Senior Specialist, External Communications

The Senior Communications Specialist supports building understanding of BCLC by leading in the areas of external communications, media relations and issues management.  This role deals directly with key internal and external stakeholders, including BCLC executives, elected officials, civil servants and media.  The role requires strong strategic orientation, the capacity for sound judgment to navigate challenging situations and attention to detail to ensure consistent, accurate messaging through all channels.

• Proactively develops and delivers government relations, external communications, and issues management strategies and recommends appropriate solutions.
• Supports public relations and proactive earned-media activities by enhancing relationships with media and developing campaigns, content, media pitches and other external communications tactics that build understanding of BCLC and the gaming industry, and support corporate initiatives and objectives.
• Coordinates and implements responses to media requests and strategic communications plans.
• Identifies storytelling opportunities and strategies for external communications and government relations activities that build understanding of BCLC and its strategic priorities and initiatives.
• Provides issues management support by collaborating with internal stakeholders to analyze the issue and develop a communications and/or government-relations strategy to manage a positive outcome for BCLC.
• Serves as one of the corporation’s media spokespeople and assists in training other spokespeople. May be required to respond to media enquiries after hours as required (carries the media phone, on a rotational basis).
• Proactively builds, develops and maintains relationships with key internal stakeholders from across the organization and with external stakeholders, including media and/or government contacts.
• Effectively utilizes all existing communication tools and tactics and provides innovative approaches to ensure that messages are communicated effectively to external audiences.

Qualifications

• Degree or diploma in political science, public affairs, communications, journalism and or public relations;
• 4 to 6 years current, related experience in a strategic communications position;
• Strong understanding of media-relations best practices and approaches;
• Ability to develop messages that effectively tell the organization’s story to a variety of audiences;
• Demonstrated understanding and implementation of issues management best practices and approaches;
• Proven ability to provide direction based upon comprehensive knowledge of principles, practices and techniques of strategic communications, government relations and issues management;
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to communicate and negotiate with people at all levels;
• Exceptional written communication skills, editing skills and capacity to tailor information for various audiences;
• Outstanding critical-thinking skills and demonstrated problem solving capabilities;
• Adaptability and flexibility, including ability to manage competing deadline pressures, ambiguity and change;
• Strong computer skills - MS Office suite;
• Understanding of government relations and stakeholder relations as it pertains to the B.C. gaming industry is an asset;
• Existing contacts within provincial government and/or the media are an asset.