Vice President, Digital (Public & Government Affairs)

Edelman • Ottawa, ON

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

Edelman's Public & Government Affairs (P&GA) team is seeking a Vice President (VP) with strong digital experience, account management, and consultative selling skills. This role involves developing integrated communications programs and strategies, with an understanding of Canadian politics, public policy, and parliamentary processes. The VP will be instrumental in growing the team and business, providing digital and social strategies, overseeing client accounts, and building strong client relationships at the C-suite level. The position requires a candidate who can lead accounts, inspire confidence, drive new business, and contribute to organic growth within key sectors.

Requirements

• At least 10 years of full-time experience as a digital communications generalist
• Social experience including community management, content development, channel planning and strategy
• Paid experience including social, search, display; managing budgets, targeting audiences
• Lead generation experience including CRM, email marketing
• Analytics experience including social listening, web analytics, research and insights
• Campaigns experience including strategy, oversight and management
• Experience in and deep understanding of the public & government affairs space
• Ability to work a hybrid schedule (3 days a week) in our Ottawa office

Nice To Haves

• Extraordinary communications - listening, influence, negotiation/persuasion, counsel
• High level of business acumen - one who is always a student of business, speaks the clients’ language and capitalizes on new, robust opportunities
• Exceptional consultative skills - delivering relevant insight grounded in data, analysis, and experience
• Experience at identifying client business problems and building integrated teams to provide a solution, including new Edelman tools, products or methodologies
• Conversant in integrated communications fundamentals - with the ability to leverage them for our clients; a champion for Edelman’s creative storytelling approach that is earned-centric and social by design
• Cultivator of talent – identifying and fostering growth of top/senior talent while nurturing the potential and growth of younger staff
• Partner to all – recognizing the need to partner with specialist skill sets from within and around the business to better fuel the overarching growth of the firm
• Leads from the front – inspires others to do their best work, pushes us into new territory and is on the frontlines within Edelman and with our clients
• Experienced client relationship leader who can be senior-level counselor to C-Suite, Boards of Directors, Public Affairs and Communications leaders
• Demonstrated ability to nurture the professional and personal development of staff, with a “people-first” orientation
• Proven track record of success growing business (organic and new)
• Proven ability to think high-level as well as tactically: you are as comfortable defining a business strategy as you are a creative programming concept
• Entrepreneurial spirit balanced with the ability to function comfortably within a complex, matrixed organization
• Strong operational skills, ability to oversee efficient staff utilization, account profitability and annual budget planning
• Keen interest in and high awareness of current events, Canadian politics, public policy, and parliamentary processes

Responsibilities

• Provide digital and social strategies including: content strategy, social strategy and audits (organic and paid), social and digital analytics, building digital tactics and approaches into public affairs strategies
• Oversee financial and operational performance of multiple client accounts simultaneously, ensuring quality work, deadline and budget adherence, and that plan creation and execution map to goals
• Work across disciplines (beyond digital!) to achieve client goals, plugging in to programs across Public & Government Affairs (and the broader network) and add immediate value to achieve client goals
• Build strong, trusting relationships with clients as the senior counselor on your businesses serving within our senior clients’ trusted circle of advisors.
• Lead accounts and account teams as well as deliverables for other teams.
• Engage and inspire confidence at the C-Suite level through coaching, presentations to leadership and boards, as well as reporting back on efforts.
• Open new doors and close business to build our portfolio in key sectors as well as contribute to organic growth.
• Introduce clients to new capabilities across our offerings.
• Consistently work to up-level our work
• Demonstrate writing excellence when crafting internal and client materials and correspondence
• Supervise staff by mentoring, motivating, coaching, consistently providing feedback, holding them accountable and conducting their reviews

Benefits

• We offer more than just a career – we offer a place to grow, make a meaningful impact, and help drive change alongside some of the brightest minds in the industry.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed