentation in every detail. Your writing skills are first-rate and you have showcased your talent through speechwriting, preparing briefing notes, news releases, talking points and other products. You are admired for your exceptional judgment and political acumen, and are described as someone who is articulate, personable and trustworthy. You display great initiative and a bias to action. Within an organizational setting, you promote teamwork and are comfortable working as part of small and cohesive group, with a roll-up-your-sleeves, can-do approach to accomplishing tasks. As a manager of staff colleagues and outside contractors, you inspire confidence, delegate effectively and foster a supportive and nurturing environment to get the job done.
Required Qualifications
- University or college degree in communications, journalism, public relations or other relevant field;
- Minimum seven (7) years’ experience in a corporate, public sector or non-profit communications department in roles involving corporate communications, digital media (websites, intranets, social media and other publications), branding, special events, as well as public and media relations;
- Exceptional written and verbal communications skills in English and functional French language proficiency;
- In-depth experience with media relations as a corporate spokesperson or primary contact with representatives of media outlets;
- Experience as a manager of employees and outside contractors as part of a communications department; and
- Knowledge of current communications technologies and emerging trends, including web-based tools and solutions.
If this opportunity is of interest to you, please forward a cover letter and your resume to the Federation’s Executive Director, Policy and Public Affairs at [email protected] before April 16, 2024.