Senior Manager, Public Relations

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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 will be filled internally. It is posted for informational purposes only.

Job Summary

The Senior Manager, Public Relations provides strategic leadership and is accountable for the development, integration and implementation of the Faculty of Medicine’s Research & Innovation and Public Relations communications portfolio. The position establishes strategic communications direction across research and innovation, media relations, public affairs and reputation management, ensuring alignment with Faculty and University priorities.

Organizational Status

The University of British Columbia is a global centre for research and teaching, consistently ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world. Since 1915, UBC’s entrepreneurial spirit has embraced innovation and challenged the status quo. UBC encourages its students, staff and faculty to challenge convention, lead discovery and explore new ways of learning. At UBC, bold thinking is given a place to develop into ideas that can change the world.

Our Vision: To Transform Health for Everyone

Ranked among the world’s top medical schools with the fifth-largest MD enrollment in North America, the UBC Faculty of Medicine is a leader in both the science and the practice of medicine. Across British Columbia, more than 12,000 faculty and staff are training the next generation of doctors and health care professionals, making remarkable discoveries, and helping to create the pathways to better health for our communities at home and around the world.

The Faculty of Medicine -comprised of approximately 2,600 administrative support, technical/research and management and professional staff, as well approximately 620 full-time academic and over 14,000 clinical faculty members-is composed of 19 academic basic science and/or clinical departments, 3 schools, and 26 research centres and institutes. Together with its University and Health Authority partners, the Faculty of Medicine delivers innovative programs and conducts research in the areas of health and life sciences. Faculty, staff and trainees are located at university campuses, clinical academic campuses in hospital settings and other regionally based centres across the province.

The UBC Vancouver Campus is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people. The City of Vancouver is located on Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations territory.

This position reports to Executive Director, Office of Creative and Communications, Faculty of Medicine. The incumbent is a strategic leader responsible for advancing and protecting the reputation of the UBC Faculty of Medicine through integrated communications, media relations, public affairs and issues management strategies. Reporting to the Executive Director, Creative & Communications, the role operates with a high degree of autonomy and strategic judgement to establish communications direction across a complex, multi-stakeholder academic, research and health system environment.

The Senior Manager provides counsel to the Executive Director and Faculty leadership on media engagement, reputation management, government and stakeholder communications, crisis and issues management, and institutional positioning. The role develops and maintains strong relationships with Faculty leadership, communicators across the province, central university portfolios and external partners, including government, healthcare and industry organizations.

