Main purpose of job:

The British High Commission in Ottawa is looking for a creative and energetic individual to join our communications team. The successful candidate will play an important role in leading and delivering our digital communications activities across Canada. They will also work closely with colleagues across our North America network, and in the UK, to deliver broader communications objectives in support of UK Government priorities.
We strongly encourage applicants from all backgrounds, including from the private sector, recent graduates or  those who have never worked in or with Government before. 
This position will work with policy leads, senior leadership and external partners to explain and champion the UK government’s work in Canada through digital outreach and strategic communications campaigns. By leveraging the latest digital trends this person will ensure key messages and policy issues are communicated in a way that ensures they stand out in a crowded online space. This position will also provide support on media and communications, logistics for events and projects, including visits by UK ministers and senior officials. They will also work closely with the High Commissioner to manage their own social media accounts.

Roles and responsibilities:

• Responsible for producing engaging and informative content for the British High Commission’s digital channels, including X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and the ukincanada website.
• Will lead on the British High Commission’s strategic digital communications plans in Canada and work closely with policy leads to ensure our digital activities are supporting the UK’s priorities in Canada.
• Work closely with communications staff in London to promote the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office’s global priorities
• Produce regular social media analytics reports
• Ensure the Canada pages on GOV.UK are updated regularly
• When necessary, reply to press and public enquiries in a timely and professional manner, including those received through digital channels
  
• Support internal communications
  
• Produce engaging audio visual content for the ‘ukincanada’ social media channels
• Work with the High Commissioner to manage their professional social media accounts
• Lead regular training workshops for British High Commission staff on social media and digital strategies
• Ensure regular monitoring of social media channels to mitigate against any communication risks for our channels and to identify latest trends to capitalise on for events and campaigns.

Essential on arrival:

• University degree or diploma in Communications, Marketing, Journalism, PR or comparable experience
• Strong English language writing skills, with excellent editing, and proofreading skills.
• Strong creative ability to produce visually engaging assets for digital channels through the use of various content creating and scheduling software such as Canva, Hootsuite and video editing software.
• Demonstrate considerable experience writing for digital channels and communicating with online audiences
  
• Understanding and experience of latest digital trends on social media and how to leverage them is support of the High Commission’s priorities.
  
• Experience developing communications plans and working with partners to deliver measurable outcomes
• Experience with event photography and video production
• Awareness of the work of the UK government in Canada
  
• Flexibility to work occasional evening and weekend events

• Language requirements:

Language: English 

Level of language required:  English, and French (spoken and written) would be considered a strong asset.