We are seeking a creative, collaborative and detail-oriented Content Writer and Producer to develop, write and produce communication products that share the UCC story — including highlighting College priorities, student and alumni successes and philanthropic news — and engage multiple stakeholders and audiences.

The Content Writer and Producer will capitalize on emerging opportunities to share UCC’s stories including school and student/alumni news, strategic updates, philanthropic announcements, donor impact stories and more. In addition, the role will be the lead writer on a number of annual/regular communication products including UCC Annual Fund materials (donor report, direct mail pieces), cases for support, videos, scripts and speeches, social media posts as well as promotional pieces to support alumni programming, events and more.  Salary Range:  $65,000 – $85,000

Posted On:  December 21, 2022

Closing On:  January 23, 2023

Location:  Toronto, Ontario

Employment Type:  Full Time

Level:  Intermediate

Salary Range:  $65,000 – $85,000

Website:  https://www.ucc.on.ca/

File:  Download

In this new role, the Content Writer and Producer will bring a view across all relevant communication channels and platforms in order to provide content production and writing work leadership to ensure that communications are on-brand and advancing the College’s priorities while informing and building engagement, affinity, and pride of association among key stakeholders: alumni, donors, parents, students, volunteers, employees and strategic partners.

Reporting to the Associate Director, Content and Creative, the Content Writer and Producer will be a key member of the high calibre, high capacity, and supportive Marketing and Communications team. The Content Writer and Producer will work collaboratively alongside Advancement colleagues to support the broader strategic priorities at the College, as well as with faculty and staff across the school, and with alumni and parent volunteers.

Independent, detail-oriented and outcome focussed, the Content Writer and Producer will be productive, working in a home office setting and within our offices located at Upper Canada College. UCC is working within a hybrid model with staff expected in the office a minimum of 2 days per week and as required by project responsibilities.

About Upper Canada College

Upper Canada College’s mission to deliver transformational learning experiences is supported by expert faculty, cutting-edge facilities, and wide-ranging co-curricular offerings. UCC is an IB Continuum World School with 1,200 students in Senior Kindergarten through Year 12, including 88 boarders from around the world.

Located in central Toronto on 35 acres of green space in central Toronto, Upper Canada College was founded in 1829. Our alumni community of more than 12,500 in 80+ countries includes leaders and innovators in politics, finance, arts, athletics, media and beyond. We are proud that approximately 20 per cent of UCC students receive financial assistance from the school’s sector-leading program, with $5 million available annually to Canadian students.

Our Vision: UCC values each boy and inspires him to be his best self. A UCC experience reflects the pluralism and promise of Canada, and identifies the College as a global leader in the education of boys.

Our Mission: Upper Canada College provides transformational learning experiences that foster the development of head, heart, and humanity and inspire each boy to make a lasting and positive impact on his world.

Our Values

Learning – Learning about oneself and the world is at the heart of a UCC education. Through a rigorous liberal education and programs of personal development, each boy gains an understanding of himself, strong and wide-ranging skills, and knowledge that prepares him for success and responsible citizenship. We strive for excellence and celebrate accomplishment, valuing learning as a journey and not a destination. At UCC, learning is an ongoing pursuit marked by curiosity, collaboration, persistence, and openness to feedback. As a community, we model a culture of learning and growth.

Pluralism – A UCC experience is about more than just an appreciation of diversity; it is about celebrating differences, cherishing similarities, and giving voice to multiple perspectives. Through an understanding and appreciation of pluralism we create a more inclusive community, and in turn, create a more just society where we work towards the common good.

Community – UCC’s culture is characterized by teamwork, collaboration, mutual respect and a fundamental belief in our Vision and Mission. We appreciate and value each individual, fostering strong and trusting relationships throughout our community. We stand by each other, offering support and care, and we foster in our boys the very best characteristics of brotherhood.

Service – To honour Sir John Colborne’s founding commitment to public purpose, UCC inspires boys to become service-oriented leaders who understand their unique qualities in relationship to others, have humility and empathy, and recognize their ability to positively influence change. At UCC we embrace the opportunity and responsibility to make a difference in our local and global communities.

