Strategic Communications Advisor

Title: Strategic Communications Advisor
Employee Work Location: Partially Virtual / Hybrid (Montreal, QC)
Employment Status: Temporary Full Time (12 months)

The Canadian Red Cross (Red Cross) - an inspirational not for profit organization, helps people and communities in Canada and around the world in times of need and supports them in strengthening their resilience. As a Canada's Best Employers 2024, we are committed to having an accessible, diverse, inclusive, and barrier-free work environment.

Reporting to the communications department team, the incumbent will provide integrated communications expertise for the programs, services, and initiatives of the Red Cross in Quebec and within the Canadian Francophonie. Working with various internal and external stakeholders, they will help strengthen relationships and enhance the organization's reputation and impact through engaging multi-platform communications plans and strategies. They will contribute to the coordination and monitoring of the team's priorities, identify target audiences, craft compelling messaging, and ensure consistency across the audio, visual, and written content.

In this role, you will:
Responsibility 1 - Coordination and co-development

• Contribute to the development and implementation of integrated communication initiatives and projects that promote the success of organization's actions and initiatives in Quebec and within the Canadian Francophonie.
• Contribute to the development and seamless coordination of team priorities by promoting collaboration and the optimization of work tools.
• Manage and support the communications volunteer team by providing the necessary resources and instructions to carry out their mission in a collaborative and supportive environment.
• Monitor industry trends and best practices, provide recommendations to increase the effectiveness and impact of communications, and promote best practices internally.
• On a rotating schedule, monitor traditional and/or social media during and outside of working hours.
• Participate in the documentation and evaluation of projects under their responsibility.
• Contribute to the development and preparation of activity reports and analyses.

Responsibility 2 - Integrated communication

• Contribute to the reputation of the Red Cross and its brand management in Quebec and within the Canadian Francophonie.
• Provide strategic support in integrated communications to various internal departments and maximize the reach of messages though various tools and channels.
• Ensure consistency with CRC identity.
• Develop proactive and reactive positioning tactics based on context.
• Draft, review, and update communication content, ensuring consistency of tone and relevance of messages.
• Prepare and review briefing notes, key messages, Q&A documents, speeches, presentations, brochures, and other support materials.
• Create and manage multimedia content (video, text, images). Develop content tailored to digital platforms (website, social media.), which includes writing articles, producing videos and creating attractive visuals to maximize message impact and engagement.
• Help identify and train spokespersons, and ensure that the messages communicated are accurate, clear, and reliable.
• Act as head of Communications within the Disaster Response Teams and provide on-site or remote communications-related operational support for crisis management, content collection and publishing, media management and guest relations.
• Represent the organization as point of contact at events or media engagements.
• Participate in various meetings in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada based on the needs identified by the Director.

What we are looking for:

• Be open, curious and creative.
• Outstanding judgement, with a balance of confidence, professionalism, thoroughness and energy.
• Initiative, organizational skills, and result oriented.
• Strong teamwork and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to build trusting relationships with internal clients, suppliers, journalists and other content partners.
• Ability to manage multiple projects at one time in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced environment involving humanitarian issues that can sometimes be difficult.
• A university degree in communications, public relations, journalism, or a related field.
• Minimum of five years' experience in integrated communications (experience within a public or non-governmental organization is considered an asset) or equivalent.
• Strong proficiency in writing and storytelling for diverse audiences and platforms.
• Experience in crisis management and emergency communications.
• Strong understanding of social media, overall digital ecosystems, and multi-platform strategies.
• Excellent ability to caption and showcase multimedia content.
• Ability to understand diverse perspectives, reach consensus, and manage complex situations with tact and diplomacy.
• Adaptability in a constantly changing context.
• Understanding of humanitarian and philanthropic issues (knowledge of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement an asset).
• Bilingualism (English/French), with excellent spoken and written French.
• Proficiency in standard computer applications and content management and publishing platforms.

Working Conditions:

• Adhere to the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement Fundamental Principles.
• Hybrid position with regular in-office days in Montreal the incumbent must be able to travel on site and across Canada when required.
• Ability to participate in communications monitoring and on-call duty (nights and weekend), as needed.
• Ability to occasionally work non-traditional hours during emergency situations and humanitarian deployments.
• The incumbent will have access to the full range of CRC benefits.
• As we work with and support people (managers, colleagues, beneficiaries/customers, volunteers, donors and external partners) and communities in Canada and around the world, applicants whose first language is not English may be required to perform the responsibilities of the role in English.
• Eligibility to work in Canada: At this time, we welcome applications from candidates eligible to work in Canada. If you are not a citizen or permanent resident of Canada, we encourage you to carefully review your visa to find out whether you are eligible to work in the job you are considering applying for. Refer to our FAQ for more information.
• If you are selected for this role, you will be required to complete a successful pre-employment screening process which includes a satisfactory Enhanced Police Information Check (E-PIC).