Every day, Kids Help Phone unlocks the hope young people need to thrive in their world. We are reshaping the landscape of youth mental health in Canada and we’re building an innovative team who will help fuel this mission! If the thought of making a positive impact on the mental health of young people in Canada inspires you, this could be for you.

Unlock your potential. Carve out a career as unique as yourself. Grow with us.

The Opportunity:

The Director, Government Relations is responsible for developing and implementing strategic government partnerships for Kids Help Phone. This role will be a critical position in the largest fundraising campaign of its kind for youth mental health in Canada’s history. It is essential to position Kids Help Phone as a trusted and essential service that is making a profound impact on child and youth mental health and wellbeing.

Reporting to the SVP, National Partnerships & Government Relations, this role works with executive leadership across the organization to plan and evaluate strategic directions, goals and metrics for the portfolio, informed by an organization-wide GR strategy (federal, provincial, municipal). The role identifies and develops funding opportunities to help advance provincial and local government priorities with Kids Help Phone, and continuously grows a strong base of champions and supporters for both elected and non-elected government officials to ensure 24/7 access to clinical service for youth in Canada.

What You’ll Contribute:

Planning and Implementation

• Leads and evaluates the implementation of the Government Relations strategy in support of Kids Help Phone’s funding priorities.
• Designs, manages and executes strategic communications to government officials
• Develops a portfolio of relationships with government contacts, and supports relationship development with between Kids Help Phone C-suite and high-level government officials
• Ensures all outreach and follow up to government officials follows agreed timelines and requirements, in collaboration with key stakeholders across the organization.
• Monitors legislation, media, providing reporting, and updates to influence and inform GR strategy and tactics.
• Manages and attends related meetings and event processes, producing briefing notes, Q&As, announcements, submissions etc.
• Works with members of the Executive and peers on the Operations Leadership Team to identify potential government funding opportunities.
• Manages proposal development – including cross departmental planning, input and development
• Manages reporting – ensuring timely reporting based on agreements
• Ensures that Kids Help Phone’s GR strategy is aligned, compliant and reflective of our vision and mission.
• Strategically works and contributes as a member of the Operations Leadership Team and Senior Advancement Leadership Team – supporting projects and initiatives related to Partnerships and Board deliverables

Financial and Systems Management

• Develops budgets for portfolio, projects and operational requirements
• Partner with cross-functional teams to ensure appropriate integration across fundraising portfolios and systems
• Ensure timely and accurate data entry and management in Raiser’s Edge

Stakeholder Engagement

• Manages government prospects and partners in various stages of the pipeline management cycle
• Identify and develop strategies to solicit & secure funding from new and/or expanded government sources
• Oversight of strategic vendor partnerships to incorporate subject matter expertise and business intelligence.
• Makes recommendations to Executive and anticipates emerging issue, trends and risks
• Monitors the organization’s reputation and external presence, identifying opportunities and develops recommendations and draft responses as needed.
• Proactively develops and implements guidelines and procedures for the government relations portfolio, including crisis communications, based on industry best practices and consultation with stakeholders.
• Ensures that Kids Help Phone is actively championed by government stakeholders and decision makers.
• Leverages networking opportunities with professional and organizational affiliations and attends functions that serve to effectively identify and cultivate prospective government relationships
• Serve as a spokesperson and/or ensures appropriate spokesperson is in place and prepared for speaking engagements

Human Resources Management

• Provides oversight, direction and guidance to a direct report
• Conducts annual staff performance reviews, ensuring staff are achieving objectives in alignment with the annual operating and solicitation, revenue, cultivation and stewardship goals.
• Complies with policies, legislation, regulations and other legal requirements pertaining to employment.

What You’ll Need:

• Post-Secondary Degree or equivalent work experience in Public Relations, Government relations, Communications or related field.
• Minimum 6 years of experience in government relations, public affairs, or communication.
• Experience with government relations programs in Canada. Demonstrated interest in the political system with an understanding of how to approach levels of government to access funding.
• Strong networking and relationship building skills, including with executives, board members, media, government and cross-functional teams.
• Exceptional writer and editor; proven ability to craft impactful, engaging and channel-specific content.
• Detail-oriented with a proven ability to manage and oversee multiple projects simultaneously, and to manage vendor relationships.
• Ability to influence internal partners and facilitate collaboration and alignment between divisions and corporate objectives.
• Effective communication and collaboration skills, e.g., collaborative, open style, working in teams, strong written and oral communicator, strategic thinker with ability to execute plans, calm under pressure, go-to person for resources, understanding linkages with other related portfolios.
• Proven project management skills and experience
• Bilingual (English and French) is an asset
• Not-profit experience an asset

Don’t meet every single qualification and requirement? Studies have shown that women and racialized people are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At KHP we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles that our organization is recruiting for

Applications will close at 11:59 pm EDT on January 13,2023

• A full job description is attached to this posting
• Reasonable accommodations are available on request from a candidate with a disability
• No recruitment agencies please

Benefits:

• Hybrid Work Model Health care
• Life insurance Vision care
• Wellness Program RRSP Matching
• Flextime Dental care
• Life Insurance Emergency Travel Assistance
• Accidental Death Insurance