Senior Director, Marketing & Communications

Organizational Profile

About the Organization

The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y) is a joint Canada-U.S. not-for-profit organization with a mission to connect and protect wildlife habitat from Yellowstone to Yukon so people and nature can thrive. We are the only organization dedicated to securing the long-term ecological health of this entire region. We take a scientific and collaborative approach to conservation and highlight and focus on local issues that affect the region. Since 1993, Y2Y has worked with >460 partners to stitch together this landscape, including scientists, conservation groups, landowners, businesses, government agencies as well as Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and Native American).

For more information, please visit 

www.y2y.net. 

Position Description

Y2Y is embarking on a new 7-year strategic plan to help achieve our bold vision. Now our team needs the collaborative, creative and strategic wisdom of a senior-level marketing and communications professional to reach and sustain the support of the audiences and partners that will come on that journey with us.

As Y2Y’s first Senior Director of Marketing and Communications you will help take Y2Y to new heights, as you lead the promotion of Y2Y’s large-landscape vision and brand. You’ll be a critical part of our Senior Leadership Team and work with them to ensure a strong, integrated and sustainable organization. You’ll strategically guide our marketing, public relations, outreach/engagement and communications efforts to share conservation impacts and inspire audiences. Elevating Y2Y’s message and increasing our reach and partnerships to support our conservation programs, advocacy and fund development is central to your role.

A strong marketeer yourself, you will be able and willing to work hands-on while increasing our marketing/communications capacity, and working collaboratively with existing teams. This will include promoting and leveraging Y2Y as a leading global large landscape conservation model, and supporting our conservation work as we scale it up.

You will report to directly to Y2Y’s President and will assume primary oversight of the current small but mighty (and growing) communications team (and accompanying budget) bringing in new marketing capacity, and helping to position Y2Y for increased visibility, sustainability and strategic growth.

Responsibilities

The Senior Director of Marketing and Communications will:

• Demonstrate an understanding and commitment to the whole organization (beyond individual programs/functional agendas) and work with our leadership team to better integrate the organization’s functions and systems;
• Ensure clear direction for our marketing and communications efforts in service of, and to fully leverage, the Y2Y brand, our new Y2Y Strategic Plan, and our recent messaging refresh;
• Identify, profile and prioritize appropriate new audiences for Y2Y messaging;
• Ensure creation and fulfilment of a comprehensive marketing and communications strategy for new and existing audiences [with a focus on donors and advocates], collaboratively agreeing and advancing the mix of content, formats, tools, experiences and events that will best promote and leverage the Y2Y vision, support and normalise our conservation work, and strengthen fund development;
• Oversee/undertake development of positive, consistent and compelling digital and hardcopy materials and activities, to ensure that the Y2Y brand and its conservation work resonate with, and are supported by, diverse, relevant audiences, including media and opinion-leaders, donors and funders, advocates, and partners;
• Lead and inspire a marketing and communications team (staff may be across the Y2Y region), building capacity to fulfil the strategy as needed; working closely with program and development teams to support their roles; and maximizing our impact through integrated working that leverages talents;
• Take an active role in ensuring equitable experiences, strengthening inclusion, knowledge and promoting a culture of inclusivity and belonging that embraces the contributions of all team members;
• Set/support annual goals and objectives, overseeing associated team workplans, and assess progress against objectives;
• Develop and oversee the departmental budget, ensuring expenditures are on track and any changes to priorities or spending are communicated promptly through regular reviews;
• Develop and maintain strong and productive relationships with internal and external stakeholders (including internal teams, media and opinion leaders, our volunteer board, and funders/donors), acting as an ambassador for, and helping to strengthen and leverage, the Y2Y brand and experience;
• Participate in Y2Y’s Senior Leadership Team; engage in Board meetings and with key Board members as applicable
• Travel within the Y2Y region as required and occasionally beyond the region. Candidate Profile
• A creative and strategic marketing professional, with at least 8-10 years’ proven experience of building a strong brand in both the U.S. and Canada, and establishing and delivering on impactful marketing and communications plans, and campaigns;
• Strong understanding of and hands-on experience in marketing, including donor/supporter profiling, acquisition and segmentation, and creating effective messaging, ‘journeys’ and experiences, with up-to-date knowledge of related tools and systems;
• Significant leadership experience in ‘issue advocacy’, and positioning a brand as a credible catalyst for public pressure on elected officials, government agencies and other decision makes and community leaders;
• Experience in creating and overseeing creation of materials (including annual/impact reports, newsletters, website, major donor/funder-focused literature) to support organisational brand and individual/foundation fundraising; with demonstrated ability to distil complex ideas, and relay them in a clear, compelling way that resonates with different audiences;
• Strong time and project management, with the ability to prioritize workloads, multiple requests and organizational-level needs, and to reduce workloads/streamline approaches to maintain sustainability;
• Professional level degree in a related field or equivalent experience;
• Successful experience managing, supporting and mentoring staff, including remote-working staff;
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion through continuous development, modelling inclusive behaviours, and proactively managing bias;
• Experience in managing a budget and prioritizing carefully to maximize impact;
• Proven experience in collaborative and integrated working across teams, coupled with the ability to establish shared priorities and build consensus for action;
• Broad understanding of and passion for the Y2Y region, and preferably large landscape conservation;
• Ability and interest to travel.

Terms of Employment

• The successful candidate must be able to travel regularly to the Canmore office if they are not located in the vicinity.
• Salary is commensurate with experience, ranging from $100,000 - $120,000 and includes Y2Y’s excellent set of benefits.

Additional Information & To Apply

• At Y2Y we value diversity — in backgrounds and in experience, and we need people from all backgrounds to help achieve our mission of connecting and protecting habitat from Yellowstone to Yukon so people and nature can thrive. Y2Y’s team is empathetic, caring, and supportive. We are intentional about the team and culture that we are building, seeking team members that are not only strong in their own aptitudes but care deeply about supporting each other's growth.
• Y2Y is an equal opportunity employer and committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in our workplace and in science, conservation, and society. We strongly encourage applications from members of groups that are underrepresented and/or excluded from these sectors, including but not limited to Black, Indigenous, and people of colour, people with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. All of our employee’s points of view are key to our success, and inclusion is everyone's responsibility.

questions about the position that you need answered before applying, please direct inquiries to Claire Jarrold at claire@y2y.net.