Senior Advisor, Strategic Coordination

Employee Status: Contract

Bargaining Unit: Non-Union

Pay Range: $87,879 - $119,440

Location: 10 Bay Street, Toronto

Closing Date: 27-August-2023

Metrolinx is connecting communities across the Greater Golden Horseshoe. Metrolinx operates GO Transit and UP Express, as well as the PRESTO fare payment system. We are also building new and improved rapid transit, including GO Expansion, Light Rail Transit routes, and major expansions to Toronto’s subway system, to get people where they need to go, better, faster and easier. Metrolinx is an agency of the Government of Ontario.

At Metrolinx, equity, diversity and inclusion are essential to living our values of serving with passion, thinking forward and playing as a team.

Our office of Chief Communications Officer is looking to hire a Senior Advisor, reporting to the Senior Manager, Strategy & Engagement. This position provides support by advising and recommending actions on a variety of topics related to policy, programs, and communications. This includes handling sensitive issues and matters of corporate reputational risk in coordination with the Communications Leadership Team and the Office of the CEO. The successful candidate will be responsible for leading strategic initiatives, risk reporting, developing presentations, reports, continuous improvement projects, KPI dashboards and communications on behalf of the Chief Communications Officer as well as managing special projects.

What will I be doing?

• Leads continuous improvements projects using LEAN methodology and best practices to create operational efficiencies in the Office of the Chief Communications Officer and the Communications division as a whole.
• Supports the coordination and development of materials for Board of Directors and Customer Experience Committee meetings.
• Interacts and/or works with cross functional teams, the CEO’s office, and key stakeholders to coordinate information requests, develop progress updates, manage distribution of information while utilizing influencing skills to achieve desired outcomes.
• Assesses and analyzes business operations to effectively evaluate options and manage programs and special projects within established timelines.
• Manages the development and flow of useful, timely and accurate information between the business unit and a broad range of external stakeholders (e.g., Ministries, business partners).
• Develops data in dashboards and synthesizes meaningful information for reporting, analysis, and presentation purposes for use by senior management, internal business units and stakeholders.
• Leads the Risk Program for the department and associated reporting for senior audiences.
• Works collaboratively with members of the Communications Leadership Team, the Senior Management Team (SMT), and their staff on policy, projects and contentious or emerging issues; provides subject matter expertise and advice to assist with planning to ensure successful outcomes.
• Develops and maintains a strong network with internal and external partners to coordinate projects, set priorities and deadlines and share best practices.
• Initiates and supports development of reports, presentations, communication strategies and plans, in collaboration with business units across the Communications team. This includes developing, reviewing, and analyzing reports, presentations, and communication documents prior to dissemination to ensure consistency, quality and good flow of information.
• Responds to enquiries, provides advice, and makes decisions in accordance with established legislation, policies, and procedures.
• Handles complex situations and multiple responsibilities independently to support the executive agenda; identifies emerging issues and urgency of immediate demands; mediates and resolves conflicts associated with issues, ongoing work, and between competing projects.

What skills & qualifications do I need?

• Completion of a degree in Political Science, Public Policy, Public Relations, Communications or related field or a combination of education, training and experience deemed equivalent.
• Knowledge of the theory, principles, and practices of political science, communications, and public relations.
• Experience within an engineering or transit infrastructure environment would be an asset.
• Minimum six (6) years’ experience, ideally in the public sector, developing strategic materials, reports, presentations, public relations materials, or communications materials; managing special projects, complex and sensitive issues/tasks, timely flow of information along with stakeholder interaction.
• Proficiency in computer applications, including MS Office (e.g., Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Excellent analytical skills to analyze business needs and identify and assess risks and impacts on company reputation and develop recommendations for corrective action.
• Strong project management skills are needed to plan, organize, and coordinate internal and external resources engaged in project activities to meet timelines, budget limitations, and adhere to quality control standards and best practices.
• Strong influencing/negotiating as well as political acumen capabilities to deal with a variety of stakeholders, agencies and staff to ensure successful outcomes and achieve goals.
• Excellent interpersonal and oral/written/presentation communication skills to write speeches, prepare presentations, compile awards submissions, and add content to the newsletter and website.

Don’t Meet Every Requirement?

If you’re excited about working with Metrolinx but your past experience doesn’t quite align with every qualification of this posting, we encourage you to apply. You just might be the right candidate for this or other roles. We are always looking for great talent to join our team.

We invite all interested individuals to apply and encourage applications from members of equity-deserving communities, including those who identify as Indigenous, Black, racialized, women, people with disabilities, and people with diverse gender identities, expressions and sexual orientations.

Accommodation:

We value the unique skills and experiences each person brings to Metrolinx and are committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive and accessible environment. We are committed to the requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act so if you require accommodation during the hiring process, please let our Recruitment team know by contacting us at: 416-202-5601 or email [email protected].

Application Process:

All applicants must be legally entitled to work in Canada. Metrolinx will be using email to communicate with you for all job competitions. It is your responsibility to include an updated email address that is checked daily and accepts emails from unknown users. As we send time-sensitive correspondence, we recommend that you check your email regularly. If no response is received, we will assume you are no longer interested in pursuing the opportunity. Please be advised that a Criminal Record Check may be required of the successful candidate. Should it be determined that any background information provided is misleading, inaccurate or incorrect, Metrolinx reserves the right to discontinue with the consideration of your application.

We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.

WE ARE AN EQUITABLE AND INCLUSIVE EMPLOYER.