Director, Brand Marketing

Director, Brand Marketing (18-month contract)

Organization: UHN Foundation (Toronto General and Toronto Western Hospital Foundations, Toronto Rehab and The Michener Institute of Education)

Title: Director, Brand Marketing (18-month contract)

Reports to: Vice President, Marketing, Communications & Community Giving 

Team: 7; Direct reports: Brand Marketing Manager; Senor Graphic Designer; Marketing and Communications Associate (2); Digital Content Marketing Associate; Manager, Digital Marketing*; Digital Content Producer*

Location: Hybrid effective January 2022 (with 190 Elizabeth Street, Toronto Ontario)

*to be hired

Is This You?

You have expertise in integrated brand strategy development and implementation, campaign planning and execution, omni-channel marketing, and corporate communications. You understand the importance that BRAND plays in fundraising success.

Have you proven you can collaborate to craft, implement, and operationalize large-scale brand and marketing projects that drive revenue and build long-term public engagement? Are you a nimble and inspiring leader with a proven ability to lead high-performance, results-driven teams? Former Direct Reports would say you were the ‘best boss they had ever had.’ You care about your people and help them achieve their own career goals while always cognizant of the business demands.

You have a strong service orientation and know how to project manage and prioritize for you and your team to deliver timely and exceptional brand marketing and content to the various fundraising teams, as well as drive brand awareness and engagement in the public space. You are a strong relationship builder, and your trustworthy style results in followership. You are always prepared, respectful, collaborative, strategic, creative and deliver on your promises. Your strong communication and creative skills rooted in brand marketing strategy have resulted in significant added value and financial contributions to the organizations you have worked for. 

You understand the intricacies and bespoke nature of mass/public audiences related to philanthropy and ideally have worked in a hospital foundation or health-oriented not for profit. If not, you have worked on the agency side and have supported health related philanthropic organizations. You thrive in a highly matrixed stakeholder environment and are exceptional at managing a myriad of personalities to navigate brand transformation.  If this sounds like you, please read on…

About University Health Network

University Health Network (UHN) includes Toronto General and Toronto Western hospitals, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, and The Michener Institute of Education at UHN. The scope of research and complexity of cases at UHN has made it a national and international source for discovery, education, and patient care. It has the largest hospital-based research program in Canada, with major research in cardiology, transplantation, neurosciences, oncology, surgical innovation, infectious diseases, genomic medicine, and rehabilitation medicine. Toronto General has been ranked as the number-four hospital in the world by Newsweek: the second year in a row in the top 10.  UHN is a research hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto. Learn more: uhn.ca. 

About UHN Foundation

Part of University Health Network (UHN), UHN Foundation raises funds for research, education and the enhancement of patient care at Toronto General and Toronto Western hospitals, Toronto Rehab and The Michener Institute of Education at UHN. Together with its donors, UHN Foundation is helping UHN pursue the knowledge that makes all our lives better.
UHN Foundation is an amalgamation of Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation and Toronto Rehab Foundation, which joined forces on April 1, 2021. Which is why there is a need to do a brand campaign.

As Canada’s number-one research hospital, and as home to the number-four hospital in the world, UHN is uniquely positioned to find solutions to some of the biggest health challenges of our time. UHN’s accomplishments to date are a testament to incredible talent – and the community of donors who make their work possible.

The Foundation works closely with hospital leadership to identify programs and initiatives that need urgent funding, so donations always go where they’re needed most.

UHN Foundation is a high-performance and high-growth Foundation with 125 employees raising more than $150 million a year by a sophisticated, best-in-class, effective and well-respected group of fundraising and advancement services professionals. 

The Position
This role is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to utilize your brand marketing and communications expertise to expand the impact and reach of one of the largest hospital networks in the country. 

The Director, Brand Marketing is an 18-month contract (maternity leave) within the Marketing, Communications & Community Giving team at UHN Foundation. Reporting to the Vice President Marketing, Communications & Community Giving, this Director will oversee a dynamic team of 7 and be a key member of the leadership team that will develop and implement a comprehensive brand marketing strategy and campaign designed to build public profile and engagement, expand our donor pool, and ultimately maximize fundraising success. The successful candidate will manage an external agency to plan, develop and execute the brand strategy and subsequent campaign. 

