Come work as a Communications Specialist, Vancouver Acute with Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH)!

Vancouver Acute communications supports three acute sites in Vancouver, including one of the largest hospitals in Canada, Vancouver General Hospital.

The communications team works with the operations team to inform, educate and build awareness of critical priorities for Vancouver Acute among staff, medical staff, patients, families and the public visiting these sites. As the Communications Specialist, you will be on the front lines, making an impact every day. You will be planning and executing internal and external communication and engagement strategies on a wide range of exciting projects. You bring superior written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills and you are extremely detail oriented, capable of simultaneously managing multiple projects and client expectations.

You have a flair for “productive innovation,” meaning you bring new ideas for content and communication approaches to the table but use your intuition and a keen sense of observation to understand what will work for leaders, adapt on the fly, and consistently meet deadlines.

When it comes to writing, the Specialist does it all – from original storytelling in newsletter articles, video scripts, blogs, speeches and presentations, to succinct operational communication in memos, briefing notes, web copy, intranet updates and more. Reporting to and working with the Communications Leader, you will develop communication strategies and thrive on implementation, executing on the myriad of communication tools and tactics necessary to engage a range of audiences on the issues, changes, opportunities and everyday successes happening in the world of health care.

The Specialist knows how to build trust with a broad group of internal and external stakeholders. You listen closely for insights about what clients really need to connect with a range of audiences. You are also a hungry learner who is keen to grow.

On a daily basis, you will attend project and team meetings, coordinate special events, conduct interviews and write original copy for numerous communication channels, run down the hall to shoot a quick video or two, and liaise with colleagues to assess emerging communication priorities. The Specialist also serves as a local point person to supplement the efforts of the Public Affairs team by investigating and flagging potential good news opportunities and identifying emerging issues.

This is a hybrid role, with three days on site each week. 

As a Communications Specialist, Vancouver Acute with Vancouver Coastal Health you will:

• Consult with the Communications Leader for Vancouver Acute to develop, contribute to, and implement communications strategies in support of internal and external audience engagement around organizational projects and priorities.
• Support the development of VCH’s communications strategy to advance internal and external audience engagement.
• Research, write and distribute original content across all of VCH’s internal and external communication channels.
• Support leaders in the development of operational communication tools, including memos, issues notes, surveys and bulletins.
• Support internal audience engagement by planning and executing all aspects of special events and forums.
• Work closely with corporate communications and public affairs teams to ensure consistent messaging and alignment with corporate brand.
• Provide counsel to leaders to enhance and protect organizational reputation, including identifying and advocating adoption of fresh approaches to employee and physician engagement as appropriate.
• Act as Project Manager in executing communications tactics in accordance with strategic plans, along with monitoring costs and budgets, timelines, resources and measuring outcomes.
• Provide communications support to corporate and regional project teams as required.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Education & Experience

• Education or experience equivalent to an undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline such as Journalism, Communications, Marketing or Public Relations.
• A strong communicator with five (5) years’ recent, related experience.
• Previous experience working in health care or a public sector environment is desirable.

Knowledge & Abilities

• Demonstrated excellent writing, editing and proofreading skills, with exemplary attention to detail.
• Demonstrated critical thinking coupled with the ability to produce effective products and campaigns.
• Demonstrated content planning skills.
• Demonstrated experience with video production.
• Demonstrated solutions-focus, positive attitude, maturity and ability to engage a variety of busy stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to plan and coordinate events and forums to advance stakeholder engagement with organizational initiatives.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to independently research, prioritize and assemble details for all aspects of a project or initiative.
• A results-oriented and enthusiastic team player who thrives on new challenges and responds nimbly to new priorities.
• Strong customer service skills to adeptly investigate client needs and negotiate communication solutions that are both cost effective and aligned with stated audience needs.
• Demonstrates flexibility and the willingness to work across individual roles to deliver collaborative communication solutions.
• Demonstrated project management skills and ability to work well under pressure to meet tight deadlines.
• Contributes to a team environment by working efficiently, professionally and in a friendly manner, and establishes and maintains a harmonious working relationship with all colleagues.
• Advanced computer skills in organizational electronic communication technology, publishing and web-based communications. Demonstrated expertise with WordPress, Adobe, InDesign, Photoshop, and MS SharePoint is desirable.
• Physical ability to perform the duties of the position.

MANAGEMENT COMPETENCIES:

Respect:

• You question actions inconsistent with our values.
• You treat people with fairness and respect independent of their status or disagreement with you.

Performance Excellence:

• You inspire others with your thirst for excellence.

Learning Organization:

• You create an environment where people can flourish and grow.
• You seek what is best for the health system, rather than the best for yourself or your group.

Courage to Innovate:

• You challenge the status quo to improve quality and sustainability.
• You take smart risks and make tough decisions without agonizing.
  
  

As per Ministry of Health policy, all health care workers working in publicly-funded health care facilities are required to report their past receipt of certain vaccines or history of certain infections. Collecting these records will allow for offering of any missing vaccines, and for appropriate actions to be taken in the event of any future exposure to a communicable disease or during outbreaks. For all new hires and appointments to Vancouver Coastal Health, you will be asked to provide this information as part of the onboarding process.

Why Join Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH):

VCH is a world class innovator in medical care, research and teaching, delivering service to more than one million BC residents. At VCH, we embrace thinking boldly, taking smart risks, and 'going first' when we believe it will lead to the best possible outcomes for patients and their families. We invite you to join us in creating healthy lives in healthy communities by showcasing our passion for care, connection to the communities we serve and our culture of teamwork that makes VCH a great place to work.

• Comprehensive health benefits package, including MSP, extended health and dental and municipal pension plan
• Grow your career with employer-paid training and leadership development opportunities
• Wellness supports, including counselling, critical incident and innovative wellness services are available to employees and their immediate families
• Award-winning recognition programs to honour staff, medical staff and volunteers
• Access to exclusive discount offers and deals for VCH staff

At Vancouver Coastal Health, our vision of healthy lives in healthy communities inspires us and our values and pillars guide us. We support equitable practices, diverse teams and inclusive environments, which are vital to creating welcoming spaces where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and feel supported. We encourage applications from equity-deserving communities, including Indigenous Peoples and members of racialized groups, people with disabilities and people of all gender identities and expressions and sexual orientation.

Vancouver Coastal Health is proud to be recognized as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers in 2024.

Only short-listed applicants will be contacted for this posting.


***Employees of VCH must apply online via the Internal Career Portal on CareerHub, you are currently viewing the External Career Portal. Refer to the https://my.vch.ca/working-here/job-postings site for instructions on how to view internal job postings and how to apply as an employee. Current VCH employees who apply to this posting using this external site will be considered as an external candidate. Seniority will not apply.***

Thank you for your interest in Vancouver Coastal Health.