Work Performed

• Develops, establishes and directs comprehensive and integrated communications strategies for the Research & Innovation/Public Relations portfolio across Faculty schools, departments, research centres and institutes, setting priorities and communications approaches that support Faculty and institutional objectives.
• Leads and is accountable for the Faculty’s overarching research and innovation communications strategy, integrating communications priorities across research leadership, institutes, centres and external partners and ensuring alignment with broader Faculty and University positioning.
• Provides senior strategic counsel to Faculty leadership and determines communications approaches within the portfolio for public relations, media engagement, government and stakeholder communications, reputation management and high-profile or sensitive issues.
• Ensures that Faculty of Medicine priorities, initiatives, messaging and content are incorporated into institutional activities and campaigns, in close collaboration with UBC Media Relations, UBC Communications, UBC Brand & Marketing, and UBC Government Relations to support coordinated institutional positioning and stakeholder engagement.
• Directs to ensure that communications plans and execution of plans align with UBC Faculty of Medicine and UBC-wide brand and communications guides and protocols to enhance the reputation of the university and the Faculty and mitigate reputational risk.
• Directs and prioritizes communications resources supporting the portfolio and provides strategic oversight of the development of executive, media and public-facing communications materials.
• Identifies and recommends new communication opportunities to Faculty leadership for external communications across the Faculty and ensures units are aware of key announcements, priorities and initiatives with reputational and strategic significance.
• Guides and advances the production of major public-facing communications events hosted by and involving the Faculty and the University, including high-profile institutional announcements and engagements.
• Establishes and advises on strategic messaging and positioning for major research, public relations and institutional announcements involving the Faculty, escalating cross-portfolio or institutionally significant matters to the Executive Director as appropriate.
• Is responsible for managing Faculty news releases and news posts to support institutional reputation and strategic priorities.
• Establishes and directs the Faculty’s media relations, research-related issues management and public relations strategy across schools, departments, centres and institutes, including responses to complex and sensitive matters with significant reputational implications.
• Advises Faculty leadership on strategic communications and public relations activities, including issues management and media response strategies.
• Serves as a trusted internal advisor to Faculty researchers and senior administration regarding communications best-practices and ensuring that messaging aligns with Faculty priorities and objectives, and UBC brand guidelines while supporting effective public positioning and media engagement.
• Provides input and advice to UBC Media Relations regarding Faculty of Medicine stories and issues management including emerging issues and reputational considerations.
• Leads the prioritization, development, and implementation of a variety of integrated brand-aligned communications initiatives across current and emerging platforms, including print, digital, social media, web sites, etc.to support strategic positioning and audience engagement.
• Develops, owns and directs an integrated public relations and media relations strategy for the Faculty, establishing portfolio priorities, positioning, response frameworks and measures of effectiveness in alignment with the Executive Director’s broader communications strategy.
• Establishes, maintains and monitors performance metrics for Faculty media relations initiatives based on industry standards and best practices to assess reach, engagement and impact.
• Leads and develops the Faculty’s presence at major external events in collaboration with UBC Media Relations, Government Relations and Brand and Marketing, and external partners to advance strategic visibility and external engagement opportunities.
• Initiates and fosters close working relationships with Faculty communicators, central communications staff, and communicators at partner organizations (government, industry, health system) to ensure a timely, relevant and mutually beneficial flow of relevant research and international-related information and coordinated communications approaches across partner organizations.
• Other duties as required.

Consequence of Error/Judgement

This position requires a high degree of maturity, autonomy, collegiality and independence. Errors in judgment or action could negatively impact the reputation of the Faculty and University at an international level. The position impacts working relationships with a range of critical internal and external partners (including, but not limited to, government ministries and funding agencies, industry partners and health system partners).

Supervision Received

This position works within broad policy guidelines and mandates, and reports to the Executive Director, Office of Creative and Communications

Supervision Given

Manages full-time Communications staff in the Office of Creative and Communications. Also provides mentorship and oversight to communications staff elsewhere in Faculty of Medicine schools, departments, centers, institutes and units across B.C.

Minimum Qualifications

Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline. Minimum seven years of related experience, or communication services, 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

• Experience in a large, research-intensive university setting is preferred.
• Demonstrated success in developing and implementing strategic communications plans that support institutional research priorities and research teams; developing ROI metrics, and providing analytic measurement of communication efforts. A reputation as a trusted advisor to institutional leaders;
• Ability to work effectively and diplomatically with various levels of senior administration, audiences, external agencies and the public; Successful track record in building and leading teams; Ability to think critically and make thoughtful, informed, and thorough recommendations and decisions; Experience in leading large communications projects, from initial needs analyses, planning, and implementation, through to monitoring, completion, and evaluation, consistently on time and on budget; Demonstrated ability to write quickly and fluently for a variety of audiences and communications platforms (i.e., media releases, speaking notes, print, web, social media, etc.); Demonstrated understanding of the principles and practices of communications, new media, issues management and public relations;
• Ability to break down complex information and exercise diplomacy, tact and discretion when working with information of a confidential or sensitive nature. Ability to work with equal effectiveness independently and in a team environment; Expert user of Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office, content management systems and collaborative programs such as SharePoint Expert verbal and written communications skills;
• Models and demonstrates good communication through active listening and appreciative inquiry and open to providing and receiving timely, constructive feedback.
• Listens to, encourages and expresses creative and innovative ideas. Open to experiment and improvise with new ways of approaching processes, tasks or problems.