Are you a communications and marketing professional who wants to make a difference to people living in pain? Are you passionate about social mission organizations? This might be the job for you. Pain BC is a registered charity whose mission is to enhance the well-being of all people living with pain through empowerment, care, education and innovation. Our priorities include prevention and early intervention, education and empowerment, health care practice improvement and systems change, as well as stigma reduction and research.

Major duties and responsibilities

The Communications Lead is responsible for leading the projects, campaigns and key activities outlined in the communications plan. The Lead works closely with the Director of Communications to plan, create, and implement communications deliverables for Pain BC, including those for our national action network, Pain Canada.

The Communication Lead’s primary purpose is to develop and execute the appropriate tactics to deliver Pain BC’s communications strategy, as developed by the Director of Communications. This includes: oversight of the communications calendar; determining what content and collateral needs to be created for programs and campaigns; managing campaigns and other projects to completion; and building and maintaining relationships with key external stakeholders.

Content planning and creation – Identifies needed content and collateral; receives key messages from the Director of Communications and writes aligned content; works with the Communications Coordinators and external stakeholders to develop other content in time and with quality; supports content creation for fund development initiatives, including writing material for grant applications and donor communications.
Communication processes – Oversees the communications calendar; manages all technology platforms and ensures their smooth operation; monitors audience engagement metrics and other performance indicators; ensures privacy and compliance with regulations (e.g. CASL) through documented processes.
Community and stakeholder stewardship – Engages and builds lasting relationships with stakeholders and community members through all external communication channels; ensures strong relationships with key stakeholders.
Knowledge building and sharing – Works with internal and external stakeholders to identify and develop new pain-related topics and create appropriate resource content; provides insights to rest of the Pain BC team on emerging topics and trends that are operationally relevant.
Promotion – In collaboration with the Director of Communications, plans and develops effective marketing campaigns and initiatives for all educational opportunities, support services, fundraising, and other organizational events and projects. Collaborates with partner organizations and external stakeholders to ensure all events and initiatives are appropriately promoted and directs the Communications Coordinator, vendors, and advertisers to create promotional collateral and campaigns.
Branding and style – In collaboration with the Director of Communications, defines and maintains organizational brand and style guides; monitors external-facing communications to prevent misalignment with these guides.
Content management – Manages all external communication channels.
Performance monitoring – Analyzes key performance indicators to identify areas of success and areas for improvement. Monitors all communication channels to ensure organizational reach is maintained at optimal levels and keeps internal stakeholders aware of trends and challenges. Uses data to track and report on topics of interest to patient audiences on an ongoing basis.

Requirements and qualifications

Education

Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field or equivalent combination of experience

Experience

Minimum five years of experience in an external communications role is required, preferably with a non-profit organization
Previous experience working with marginalized populations is an asset

Key skills, knowledge and abilities

Management – Able to effectively direct others in performing tasks according to a pre-determined plan in order to achieve desired outcomes in time and within budget; is comfortable providing feedback and helping others develop skills.
Best practices – Has a strong knowledge of a wide range of best practices in the Marketing and Communications fields, particularly but not exclusively for non-profits; engages with trends and advances in these fields and brings applicable insights from them into the organization.
Communication – Has superior written and verbal communication skills and a thorough understanding of best practices around communicating to diverse audiences, including marginalized populations (e.g. people with pain, LGBTQ2S communities, Indigenous peoples, etc.).
Interpersonal – Maintains a positive and respectful attitude when working with others. Is service-oriented and a team player. Can comfortably interact with a diverse range of stakeholders.
Self-directed – Able to determine priorities and meet deadlines with minimal supervision. Finds relevant and appropriate content to share with patient and provider audiences with minimal supervision.
Proficiency – Well-versed in using a diverse range of digital tools: Google Analytics, Google AdWords, CRM systems (e.g., Blackbaud), MS PowerPoint, CMS systems (e.g., Drupal), and creative software (e.g., Adobe Photoshop, Canva). Comfortable learning new technologies.
Problem solving – Confidently navigates through challenging and/or unexpected circumstances, including managing potential conflicts and/or urgent situations that may arise with community members on social media platforms. Responds to challenging situations in a respectful and helpful manner. Uses good judgement to alert the Director of Communications to escalating issues.
Collaboration – Works well with others on collaborative projects and tasks. Responds well to competing demands.
Entrepreneurial – Seeks new opportunities for organizational growth through external communications channels and partnerships. Experiments with new content and material to further improve engagement metrics across all communications channels. Identifies and shares relevant opportunities with other portfolios.

Compensation and work context

This position is a full-time, permanent, work-from-home position (37.5 hours a week). Regular in-person meetings in the Lower Mainland will be required. This position requires union membership in the BC General Employees Union. The starting salary is $67,626.00 per annum (non-negotiable, as per the BCGEU collective agreement) and the compensation range for this position is $67,626.00 - $77,681.02 per year (with step increases every year) with a competitive benefits package, including RRSP matching, a flexible health spending account and four weeks of paid vacation per year.

Pain BC is committed to the principles and practices of an inclusive and equitable employer. We encourage applicants from communities that are structurally marginalized based on race, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression.

To apply

Please submit your application by April 21, 2024. Specific inquiries about this posting can be sent to Kathryn Sutton, Director of Communications at kathryn@painbc.ca. Only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. To learn more about Pain BC, please see www.painbc.ca. To learn more about Pain Canada, go to www.paincanada.ca.