Job Category

Job Profile

Job Title

Department

Compensation Range

The Compensation Range is the span between the minimum and maximum base salary for a position. The midpoint of the range is approximately halfway between the minimum and the maximum and represents an employee that possesses full job knowledge, qualifications and experience for the position. In the normal course, employees will be hired, transferred or promoted between the minimum and midpoint of the salary range for a job.

Posting End Date

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.

Job End Date

This position is expected to be filled by promotion/reassignment and is included here to inform you of its vacancy at the University.

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career. 

Job Summary

The University of British Columbia is one of Canada’s leading universities and one of the best public universities in the world. UBC’s Faculty of Applied Science teaches 9,000 students, and leads research in engineering, nursing, community and regional planning, and architecture and landscape architecture. Applied Science is one of the largest faculties at UBC.

The faculty’s Marketing & Communications team seeks a seasoned Communications Manager to research, write, publish and amplify content; manage trade/business media relations; and, manage student, faculty member and staff communications. This employee’s ultimate goal is to create and publish content that helps raise awareness about the Faculty of Applied Science and UBC Engineering, and to build, protect and defend the faculty’s reputation. The Communications Manager reports to the Associate Director of Reputation and Strategic Communications.

This is a full-time, permanent position, at the Vancouver campus, for someone with no less than five years of related or transferrable experience.

Organizational Status

The person will work closely with other members of the Applied Science communications team, including:

• their manager, the Associate Director of Reputation and Strategic Communications
• their peers, the Manager of Communications and Content, who manages content and social media; and the Creative Services Specialist
• eight other staff members in the faculty’s Marketing & Communications team
• a large group of Work Learn students on the Marketing & Communications team

They will also work closely with:

• the media relations specialist from UBC’s central marketing team who, focuses on mainstream and top-tier media
• faculty members
• Applied Science support staff, including professionals in student services, HR, and research and partnerships
• marketers, communicators and government relations staff across the university
• external partners, contractors and stakeholders

The new employee will give leadership and direction to 1-2 part-time Work Learn students who are participating in an internship-like program

Work Performed

• Work, collaborate and lead others in a way that reflects the values of the Faculty of Applied Science: Integrity, Adventure, Agility, Creativity, Together.
• Build strong and effective working relationships within the Marketing & Communications team, with the faculty’s schools and departments and with the wider UBC community, to help identify, create, publish and amplify Applied Science’s and UBC Engineering’s stories
• Manage, develop and execute trade/business media relations strategy that helps us earn niche media coverage for researching breakthroughs and findings, as well as organizational announcements
• Create and execute internal and external communications plans for research findings and organizational announcements, to earn maximum exposure for Applied Science and UBC Engineering with its key audiences and stakeholders. This includes research breakthroughs, funding grants, awards, faculty/staff appointments etc.
• Research, write, edit, proof, publish and curate content and media materials, including news articles, media plans, media releases, media kits, a-roll, b-roll and photography
• Manage internal communications strategy for the Faculty, and produces regular newsletters for students, faculty members and staff, and leads continually develops newsletter to ensure they eagerly opened and read by recipients
• Build and execute a content strategy for the Faculty of Applied Science’s intranet to keep faculty members and staff informed about news and developments within the faculty
• Lead part-time Work Learn students who report directly to this position, and be accountable for each student’s work and their professional growth
• Manage relationships with internal and external content creators/vendors (i.e., students, faculty members, staff, alumni, writers and external agencies), and oversees planning and production of communications materials and assets
• Monitor issues, trends and news relating to UBC and the Faculty of Applied Science and UBC Engineering, escalates potential issues that could impact our community or our reputation, and helps to manage communications
• Develop metrics and dashboards to measure and report on success of communications initiatives and announcements
• Assist with other PR and communications tasks including: researching, developing, preparing and reviewing presentations, speeches and articles; responding to media or public enquiries; coordinating briefings and media training; executive communications
• Other related duties as needed

Consequence of Error/Judgement

Decision-making is based on a thorough knowledge of the Marketing & Communications team’s policies and procedures. The staff member must exercise initiative and judgment in establishing priorities and carrying tasks through to completion, and must demonstrate tact and discretion.

This person has dealings with faculty members, staff and students within UBC, as well as numerous external audiences. Error in the performance of duties or in the exercise of discretion may result in significant damage to the faculty's reputation.

Supervision Received
Works independently within established guidelines and standards. Work is reviewed in terms of achievement of defined goals.

Supervision Given
Directs the work of internal and external service providers. Supervises 1-2 student worker/s who are completing seasonal Work Learn postings with the Marketing & Communications team.
 

Minimum Qualifications
Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline. Minimum five years of related experience, or the equivalent combination of education and experience.

- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own

- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline, such as digital media, marketing, communications, journalism, public relations or English
• Minimum five years of related experience, or the equivalent combination of education and experience
• Experience building strong and effective working relationships with teammates, supervisors, senior leaders, business partners and, if applicable, with direct reports
• Experience leading junior staff in any capacity, or a leadership interest combined with an ability to articulate your leadership style
• Experience creating content that promote an organization’s commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion and Indigeneity
• Experience in 1 communications planning, 2 beginning-to-end publishing of owned content in various forms such as news articles or blog posts and 3 internal/employee communications
• Experience building media lists, and working directly with journalists and news outlets, to place news articles in business/trade media
• Experience in science or scientific research communications
• Experience working within a complex organizational structure, including academia and/or the public sector