Media & Public Affairs Advisor

Policy and Advocacy Division

Full time Permanent (Replacement)

Hybrid: 2 days/week in office, 3 days/week WFH

Target hiring range: $92,111 to $103,625

Background:

The Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) serves Ontario’s hospitals and is committed to building a better health system for patients and families. We support our member hospitals by forming strong relationships with government stakeholders, hospital leaders, and other partners that cultivate a mutual understanding of and shared commitment to a high-performing health system. Within this stimulating context, the OHA is seeking a Media & Public Affairs/Communications Advisor to join its Public Affairs team to assume responsibility for a diverse portfolio of responsibilities.

The OHA is looking for a communications professional with solid writing skills and political acumen. You will bring to this position a strong understanding of the media landscape in Ontario and Canada, and a knowledge of government decision-making processes at the federal and provincial levels.

You will have a thoughtful and confident communication style that is conducive to building and maintaining positive relationships. You thrive in a fast-paced environment and have a strong sense of accountability for your work and the service that you provide to your colleagues, the organization and its members. You’re curious, a self-starter and you have a strong sense of pride and ownership of your work.

Your organizational, communication and relationship skills, coupled with your pragmatic and creative approach to identifying opportunities to advance health system priorities will be key to your success.

The Position:

Reporting to the Director, Public Affairs, you will:





- Lead the OHA’s media relations and issues management initiatives;
- Serve as a corporate communications resource to the CEO and senior OHA staff on issues as they arise, including providing strategic counsel on handling media as required, preparing key messages, advice to OHA members, and communications to government and health care stakeholders;
- Provide communications advice to the OHA’s senior team and to OHA members on a wide variety of public affairs matters involving Ontario’s hospitals and the health system;
- Support member hospitals with media requests and key messages;
- Lead development of proactive media relations strategies to support not only the OHA’s public affairs strategies, but also those of its corporate communications and other key areas of focus;
- Develop and execute on government relations strategies, including campaign and engagement plans, that advance the OHA’s and its member’s short-term and long-term health system priorities;
- Work directly with senior leadership on the OHA’s Labour Relations team to manage media inquiries and communications efforts related to negotiations and arbitration of the OHA, on behalf of the hospital sector, with major unions; and
- Support the development of the OHA’s social media strategy, content, and responses.

The Candidate:





This position requires a degree in political science, journalism, or communications (or equivalent) and knowledge of and/or experience in public affairs and media relations, including no less than four to six years of progressive experience in public affairs and strategic communications. Experience dealing with national news agencies is required. Issues management and knowledge of the legislative process/public policy environment is required; an understanding of the health care sector, hospitals and familiarity with current health care issues is an asset.In addition to having outstanding oral and written communication skills, the successful candidate will have strong issues management skills and experience interacting with the government officials, external consultants, stakeholders and the media. An excellent project manager, the successful candidate will also be detail-oriented, intuitive, team-oriented, able to meet tight deadlines, and accustomed to working in a dynamic, high-pressure environment.

dynamic, positive, collaborative, persuasive, resilient, driven and results-oriented.

Why Join the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA)?

Join us in serving Ontario’s hospitals to build a better health system. As a not-for-profit association, the OHA offers you a fulfilling role supporting our members through advocacy, knowledge translation and member engagement, labour relations, and data and analytics.

An inspiring and creative place to work, the OHA is your opportunity to change the healthcare system for the better, while having a lot of fun. You’ll also be welcomed into a supportive and inclusive environment built on our core values of:

Humility – we listen t

📌 Media & Public Affairs Advisor (Toronto)
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