Manager, Marketing and Communications

OVERVIEW

Are you ready to use your marketing and communications expertise to help advance animal welfare in Canada?

As the Manager, Marketing and Communications, you will be at the forefront of developing and executing integrated brand, marketing, content, and program communication strategies that elevate Humane Canada's mission to promote the humane treatment of all animals.

Reporting to the Director, National Engagement and collaborating closely with our team, you will help shape engaging campaigns across diverse program lines and key channels. Your ability to develop clear, compelling narratives will help connect stakeholders and the public to Humane Canada’s vision and support meaningful progress for animal welfare.

In this role, you will manage the communications and marketing department, with a key focus on communicating Humane Canada’s government relations work clearly and effectively. You will develop and implement strategies that share our policy positions and advocacy efforts with external audiences, supporting our legislative goals and helping increase public and stakeholder understanding of our work. You will also promote our programs and projects, highlighting their significance and success stories to foster deeper awareness and appreciation of our mission across all audiences.

Join us in this work to help create meaningful change for animals and the people who care about them.

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES:

OVERALL

• Develop and implement communications, marketing, and content strategies that highlight Humane Canada’s programs and advocacy efforts and support meaningful engagement with stakeholders and target audiences.
• Lead brand stewardship across Humane Canada's marketing and communications channels, ensuring a cohesive, compelling, and recognizable brand presence that reflects the organization's mission, values, voice, and visual identity.
• Conduct comprehensive performance analyses of campaigns, extracting insights and rigorously assessing outcomes against established objectives.
• Use campaign, email, website, social media, and media monitoring data to improve audience engagement, content performance, and measurable outcomes.
• Build and maintain strategic relationships with key stakeholders to extend Humane Canada’s reach and support the impact of our work.

COMMUNICATIONS

• Collaborate closely with program and project leads to develop and implement individualized communications strategies, editorial plans, and clear content calendars that ensure the delivery of relevant and impactful content.
• Respond to emerging issues and opportunities using the rapid response strategy, including sensitive, high-profile, or time-sensitive communications, to support timely and effective communication with stakeholders and the public.
• Oversee the integration of program and organization communication across all digital platforms, ensuring consistency and alignment with the overall brand image.
• Support website content updates and SEO-informed writing to improve clarity, visibility, accessibility, and audience experience across digital channels.
• Promote Humane Canada’s work to the media by building relationships with reporters, pitching strong stories, and identifying proactive opportunities to share the organization’s mission and successes. Maintain and monitor the Agility PR account to support media outreach, track coverage, and measure the reach and impact of communications efforts.
• Consistently monitor media coverage and coordinate immediate responses when necessary. Craft op-eds, press releases, and feature articles that effectively communicate the organization's initiatives and achievements.
• Ensure all external communications consistently reflect the organization's brand and values, driving engagement and measurable outcomes.
• Ensure communications are accessible, inclusive, and written in plain language, including consideration of accessible design, alt text, and inclusive framing.

MARKETING

• Provide strategic oversight for Humane Canada’s brand development and stewardship, including brand positioning, voice, visual identity, messaging consistency, planning, implementation, and dissemination across all channels.
• Manage the execution of the marketing strategy, helping ensure projects meet their objectives within approved timelines and budgets.
• Develop effective campaign strategies that engage stakeholders in fundraising, events, programs, and advocacy, including organic and paid digital promotion where appropriate.
• Direct the creation, review, and approval of marketing content to ensure alignment with brand guidelines, visual identity, messaging, tone, and communications objectives.
• Maintain a comprehensive activity plan, editorial calendar, and project workflow in Asana to support the marketing strategy and ensure timely, organized execution of all initiatives.
• Oversee the development of content, including social media content, digital ads, reports, website content, and segmented email communications, to meet high standards of brand alignment, visual quality, written clarity, accessibility, and effectiveness.

DEPARTMENT AND TEAM MANAGEMENT

• Oversee the work and performance of direct reports including coordinators and consultants.
• Provide skilled leadership, creative strategy and effective communications messaging to ensure the success of their initiatives, fostering a cohesive and effective marketing effort.
• Manage the marketing & communication budgets, projections, reconcile department expenses and support Humane Canada fiscal reporting.

ORGANIZATION

• Contribute to the overall management of Humane Canada, as a member of the Management team, by engaging in strategic planning, reporting, analysis, fiscal management and operational decision-making.
• Represent Humane Canada to other organizations, stakeholders, community at large and the media as required.

OTHER DUTIES:

• Other duties as assigned.

ACCOUNTABILITY:

• Reports to the Director, National Engagement.

STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS:

• Post-secondary education in communications, marketing, or a related field, along with 4-6 years of communications and marketing management experience delivering integrated strategies for internal and external audiences in a non-profit, public sector, advocacy, agency, or related organizational environment.
• Experience supporting hiring processes for direct reports, such as participating on interview panels and providing input into final selection decisions, along with the ability to provide clear direction, feedback, and support to team members.
• Demonstrated experience in fiscal management related to budgets.
• Experience identifying target audiences and leading multi-channel marketing campaigns that engage, educate, and motivate, with a record of creative marketing work that builds brand recognition and support.
• Experience developing content strategies, editorial plans, campaign calendars, and brand guidance that align audience needs, organizational priorities, visual identity, and measurable communications goals across digital, print, media, campaign, and organizational communications.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to craft clear, persuasive messages and compelling copy tailored to different audiences across multiple platforms.
• Understanding of Canadian media and journalism principles, with experience building media relationships, supporting positive coverage, and managing timely responses to emerging or sensitive communications issues.
• Experience with web analytics, website content management, SEO-informed writing, digital advertising, email marketing, audience segmentation, and campaign performance analysis.
• Strong project and time management skills, including the ability to lead communications projects, set priorities, plan and delegate work, and align deliverables with organizational goals and values.
• Ability to create communications materials that are clear, accessible, inclusive, and aligned with plain language, accessible design principles, and inclusive storytelling.
• Proficiency in Microsoft 365 applications, including Teams, Outlook, OneDrive, and the MS Office suite.
• Strong creative visual design skills in Canva are required, along with working knowledge of Hootsuite, Mailchimp, Agility PR or a similar media monitoring tool, and Asana. Familiarity with graphic design tools such as Adobe Creative Suite, paid digital platforms, and website content management systems is an asset.
• Ability to work independently in a remote environment, take initiative, exercise professional discretion, manage competing priorities, meet deadlines, and adjust plans when circumstances change.
• Commitment to the organization’s mission and values.
• English is essential; bilingualism (English/French) or experience coordinating French translation and review is an asset.

REMOTE NATURE OF THE POSITION:

• Role is fully remote and successful candidate is required to perform responsibilities reliably and effectively through technology.
• Will require use of personal technology (phone, computer, printer etc.) and high-speed internet initially. A corporate laptop will be issued pending successful completion of the 6-month probationary period.
• Working hours are flexible but availability will be generally required between 9 am and 5 pm ET (Eastern Time Zone).
• May be required to work some evenings and weekends.
• Must work to some strident deadlines and manage and respond to competing priorities.
• Availability to travel for role within Canada as required.

If you are interested in learning more about this impactful opportunity with Humane Canada, please apply today with your resume, a letter of introduction and a link to your portfolio, attention Tara Hellewell, careers@humanecanada.ca. If you meet most but not all requirements and still think you would be a great fit for the role, we encourage you to apply. We do not expect all candidates to fit this role description 100 percent. The position will remain open until a suitable candidate is found.