Director, Political Action and Communications

INTERNAL / EXTERNAL POSTING

Bulletin No. 2026-03

Director, Political Action and Communications

Ottawa, Ontario

March 10, 2026

Internal and External Deadline: March 24, 2026

The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) is the largest labour organization in Canada, bringing together dozens of national and international unions, provincial and territorial federations of labour and community-based labour councils to represent more than 3 million workers across the country.

Our staff are a team of dynamic professionals dedicated to growing worker power and ensuring every working person has a voice on the job. When you work at the CLC, you’re more than just an individual employee — you’re helping to lead a movement.

The CLC has an upcoming vacancy for the position of Director, Political Action and Communications. This exciting opportunity will appeal to a dynamic leader eager to add expertise to the CLC’s current programs and initiatives as well as respond to the specific needs of our members.

This position is based at CLC’s headquarters located in Ottawa, Ontario with the expectation of regular presence in the office to help facilitate collaboration with colleagues, management, and the leadership team.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Government Relations:

• Developing and implementing a national government relations strategy to advance the policy priorities of the Canadian Labour Congress and Canada’s labour movement;
• Providing strategic advice to the CLC President, Officers and senior leadership on political developments, public policy issues and advocacy strategies;
• Building and maintaining constructive relationships with Members of Parliament, Senators, Ministers’ offices, political staff and senior public servants;
• Leading the development of policy positions, legislative priorities and advocacy strategies in consultation with affiliated unions and internal departments;
• Monitoring federal political developments, legislative initiatives and regulatory changes and assessing their implications for workers and the labour movement;
• Coordinating lobbying activities, parliamentary engagement and advocacy initiatives including lobby days, parliamentary briefings and stakeholder outreach; and
• Overseeing the preparation of briefing materials, policy papers, submissions and advocacy tools to support engagement with governments and policy-makers.

Campaign Strategy:

• Developing and leading national advocacy and public engagement campaigns that advance the priorities of the Canadian Labour Congress and Canada’s labour movement;
• Designing integrated campaign strategies that combine communications, government relations, research, digital engagement and grassroots mobilization;
• Overseeing the development of campaign plans, messaging frameworks, materials and toolkits to support coordinated action across the country;
• Coordinating campaign timelines, budgets and cross-departmental resources to ensure the effective delivery of campaign objectives; and
• Overseeing political and public opinion research, polling and strategic analysis to inform campaign development and advocacy priorities.

Political Mobilization and Affiliate Engagement:

• Leading the National Political Action Committee of the CLC to work with affiliated unions, federations of labour and labour councils to coordinate campaign activities and strengthen labour’s collective political influence;
• Leading the planning and implementation of political and issue-based campaigns, including electoral engagement initiatives, public education efforts and worker mobilization;
• Developing strategies to engage union members and the broader public through digital tools, direct outreach, events and coordinated actions;
• Supporting the development of training and resources for affiliates and labour bodies to strengthen organizing, advocacy and political engagement; and
• Ensuring effective coordination between government relations, communications and mobilization strategies to maximize the political impact of the labour movement.

Strategic Communications:

• Developing and overseeing an integrated strategic communications plan to advance the political and organizational objectives of the CLC while promoting awareness and building support for Canada’s labour movement;
• Managing the organization’s proactive and reactive communications strategies with respect to media, affiliated unions, policy makers, influencers and the public; and
• Providing ongoing analysis of the impact of all communication strategies.

Media Relations:

• Developing and maintaining relationships with media contacts across platforms and outlets;
• Developing messaging, speaking notes and training for CLC spokespeople; and
• Writing and placing public statements, news releases, opinion pieces and articles.

Public Relations:

• Overseeing the development of innovative messaging, branding, design, video and social media materials;
• Overseeing all online, print and broadcast advertising; and
• Overseeing the development, design, content and maintenance of organizational websites and social media channels.

Member Relations:

• Overseeing internal and membership communications, including letters, speeches, briefing notes, e-newsletters, and promotional materials;
• Working with affiliated unions to broaden support for Canada’s labour movement and amplify shared messages;
• Managing and maintaining integrated communications databases (email, text and social media); and
• Conducting training with affiliates, federations of labour and labour councils to enhance coordinated message delivery on labour movement issues.

Departmental Direction:

• Assigning, directing and supervising the team;
• Overseeing the day-to-day operation and administration of the Department including budgets, planning and staff development;
• Working cooperatively with other departments, regions and affiliated unions; and
• Negotiating and managing all contracted work in the department, such as media distribution, media monitoring, photography, videography, website development and creative consultants.

Qualifications

The successful candidate will have the following:

• Five years of experience leading organizational government relations, campaigns, communications, and media relations, along with demonstrated experience in staff supervision and project management, preferably within a unionized work environment.
• Excellent interpersonal skills to effectively work and communicate with internal staff, CLC elected leaders, government officials, stakeholders, and affiliated unions.
• Strong ability to think strategically and independently while coordinating multiple tasks with competing responsibilities and timelines.
• Experience building and maintaining relationships with elected officials, political staff, senior public servants, and key stakeholders, along with a strong understanding of the role of the labour movement in Canadian public policy debates and political processes.
• Demonstrated experience in developing policy positions, advocacy materials, and briefing documents for senior leaders engaging with government officials, as well as experience designing and implementing public affairs, advocacy, or issue-based campaigns.
• Experience coordinating multi-stakeholder campaigns or initiatives involving unions, community organizations, and allied partners.
• Experience supporting electoral engagement, voter outreach initiatives, or political campaign activities is considered an asset.
• Demonstrated experience developing and executing social media strategies and building subscriber databases, along with experience overseeing both large-scale and targeted advertising buys across radio, television, print, online, and social media platforms.
• Ability to apply an equity and human rights lens to all aspects of work;
• Relevant educational background or equivalent work experience, combined with sound budgeting and financial management skills.
• Proficiency in both English and French, written and spoken, is considered an asset.

The annual salary for this position is $136,765.76 (2025 rates) plus benefits under the collective agreement of the IAMAW, Local Lodge 3111 CULR. This includes generous health, vision, and dental benefits, group life insurance and LTD coverage, pension, as well as a monthly vehicle allowance and coverage for fuel, internet, and cell phone.

Please submit your application to the attention of Lori McCarthy, Director of Human Resources, via email: careers@clcctc.ca by March 24, 2026. Please quote Bulletin 2026-03 in your application.

Note: The CLC will complete its internal hiring process prior to proceeding with external candidates. While we appreciate all applications received, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not used as part of the hiring process at the CLC.

The CLC is an equal opportunity employer. Members of equity seeking groups are encouraged to self-identify. Women, workers of colour, workers with disabilities, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, two-spirit, intersex and Indigenous workers are encouraged to apply for this position.

The CLC is dedicated to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities during the hiring process as needed. Please inform us if you require any accommodation.