Director, Marketing & Communications
As we serve vulnerable youth, all employees working for Covenant House Vancouver must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Proof of vaccination status will be required prior to your start date.
About Covenant House Vancouver
Since 1997, Covenant House Vancouver has provided relentless support for youth experiencing, or at-risk of experiencing, homelessness. We provide support to young people age 16 to 24 who have experienced a wide range of early life and ongoing, complex trauma; including physical, sexual and emotional abuse and neglect. Our purpose is to serve all youth, with absolute respect and unconditional love, to help youth experiencing homelessness, and provide a safe and supportive environment for all youth in need.
Working at Covenant House will be one of the most meaningful things that you’ll do in your life. However, you will be confronted with significant issues in this work and frankly, this work is not for everyone. In the course of doing your work, particularly for those doing frontline work, you will be exposed to the trauma of others. The youth we serve may also experience overdose, physical harm perpetuated by self or others and even death. Because we provide a relational model of care, the harms our youth experience can impact us in varying degrees.
While we provide training for youth workers on avoiding what we call vicarious trauma (namely, the trauma you can experience or take on by hearing other’s traumatic stories), and a generous allowance for counselling, it is still difficult work that can and does take its toll on many employees. Self-awareness and self-care are key. Some candidates and employees decide during the recruiting and probationary periods that this work isn’t for them, and that is totally fair.
We will provide more information on vicarious trauma during recruiting and on-boarding, to help you decide if Covenant House is the place for you.
The Impact the Director, Marketing & Communications can make:
The Director, Marketing & Communications provides strategic leadership for communications, marketing, and advocacy at Covenant House Vancouver (CHV). The Director is responsible for setting and guiding the strategy for all CHV communications including Philanthropic Communications, Advocacy and Internal Communications. As part of the Senior Management Team, and reporting to the COO, you will oversee a multi-dimensional portfolio of work that supports several agency goals. As a predominantly donor-funded organization, supporting fundraising efforts is a vital part of communications as is leveraging CHV as an expert on youth homelessness, increasing brand awareness and growth, and elevating CHV’s voice in the community. This portfolio of work includes responsibility for messaging to donors, government, and partners. The Director will contribute to the leadership and culture of the Marketing & Communications team, as well as the larger organization. You will work across the agency with diverse teams and manage key external media relationships.
How you will contribute:
- Build authentic relationships across the agency and collaborate closely with program staff to ensure communications are accurate, thoughtful, and reflective of the organization’s values, approaches, and impact
- Develop and implement the overall strategy for agency communications, including the development of key messaging, ensuring alignment across channels in support of strategic goals
- Lead the Marketing and Communications team through coaching and mentorship, and encourage collaboration, professional development, and continuous performance improvement
- Identify and establish content strategies to promote goals and priorities of the agency
- Frame and disseminate complex issues for donor and public consumption
- Work closely with Philanthropy to support fundraising including development of the strategy and creative, and overseeing creation of content and material
- Support the communication strategy for the CEO
- Work alongside the CEO, COO and Chief Program and Impact Officer to support agency communications and advocacy goals by providing strategic messaging on issues affecting vulnerable youth
- Act as the agency spokesperson, and help train and identify other spokespeople
- Build and maintain relationships with media outlets and journalists
- Manage the crisis communications function including preparing issue analyses, key messaging and working with other internal departments
- Manage applicable internal communications as needed
- Manage the annual Marketing and Communications department budget
- Apply a trauma-informed and DE&I lens to all communications and media strategies, ensuring messaging is inclusive, empowering, and reflective of diverse lived experiences
- Foster trust through open and timely communication with internal and external audiences
- Work with the Senior Management Team to model a culture of collaboration, break down silos, and provide leadership for the entire organization
Who are we looking for?
Education and Experience:
- University Degree in Communications, Marketing, Public Relations or related discipline
- Ten years of experience, including in a senior communications role
- Excellent leadership skills with demonstrated ability to build and lead a team
- Experience working in and directly supporting the fundraising aims of a donor-funded not-for-profit organization
- Proven ability to think strategically to communicate complex issues to support organizational goals
- Experience working in, or with, government agencies
- A track record of success in leading a dynamic communications and marketing portfolio and directing results-driven projects and initiatives.
- Experience with issues management and crisis communications.
Competencies:
- Understanding of communication needs for diverse audiences, and how to tailor messages accordingly
- Understanding of change management principles
- Excellent understanding of and familiarity with brand building and brand management
- Ability to provide strategic leadership to all areas of the portfolio, combined with deeper experience in at least one of the areas.
- Exceptional inclusive people leadership skills. Ability to foster innovation and lead change.
- Ability to develop direct reports and grow a healthy, collaborative, high-performance team.
- A commitment to continuous learning on principles of equity, diversity, inclusion and reconciliation.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Ability to write in a clear, concise and inclusive manner.
- Exceptional critical thinking, creative problem-solving, research and organizational skills.
- Ability to foster relationships and work effectively with internal and external partners, including government officials, the media, industry partners and community organizations.
- Ability to embrace new technology and navigate the changing relationship between people and emerging tech.
- Ability to analyze data to evaluate campaigns/initiatives and make informed decisions and recommendations.
- Ability to prioritize and manage competing demands and expectations from multiple partners.
Compensation
The starting salary range for this position is $120,000.00 – $160,000.00 / year.
Total Rewards
This position has flexible working arrangements with a hybrid in office expectation; excellent extended health and dental benefits for you and your spouse & children, including generous counselling benefits. During the first year, employees receive three weeks’ paid vacation, increasing to four in the second year; we have paid sick and personal leave and a matching Registered Pension Plan, investment in professional development, and more. If you’d like more information on what we offer, please ask!
We were recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers in 2024!
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Covenant House Vancouver is a secular organization that welcomes and serves young people from all backgrounds. While the international federation to which we belong was founded in the 1970s by members of the Catholic Church, we are not aligned with any specific faith traditions.
CHV is committed to upholding diversity, equity, and inclusion in our workplace. We actively encourage applications from members of groups with historical and/or current barriers to equity, including, but not limited to:
- Persons from groups marginalized due to race, ancestry, colour, religion/spiritual beliefs, or place of origin;
- Persons with visible (physical) and/or invisible (mental) disabilities;
- Persons who identify as women;
- Persons of marginalized sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions; and
- Indigenous persons.
We recognize that many of these identities intersect and that therefore, diversity, equity, and inclusion can be complex. We value the contributions that each person brings and are committed to ensuring full and equal participation for all at Covenant House Vancouver.
We love what we do and try to make a difference every day. Covenant House Vancouver offers a competitive salary with a great benefits package and excellent opportunity for training and career advancement. If you are looking to join a place where we have a purpose and aim to achieve positive outcomes, please join us by applying.
If our recruitment process does not work for you, let us know. Let’s see how we can work together to get to know you and see what might be a great fit!