They will be a key member of the team that will develop brand awareness and engagement to drive new leads and expand the donor pool in public spaces.  They will work closely with their team to ensure all internal and external communications are reflective of the UHN brand.

Our successful candidate will support fundraising across the entire foundation at all levels. A focus is the Community Giving portfolio and working closely with them to support fundraising among the mass/public audience to drive undesignated fundraising. They will work cross functionally with their Major Gifts, Stewardship and Events peers as well as the hospital, and will be comfortable partnering with stakeholders at varying levels of seniority both internally and externally.

Our candidate will be a collaborator and excellent communicator. Their peer, the Director, Major Gifts Content, will be a key partner in ensuring the Major Giving communications efforts are reflective of the UHN brand. 

Ideally our candidate will be familiar with healthcare and fundraising and will have worked within a hospital foundation or healthcare not for profit. However, we are also open to candidates who have worked for an agency supporting a not for profit/charity. 

Our successful candidate will be a strong people leader and have managed a high-performance team, respected by direct reports for their candor, support, and mentorship. They are a team player, who believes ‘a rising tide lifts all boats.’ They will bring a marketing orientation and be a brand champion for the incredible work being done at UHN and a proud ambassador of the Foundation within the philanthropy community both in Toronto and nationally. An independent self-starter, our successful candidate will thrive working for a leader who has high expectations and encourages a creative and collaborative work culture and who is not a micro manager, instead choosing to provide the team with space, freedom, and support to do their best work.  

Primary Accountabilities

• Develop and implement brand position, platform, and strategy alongside an external agency

• Take the brand from creative concept to integrated public campaign through paid, earned, and owned channels, as well as internally 

• Omni-channel marketing and communications planning and execution supporting all new and existing fundraising activities within the Foundation

• Oversee and ensure consistency of the quality, tone, voice, design, and style of marketing and communications and that they align with Foundation brand and writing standards

• Oversee the departmental annual plans and budgets including metrics to evaluate success and cost effectiveness.

• Working with the team members, ensure the most effective methods are in place to track/manage projects, monitor workflow and report on the team’s activities and efforts

• Manage external agency of record relationship

The Ideal Candidate

• At least 5-10 years in a senior marketing and communications role leading a team. Preferred health care/hospital experience and highly mission motivated 

• Demonstrated experience leading marketing campaigns with impact, driving revenue and increasing market share within highly competitive and complex industries

• Seasoned people leader with a track record of excellence in inspiring and leading a best-in-class team and working collaboratively with the multitude of stakeholders

• Holds people accountable; team builder; attracts, retains, and coaches individuals to grow and achieve within their roles and careers 

• Deep understanding of B2B and B2C marketing and integrating marketing strategies cross-channel

• Strong awareness and use of digital marketing and social media channels (Google, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc.) and partnership with social influencers

• Strong understanding of traditional marketing channels such as TV, radio and print

• Excellent design sensibility surrounding creative production (graphics, design) and digital technologies (web, online, Google analytics, etc.) and a huge asset would be previous experience in video production (storytelling)

• Experience managing and working directly with suppliers and marketing agencies 

• Self-starter with strong organizational and administrative skills

• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment while managing the team with multiple projects and priorities

• Education in marketing, communications, journalism, or related experience

Application Instructions 

UHN Foundation hires based on merit and is strongly committed to equality and diversity within its community and to providing a welcoming and inclusive workplace. UHN Foundation especially welcomes applications from Indigenous persons, visible minority group members, women, persons with disabilities, people of all sexual orientations and genders, and others with the skills and knowledge to productively engage with diverse communities. 

If you are looking for an outstanding challenge, working with a great team for a, uniquely focused organization, then what are you waiting for?  Apply now by emailing your application to Cathy Preston at cathy@phcap.ca. Please include your cover letter and CV, and a case study of a brand project you have been involved with which outlines your role and learning that you would bring to this position. Please note the application deadline is Thursday December 23rd 2021. 

We thank you for your interest in this opportunity. Please note only qualified respondents will be contacted.