Marketing and Communications Lead Strategist

Job Number: 55687

The City of Edmonton’s Community Services department has a high-profile opportunity for a results-driven marketing and communications leader to step into the role of Marketing and Communications Lead. This position leads the integrated marketing, communications and public engagement strategies for the very things that make Edmonton an incredible place to live: our spectacular river valley, iconic attractions, treasured recreation facilities, and countless community and major events alongside the life-safety public awareness mandate of Edmonton Fire Rescue Services.

Managing and mentoring a multi-disciplinary team of 10–14 professionals, you will champion a healthy, connected culture and high performing team. As a technical marketing expert, you will translate high-level business goals into results-driven campaigns that meet defined targets. From the competitive positioning of City recreation centres to driving the narrative behind world-class sports and cultural events, your work will drive public participation, build public trust, and help elevate Edmonton's place brand. Serving as an expert internal consultant, you will provide trusted, politically astute counsel to branch leaders, steering them and your team toward high-value strategic opportunities.

The Community Services department is a front-line partner with residents and communities committed to creating a safe, healthy, and vibrant city. This position focuses on a portfolio that includes department's Sport and Recreation branch, the Attractions, Culture and Nature branch, and Edmonton Fire Rescue Services.

What will you do?

Strategic Counsel & Portfolio Management

Lead the design, implementation and evaluation of results driven integrated marketing, communications and public engagement strategies rooted in data and industry best practices.

Lead the portfolio’s communications, marketing and engagement planning process, developing strategies that are aligned with corporate priorities and department goals

Build strong relationships with program leaders to understand their business needs

Analyze business priorities to identify and prioritize high-value communications and marketing opportunities to ensure optimal resource allocation

Navigate politically sensitive or emergent issues, providing strategic counsel, mitigation plans, and support to senior leadership

Identify issues, opportunities, trends, and gaps, and provide strategic advice and proposed solutions to leadership

Quality Assurance & Performance Stewardship

Utilize market research, public opinion methodologies, and historical evaluation data to build highly targeted, results-focused campaigns

Establish and track transparent performance metrics to demonstrate the tangible impact of your portfolio's work

Perform quality management and oversight on deliverables to ensure they meet the City's standards and guides

Contribute to the design and continuous improvement of section and unit-level processes and practices

Ensure the prudent use of human and financial resources, and effectively oversee external agency or vendor contracts

People Leadership & Culture Champion

Inspire a multi-disciplinary team to innovate in a competitive landscape while navigating a complex political environment

Provide leadership and direct supervision, coaching, and mentorship to a team of communications, marketing and engagement professionals

Nurture a supportive, relationship-driven team environment centered on growth and continuous development

Serve as the conduit between the leadership team and staff, balancing direction from leadership with feedback from staff

Qualifications:

Bachelor's Degree in Political Science, Public Relations, Business, Communications, Public Engagement or a related field, with 6 years of progressively responsible experience OR a related diploma from a recognized post-secondary institution with 8 years of progressively responsible experience

Six to eight years of experience leading and providing strategic consulting and advising services in communications, marketing and public engagement

Assets:

A Master's Degree in a related field

Certification in Change Management or Project Management

International Association of Public Participation (IAP2) certificate or similar professional training

Skills required for success:

Strategic People Leadership: Proven track record of directly supervising, mentoring, and developing high-performing professional teams, ideally within a large, complex, or unionized service-delivery organization

Full-Cycle Strategy & Execution: Extensive experience translating high-level business goals into integrated communications, marketing, and public engagement initiatives - expertly guiding portfolios from data-backed research and planning to multi-channel execution and impact evaluation

Political Acumen & Strategic Advisory: Exceptional ability to read the room, analyze the broader political, social, and economic context, and navigate highly sensitive, complex issues while providing trusted counsel to leadership

Collaborative Client Consultation: Strong service-excellence orientation with a proven ability to build robust working relationships across all corporate levels, reconcile diverse viewpoints, and solve unique problems smoothly without relying on positional authority

High-Impact Communication & Brand Stewardship: A deep understanding of brand management techniques to successfully elevate and champion the City's identity and place brand, and City facilities, attractions, programs and services

Proficiency in Google Workspace and various virtual platforms

Alignment to our Cultural Commitments and Leadership Competencies (https://bit.ly/4brRrXm)

Embracing a culture of equity, diversity, reconciliation and inclusion

Up to 1 permanent position

Hours of Work: 33.75 OR 40 hours per week

Salary Range:

33.75 hours - $50.689 - $72.414 (Hourly) $89,301.35 - $127,575.36 (Annually)

40 hours - $47.901 - $68.430 (Hourly) $100,017.29 - $142.881.84 (Annually)

Recruitment Consultant: SM / RF

Edmonton rests in the heart of Treaty Six territory in Alberta and the homelands of the Metis Nation.

IND123

Classification Title: General Professional Leader 2

Posting Date: Jul 17, 2026

Closing Date: July 31, 2026 11:59:00 PM (MDT)

Number of Openings (up to): 1 - Permanent Full-time

Union : CSU 52

Department: DCMO - Communications and Engagement

Work Location(s): 17th Floor Edmonton Tower, 10111 104 Avenue Edmonton T5J 0J4