Senior Communications Officer-Public & Media Relations

Responsibilities

• Develop, coordinate, implement and evaluate corporate communications plans, messages and tactics in line with overarching communication strategies for media and public relations activities.
• Review and distribute daily media scans and develop a daily analysis to identify emerging and time-sensitive issues arising from traditional media and social media coverage and make swift recommendations to respond, correct and / or adapt to media reports where appropriate to correct misinformation, mitigate emerging issues and continuously enhance the NWMO’s reputation.
• Support the implementation of corporate communication plans through daily monitoring and analysis of media scans, responding to media requests, drafting and publishing news releases, identifying story opportunities and developing media pitches and key messages, correcting misinformation in the media and other assignments.
• Develop and implement quarterly plans to build and maintain relationships with journalists, editors, columnists and citizen journalists.

May serve as a spokesperson as required.

• Keep up with trends in issues management, and public and media relations.
• Respond and track media inquiries in order to improve NWMO’s Media Relations process
• Execute NWMO’s media strategy in collaboration with members of the Corporate Communications team
• Contribute to the creation of content that supports the NWMO, including pitching ideas and helping sculpt editorial stories ideas
• Support brand and reputation risk management by utilizing issues management processes and digital communication best practices to support the management of emerging issues and crises, including but not limited to developing and deploying reactive media and social media responses / posts.
• Track and monitor media and social media while developing appropriate KPIs and performance measures for media monitoring and issues tracking.

Ensure insights are recorded, tracked and applied to improve and inform future direction and strategies.

• Assist in facilitating media training and coaching sessions for subject matter experts (SMEs) in advance of media interviews, staffing / moderating media interviews and provide constructive feedback following media interviews.
• Project management and implementation activities for a customer relationship management (CRM) tool for the Communications team, including setting up the infrastructure, inputting key messages for issues management and training and ongoing update of data into the CRM.
• Proactively and reactively manage issues, including developing communication plans.
• Provide communication support as part of multi-functional crisis team until crisis / issue reaches conclusion.
• Provide strategic communications support for organizational objectives and milestones and support on emerging issues by developing materials and plans.

Develop key messages and timely strategies.

• As a member of the Communications team, contribute to plans and strategies led by others on the team, including but not limited to, such as government relations, digital communications, corporate and regional communications, internal communications, and creative services / brand management.
• Perform other duties as required.

Qualifications and Experience

• A university degree in communications, public relations, journalism or a related discipline or equivalent experience.
• 8 to 10 years of professional public relations, media relations, and communications experience.
• Experience in the energy sector or working on major infrastructure projects would be an asset.
• Sound experience in media relations and issues management, including contentious issues.
• Excellent writing and editing including writing media releases and pitches that translate into news coverage and developing communications materials.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate complicated messages to various audiences with a focus on media and the public in the context of issues management and media relations.

Specifically, the ability to take complex, technical material and synthesize it for the general public to consume.

• Demonstrated history of paid and earned media strategies, including facilitating sponsored content, advertorials, etc.
• Experiencing serving as a spokesperson.
• Requires strong organizational skills to manage workload with competing priorities and tight timeframes and to work effectively under pressure.

Experience using project management software is an asset.

• Experience using and managing a CRM for social media and / or public inquiries.
• Experience managing budgets, vendors and procurement protocols and processes.
• Experience with media and social media monitoring tools, tracking, and developing appropriate KPIs and performance measures for media monitoring and issues tracking across channels.
• When necessary, represent the NWMO at events such as open houses, community fairs, meetings with community groups, conferences, public meetings, sponsored activities, etc.
• The ability to multitask and manage a consistent workload, juggling multiple priorities simultaneously (strong time management and project management skills are key).
• Demonstrate understanding of key business drivers and tailor communications strategies and solutions accordingly.
• Strong relationship management skills to develop and maintain positive relationships with a wide variety of stakeholders, Strong relationships with journalists and influencers across the country and a thorough understanding of the Canadian media landscape.

Preferred

Bilingualism (French / English) would be a strong asset.