Community Engagement and Brand Marketing Manager (Full-time)

Torstar

24d • Hybrid

About The Position

Metroland's community news brands have been the trusted source of news and information for Ontario towns and cities for decades. This is a new role created to close the gap of people in our communities not knowing we are still here and doing that work. You will study the unique DNA of each community, identify the key stakeholders, and equip our local teams with the tools, confidence and strategy to become the faces of that trust in the community.

Requirements

• 5+ years in community engagement, stakeholder relationship building, or brand marketing
• Proven track record building and maintaining relationships with diverse community groups or organizations
• Experience designing and executing campaigns that drive audience growth and engagement
• Experience training or coaching others and developing practical playbooks/systems
• Strategic thinking and ability to understand what builds local trust and credibility
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills—ability to influence and inspire others
• Comfort with data and analytics; ability to track metrics and adjust strategy accordingly
• Strong project management and ability to work cross-functionally with teams
• Genuine curiosity about communities and how they work
• Entrepreneurial mindset; comfort being scrappy and resourceful
• Authentic communication style (no corporate jargon)
• Resilience and persistence in relationship building
• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Business, Community Development, Journalism,or related field or equivalent professional experience in related roles

Nice To Haves

• Background in local media, local business, or community organizations
• Experience working in Ontario or similar regional markets
• Experience with digital engagement platforms, newsletters, or subscriber models

Responsibilities

• Map community stakeholders – builders, organizers, institutions, civic groups, business associations – in each of our markets and build ongoing engagement plans for each stakeholder archetype.
• Identify potential high-value relationships.
• Identify and help pursue partnership opportunities with organizations that share our audience and/or vision.
• Develop a touchpoint strategy that puts our brands in front of new homeowners, new parents, new arrivals, new retirees at the moments when they most need local information.
• Design and lead a training program that equips staff members with the language, confidence and tools to represent their brand in public.
• Create simple, practical playbooks for staff covering how to introduce themselves at community events, how to invite people to subscribe to newsletters, how to present to community groups, how to respond to the “Are you guys still around?” question, and how to turn a casual conversation into a meaningful brand interaction.
• Work with editors to identify reporters who have strong community profiles and help them lean into that visibility in ways that serve both their journalism and the brand.
• Ensure that while the news is local, the experience of our brand -the feeling of trust and utility is identical across all Ontario sites.
• Design high-value virtual and in-person events that can be replicated across different markets with minimal friction.
• Design and execute grassroots campaigns that drive newsletter subscriptions and app downloads.
• Track which communities and which tactics are producing the most engaged new subscribers, and redirect effort accordingly.
• Provide regular reporting to leadership on brand awareness, audience growth, partnership activity and community sentiment.
• Identify communities or neighbourhoods within our markets where awareness and engagement are lowest and develop targeted plans to address them.

Benefits

• We strive to be a leader in building and cultivating an employee community framed around fairness, support and opportunity.
• We believe that what makes us different, makes a difference.
• And as a team, the diversity of our backgrounds, interests and experiences is what enriches our work, and our workplaces.
• We welcome all, and we strive for an inclusive culture that allows individual growth and shared success.
• AODA We are committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free recruitment process ensuring equal access to employment opportunities for candidates, including persons with disabilities.
• In compliance with Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and Ontario Human Rights Code we will endeavour to provide accommodation to persons with disabilities in the recruitment process upon request.
• If you are selected for an interview and you require accommodation due to a disability during the recruitment process, please notify the hiring manager upon scheduling the interview of your requirements.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level