In consultation with the City Manager, Mayor, Corporate Administrator, Economic Development Officer, and Chief Financial Officer, the Communications Officer develops and executes communication programs in support of the City’s public relations and business development objectives and supports the City’s communications activities. This role reports directly to the City Manager or his designate.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Manages the development, implementation, and maintenance of City of Prince Rupert’s communications plan including the development of performance measures to track the success of communications activities;
Coordinates and produces various marketing and communications projects, City collateral materials including annual reports, brochures, publications, website, presentations and audio/visual productions targeting existing and potential City customers, the business community, the public sector, and the general public;
Coordinates media relations activities, including the development of media relations tools;
Coordinates press release, announcements, presentations, and newspaper and magazine articles;
Establishes and maintains effective relations with the electronic and print media, and facilitates media contact with appropriate City representatives in support of the successful fulfillment of the City’s various strategies;
Manages and coordinates advertising and promotions planning and activities, including the development of advertising and promotions materials, and the coordination of effective electronic and print media campaigns, and other related promotional activities independently or in collaboration with consultants;
Provides basic graphic design, layout and copywriting support to internal clients, including posters, brochures, ads, presentations, and coversheets;
Develops and implements City of Prince Rupert’s internal communications plans in collaboration with the City Manager, Mayor, Corporate Administrator, Economic Development Officer, and Chief Financial Officer to keep City staff apprised of the City’s activities, developments, and news;
Maintains up-to-date documentation on the City;
Tracks the effectiveness of the City’s communication activities;
Responds to requests for information from City partners and stakeholders;
Maintains a broad range of contacts with communication peers in the federal, provincial, regional, and municipal governments to support City government relations activities;
Active lead role in the Occupational Health and Safety Committee;
Assists and represents the City at various meetings, conferences, seminars and other functions, in consultation with the City Manager, Mayor, Corporate Administrator, Economic Development Officer, and Chief Financial Officer, and provides City management with a record of the proceedings; and
Performs other duties as assigned by the City Manager or designate.

QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS:

Post-secondary diploma or degree in Business Administration, Communications, Public Relations or Journalism, Commerce, or Commercial Art and Design;
Minimum 5 years related experience;
Solid verbal communication skills;
Demonstrate supervisory skills;
Excellent writing, editing, and proofreading skills;
Highly organized and detail – oriented;
Demonstrate experience in working with print, electronic and web-based media, including liaising with journalists/writers and advertising representatives;
Proven ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines;
Creative and intuitive thinker, enthusiastic, self-motivated individual who can work independently as well as be a valuable team player;
Proficient in MS Office, especially Word, Excel, and PowerPoint;
Experience with web-based technologies, such as Dreamwevaer, HTML, Macromedia and Adobe GoLive, and contact management programs;
Adept at collection and use of statistical data;
Familiarity with marketing applications of social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube;
Process a valid BC Driver’s licence; and
Bilingualism (English and French) an asset.