Position Summary:
Situated on the picturesque Grand River, the City of Brantford is a rapidly growing community of over 100,000 residents, located in the heart of Southern Ontario with direct access to Hwy. 403 and is in close proximity to the GTHA, Waterloo and Niagara regions. As a single-tier municipality, Brantford is responsible for the full spectrum of municipal service areas. We invite you to join our #TeamBrantford corporate culture with many progressive initiatives, including our hybrid work environment. At the City of Brantford, we strive to reflect our values of Integrity, Collaboration, Continuous Improvement, Respect and Inclusion in everything we do. The City is committed to the professional development of our staff and invite you to come, grow with us!
Reporting to the Commissioner of Community Services and Social Development, the Director of Communications provides strategic leadership and oversight for all corporate communications, media relations, public engagement, brand management, customer service, and customer experience functions. The Director ensures the municipality delivers clear, consistent, transparent, and accessible communications while advancing a corporate culture of service excellence that supports positive and responsive interactions between residents and the City. The Director serves as a trusted advisor to Council and the Senior Leadership Team on communications strategy, customer experience, issues management, reputational risk, and politically sensitive matters. The role is central to protecting and enhancing the City's reputation while ensuring residents receive high-quality, accessible, and consistent service across all channels. The Director provides leadership for the City's customer service function, including corporate customer service strategy, service standards, performance measurement, process improvement, CRM optimization, customer experience initiatives, and service integration across departments. The Director also serves as the City's Emergency Information Officer (or designate) and supports communications during emergency operations and critical incidents as required.
Qualifications:
- University degree specializing in Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, Marketing, Public Administration, Political Science or related discipline.
- Additional education in media relations, crisis communications, public engagement and project management are an asset.
- Over seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in communications, including senior leadership roles.
- Experience in a municipal or broader public-sector environment is strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated experience in advising senior executives and elected officials, acting as a spokesperson and managing media relations, leading communications strategies, public engagement initiatives, and issue management responses, and developing policies, standards, or governance frameworks.
- Demonstrated experience leading customer service operations, customer experience programs, service delivery modernization, CRM implementation, or corporate service excellence initiatives.
- Experience establishing performance standards, customer service metrics, and continuous improvement programs.
- Experience leading cross-functional organizational change initiatives related to resident service delivery.
- Strong knowledge of applicable legislation and standards, including Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) and Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).
- Additional training in crisis or emergency communications, media relations, public engagement, accessibility (AODA), and project management or digital communications are an asset.
- Valid Class G Driver's Licence in good standing during the course of employment.
- As a condition of employment, applicants must submit a current Police Information Check (dated within the past 3 months).
- Overtime work is required as this role is expected to attend Council and Committee meetings, public events and community meetings, and media events.
- Evening and weekend hours are required for Emergency Operations.
- IMS 300 certification or equivalent (ICS 300) is considered an asset. Subject to course availability, certification must be achieved within the first two (2) years of employment.
WAGE/SALARY RANGE: $80.92 to $101.15 per hour (based on a 35-hour work week) plus benefits.
To apply on-line, please visit the City of Brantford website at https://www.brantford.ca/your-government/careers/current-opportunities/
Closing date for applications: Thursday, September 4 2026, at 4:30 p.m.
Information gathered relative to this position will only be used for candidate selection.
We thank each applicant for taking the time and effort to submit your resume, however, only candidates to be interviewed will be contacted. Our organization is committed to promoting the independence, dignity, integration, and
equality of opportunity of persons with disabilities by ensuring the accessibility of our facilities and services. Accommodations are available for all parts of the recruitment and selection process. Applicants need to make their required accommodations known in advance.