Community Engagement and Brand Marketing Manager (Full-time)

Torstar•Toronto, ON

25d•Hybrid

About The Position

Metroland's community news brands are seeking a Community Engagement and Brand Marketing Manager to address the challenge of low community awareness. This new role will focus on understanding the unique characteristics of each community, identifying key stakeholders, and empowering local teams to build trust. The manager will develop strategies to engage with community stakeholders, create partnership opportunities, and implement a touchpoint strategy for new residents. Additionally, they will design and lead an ambassador program to train staff in community representation and brand interaction, and oversee brand marketing efforts to ensure a consistent experience across all Ontario sites. This includes designing replicable events and grassroots campaigns to drive subscriptions and app downloads. The role also involves tracking engagement metrics, reporting to leadership, and developing targeted plans for underperforming markets. The position requires working from home and travel within southern/central Ontario.

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 and build ongoing engagement plans for each stakeholder archetype.
Identify potential high-value relationships.
Identify and pursue partnership opportunities with organizations that share our audience and/or vision.
Develop a touchpoint strategy to reach new homeowners, new parents, new arrivals, and new retirees with local information.
Design and lead a training program for staff to represent their brand in public.
Create practical playbooks for staff on community engagement and brand interaction.
Work with editors to identify and support reporters with strong community profiles.
Ensure a consistent brand experience of trust and utility across all Ontario sites.
Design high-value virtual and in-person events that can be replicated across markets.
Design and execute grassroots campaigns to drive newsletter subscriptions and app downloads.
Track communities and tactics producing the most engaged new subscribers and redirect effort.
Provide regular reporting to leadership on brand awareness, audience growth, partnership activity, and community sentiment.
Identify markets with low awareness and engagement and develop targeted plans.