Manager, Corporate Communications

Job Type:

Department:

Salary:

Close Date (closes at 12:00 am on date noted below):

Hours per Week:

Openings:

Corporate Communications Leadership and Strategy

• Responsible for developing media relations, engagement, marketing, communications, and reputation management strategies that advance the overall narrative of the Town of Milton as A Place of Possibility

• Serves as the corporate centre of expertise for media and public relations opportunities, and provides information, tools, and advice to Communications Advisors for major departmental communications initiatives

• Proactively manages the reputation of the organization through developing solutions

• Develops and maintains relationships with identified strategic partners including key community and regional agencies, and key program and institutional partners

• Develops and updates annual work plans and strategic roadmaps that reflect departmental and corporate priorities

• Ensures alignment with the Town's strategic plan, accessibility legislation, and digital transformation goals.

• Supports the Director on counsel to senior leaders on issues management

• Monitors applicable operating and capital budgets, ensuring fiscal responsibility and recommends changes to annual budgets aligned with divisional and corporate priorities or needs

Media Relations

• Develops and maintains strong relationships with journalists and other stakeholders and partners with audiences that align with the Town of Milton's objectives

• Maintains an inventory of emerging opportunities through research on editorial calendars and past coverage of target publications

• Proactively pitches stories that align with the interests of target publications and advance corporate objectives among the Town's core audiences

• Performs media training and preparation for spokespeople

• Coordinates responses to incoming media inquiries and maintains a log of all responses

Crisis and Risk Communications

• Performs the role and functions of the legislatively required Deputy Emergency Information Officer under the Emergency Management Act of Ontario

• Participates in an after-hours on-call rotating schedule to support the Town and its residents in the event of an emergency or issues management

• Monitors and identifies current affairs that may have impact on municipal services or reputation of the organization

• Provides risk communication counsel to Director and senior leadership

Continuous Improvement of Corporate Communications Channels

• Oversees the effective use and growth of corporate communications channels, including social media, the Town's website, intranet, newsletters, advertising channels, etc. to ensure ongoing improvements and to manage the Town's reputation.

• Provides leadership in content creation and interaction through the Town's centralized social media channels and provides direction to increase engagement and growth.

• Provides leadership in recommending new communications channels according to the Town's priorities, audiences, communications trends and leading practices

• Uses analytics to assess the effectiveness of organic and paid channel tactics

• Collaborates with Manager, Customer Experience & Branding to prepare regular reports on communications, media relations, and marketing activities with metrics including, but not limited to, overall engagement, communication channel performance, media coverage to stakeholders, as needed and determined by the Director

• Uses results to inform the development of strategies and recommendations for continuous improvement

Leadership of the Corporate Communications Team

• Leads, and provides advice, support, guidance and coaching to staff within the Corporate Communications team

• Responsible for the recruitment, training, performance management and professional development planning of assigned staff

• Holds self and employees to a high standard of professionalism and accountability consistent with the expectations outlined in the Town's Code of Conduct

• Promotes a high level of employee engagement among direct reports

• Supervises the activities of direct report staff, providing work direction and technical advice and expertise, assigning tasks/projects, determining methods and procedures to be used, resolving problems, and ensuring results are achieved

• Establishes staff goals and objectives for direct reports, monitors progress, and identifies opportunities for professional development and growth

• Establishes and maintains strong workflow management and ensures appropriate redundancies and back-ups are in place to maintain service in a fast-paced communications environment

• Supports the Director in day-to-day management including business planning, reporting, budgets, resources, and staffing

• Directs and supervises the team's day-to-day workflow management in relation to communications work requests, progress, and deliverables

• Regularly monitors intake system and meets with staff regularly to identify opportunities of continuous quality improvement in workflow processes

• Using change management frameworks and principles revises processes to ensure effective, equitable and efficient workflow across the various roles within the team

• Develops and disseminates service level agreements, standard operating procedures, and other process or governance documentation to ensure consistent internal processes and collaboration across divisions and departments

Minimum Qualifications

• Post-secondary degree in Public Relations, Journalism, Communications or similar discipline

• Minimum seven (7) years progressively responsible experience in corporate communications and public relations

• Minimum three (3) years' experience supervising staff in large organizations or agency settings

• Proven experience working with senior leaders to develop and implement effective public relations strategies

• Experience supervising workflow within an environment with multiple and competing priorities

• Working knowledge of change management frameworks and principles

• Demonstrated experience proactively managing issues to advance an organization's reputation

• Requires expert knowledge of the changing media landscape and how to leverage both traditional and non-traditional forms of media to advance corporate initiatives by reaching target audiences and deliver positive, compelling messages and stories

• Exceptional written and presentation skills, including working knowledge of Canadian Press (CP) Style

• Strong knowledge of Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Personal Privacy Act (MFIPPA) and Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation

• Ability to build strong relationships with traditional and non-traditional media outlets, influencers, and bloggers

Preferred Qualifications

• Completion of Incident Management System (IMS) 100 and 200

• Certificate in risk or crisis communications

• Experience working in a public sector organization and/or a municipal setting

• Accredited in Public Relations (APR) designation

Note to Applicants

This posting is for an existing job vacancy.

The Town is an equal opportunity employer, committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, accessible, and respectful workplace. We encourage applications from all qualified individuals and are dedicated to fair and transparent hiring practices.

We thank all who apply, however only those selected to move forward in the process will be contacted.

Accommodations

Should you be selected to participate in the recruitment process, please inform Human Resources of any accommodations you may require. We will work with you to ensure your full participation in the process.

How to Apply

Interested applicants are invited to apply online at under the Employment Opportunities section. Please ensure your application is submitted by 11:59 pm on February 27, 2026.

If you are currently employed with the Town of Milton, please apply internally through the Jobs Hub app of your Workday account in order for your application to be processed as an internal applicant.

In accordance with the Freedom of Information and Privacy legislation, applicant information is collected under the authority of the Municipal Act and will be used strictly for candidate selection.