Specialist, Government Relations and Public Engagement

The Heart and Stroke Foundation

That’s why Heart & Stroke leads the fight against heart disease and stroke. Powered by donors and volunteers, we fund life-saving research and help Canadians lead healthier lives.

Heart & Stroke is a health charity active in communities across the country. We are sustained by the commitment and generosity of more than 100,000 volunteers and more than 1.4 million donors.

The opportunity

Are you a political or policy professional interested in advocacy and lobbying? Would you be interested in working with Heart & Stroke to implement our federal advocacy and public engagement programs – planning our advocacy days and engaging the public in promoting healthy public policies to parliamentarians? If you have a public administration, policy or politics background, strong interpersonal skills and a desire to help end heart disease and stroke, then come join our team.

Reporting to the Senior Manager, Government Relations and Public Engagement, the Specialist Government Relations and Public Engagement supports the implementation and rollout of national advocacy campaigns. The Specialist also plays a lead role in developing and implementing the digital component of the Foundation’s public engagement efforts. 

Key responsibilities

Federal Government Relations and Advocacy

• Provides support to the Senior Manager, Government Relations and Public Engagement with the implementation and execution of national advocacy campaigns
• Writes short briefing notes, letters and other communications
• Researches specific issues for advocacy campaigns
• Participates in meetings with officials
• Secures meetings with officials on Parliament Hill and in-riding, and conducts follow up calls
• Maintains and updates MP, Senator and staff database
• Coordinates meeting materials and lobby days
• Monitors issue specific media and social media
• Monitors parliamentary committee and Question Period when necessary
• Updates the Foundation’s federal lobby registry
• Develops stakeholder lists
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Senior Manager, Government Relations and Public Engagement.

Management of Digital Foundation Public Engagement Activities

• Develops and implements the digital component of the Foundation’s public engagement activities in order to advance H&S advocacy objectives. This is undertaken with the oversight of the Senior Manager, Government Relations and Public Engagement.
• Works with the provincial mission leads on their provincial advocacy efforts and provides advice and support to their public engagement strategies.

Qualifications

Education

• Post-secondary degree in political science, public policy, public administration or related field.

Experience and Skills

• 5 years’ experience in government or stakeholder relations, working in a political office or in the non-profit sector is preferable.
• Previous work experience liaising with clients and the public.
• Experience with and understanding of the parliamentary process.
• Able to prepare short documents, standard business letters, and arrange meetings with federal officials
• Effective written verbal and written communication skills demonstrating professionalism, tact and diplomacy.
• Able to set priorities and successfully manage workflow and time, with both attention to detail and ability to proactively track and follow through on requests.
• Attention to detail, solid proofreading and analytical skills required.
• Strong computer skills and ability to use technological tools to organize and advance the work of the team (i.e., MS Office Suite, SharePoint, CRM and other workflow tools).
• Knowledge of public engagement digital tools (e.g., New/Mode, MailChimp) is required.
• Knowledge of database management is an asset.
• An ability to work in both official languages is preferred.

Applying

If you have the qualifications and share our passion for our mission, we invite you to forward your resume, cover letter and salary expectations to hr-rh@heartandstroke.ca. We offer comprehensive benefits including pension, dental and medical coverage.

This posting will remain open until Friday, September 28, 2018.

Please include the exact job title, including location, in the subject line of your email.

We thank all applicants for their interest however, due to volume, we can only contact those selected for interviews.

Military veteran and reservist friendly employer

Candidates from diverse groups are encouraged to apply. We are committed to fostering an inclusive, barrier-free and accessible environment. If you have been contacted for an interview and require an accommodation due to disability to participate in the recruitment and selection process, please advise and we will work with you to meet your needs.

Learn more and get involved with Heart and Stroke at www.heartandstroke.ca