Associate, Public Affairs Jobs

As Canada’s leading public relations firm, NATIONAL is home to Canada’s deepest bench of public affairs experts. NATIONAL has government relations and public affairs specialists in offices across Canada - Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Saint John, Halifax, and St. John’s.

Whether on Parliament Hill in Ottawa or at the provincial legislatures or city halls in cities across the country, our NATIONAL experts have deep expertise in developing impactful advocacy and awareness plans to influence key decision-makers.

NATIONAL is looking for an ambitious, proactive and collaborative professional with experience in public affairs to join our growing team to help deliver results for NATIONAL and our clients.

As a key team member, you will contribute towards the day-to-day aspects of public affairs, government relations, issues management and corporate communications accounts, while also growing your business management skills. Most importantly, we’re looking for talent who is keen to learn and build a long-term career at NATIONAL.

What you will do

NATIONAL’s Public Affairs practice client base is expanding, and we are looking for an Associate to help service our clients and become an invaluable member of the public affairs team. This role will include a number of responsibilities, including:

• Manage client research and monitoring needs and provide informed recommendations based on key insights and learnings.
• Plan and execute event management, logistics coordination and communications planning for clients.
• Support and contribute towards communications campaigns, which may include message development; earned, owned and paid media strategy, content development and public engagement.
• Support and contribute towards public affairs strategies as well as stakeholder engagement and advocacy campaigns in support of our clients’ business objectives.
• Contribute to the public affairs practice and Firm’s new business development initiatives.
• Work with other NATIONAL practices, teams and offices to deliver integrated communications services.
• Support key client accounts as part of an integrated team across multiple industry sectors, such as health, government, education, infrastructure, transportation, real estate development and energy.
• Support and contribute towards media training as well as issues and crisis management mandates.

Candidate profile:

• Two years experience in government relations, public affairs and strategic communications within a consulting, political, corporate or public service setting.
• Actively follows #onpoli or #topoli, while also being able to leverage and produce content on major social platforms
• Doesn’t take themselves too seriously – but takes their work VERY seriously
• Lifelong learner who pushes themselves to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to communications trends.
• Compelling writer and persuasive communicator that is able to engage people through captivating story telling, in-person or through a variety of communications mediums (Word, PowerPoint and other innovative digital platforms).
• Loves collaborating on teams – you are a goal-oriented, ‘yes’ person!
• Shows curiosity for learning about the sectors that drive Ontario’s economy such as health, government, education, infrastructure, transportation, real estate development and energy.
• True team player who is eager to collaborate and help the practice and Firm achieve its business objectives.
• Understands Ontario’s provincial and municipal legislative processes, including the strategic issues that matter to business and the public.
• Consistently demonstrates attention to detail and strong organizational skills
• Has a problem-solving mind and is continually looking for new ways of approaching the challenges faced by governments and industry.
• Post-secondary degree in a related field such as public relations, political science, business administration, or public administration
• Strategic thinker with strong interpersonal skills who wants to work in a client service environment.

NATIONAL offers an opportunity to do challenging, unconventional work, while building a career in corporate communications consulting with a firm that recognizes performance and rewards achievement.

We thank you for your interest in NATIONAL. Please note only candidates considered for an interview will be contacted. NATIONAL is committed to employment equity and encourages applications from all qualified candidates. Accessibility accommodations for candidates requiring them are available upon request.