Wellbeing – To foster individual and institutional wellbeing, UCC is committed to a learning and working environment that is safe, healthy, meaningful, engaging, and supportive. A UCC education equips each boy with the capabilities to develop the knowledge, self-awareness and strengths of character that enable lifelong resilience and allow him to flourish.

Strategic Directions: Towards 2029

Strategic Directions: Towards 2029 sets the course for our preferred future, one that is driven by our renewed vision to inspire boys to be their best selves and grounded in our mission to provide transformational learning experiences. Our Strategic Directions reaffirm our foundational focus on educating boys in an exceptional day school and boarding environment, delivering a rigorous liberal education through the International Baccalaureate Programme, and ensuring financial accessibility for boys of the highest potential.

Our history of bold and progressive thinking has inspired UCC’s renewed Strategic Directions— developed in extensive collaboration with our community. Three new goal pillars will guide our commitment to these strategic priorities and initiatives. They are Best Self—nurturing the unique combination of head, heart, and humanity in each boy; Flourishing Community—creating a vibrant school that values lifelong engagement; and Bold Future—embracing a culture of courage, striving for excellence, and advancing the common good.

This is a dynamic new agenda for UCC. It bolsters our commitment to deliver innovative teaching practices and learning outcomes, reflects the promise and pluralism of our global society, and supports the wellbeing of our boys, faculty, and staff. Our goals for the future are ambitious and exciting. We look forward to working with all members of the UCC community to achieve them, culminating in the extraordinary milestone of the College’s bicentennial.

For more details, please visit: https://towards2029.ucc.on.ca/

UCC’s Commitment to Pluralism

Education is critical to building an inclusive, just society. When we equip learners to challenge stereotypes, bias, and fear, and to understand their origins — and when we celebrate and support the identities of all in our community and make it safe for them to be themselves — we create true belonging.

To fully realize UCC’s vision to reflect the pluralism and promise of Canada, and to fully live our pluralism value, we’re implementing a multi-year strategy to foster a transformational learning environment where all students, employees and community members feel valued and that they truly belong.

The course we’re charting is grounded in ongoing consultation, which to June 2021 has included more than 25 sessions involving close to 400 community members, as well as continuous dialogue, and the creation of a strategic planning committee with representation from across the College. Responding to our community’s needs and to complex global challenges, the strategy aims to remove barriers and biases that impede belonging and inclusion, and to integrate a breadth of voices and experiences.

UCCs pluralism strategy comprises 56 initiatives and 163 related actions to be implemented over at least the next five years. It addresses eight anti-oppression categories: ableism; anti-racism; antisemitism; homophobia and transphobia; Indigenous reconciliation; anti-Muslim discrimination; sexism; and socio-economic discrimination.

Through our wide-ranging initiatives and actions, we’re paving the way for positive change in seven specific categories across all aspects of College life: curriculum and pedagogy; students, programs, and support; people, organization, and professional development; admission; community; facilities and learning environments; and monitoring and evaluation.

Advancement @ UCC

The Advancement Team at Upper Canada College is responsible for advancing the mission of the College through meaningful philanthropic relationships, community relations and communications.

Every dollar contributed supports the educational mission of UCC, whether by contributing to our sector-leading Financial Assistance (FA) program that enhances the accessibility, diversity and impact of the UCC experience for students, and supporting the ongoing development and excellence of our facilities, programs, and faculty, through to the provision of equipment and resources for teaching and learning, athletics, arts and culture.

The Advancement team comprises more than twenty professionals organized in four units: Marketing & Communications, Community Relations, Advancement Operations, and Development. We work closely with faculty and staff across the College and with alumni and parent volunteers.

Key Responsibilities

Content Development and Production

• Collaborate with Marketing and Communications colleagues to develop, write, edit and produce a range of communication materials — including website content, UCC news, alumni news and profiles (for magazine, newsletter, social media), school communications (academic updates, parent news) and more
• Partner with UCC’s Advancement Team to develop a range of philanthropic materials, creating content for cases for support, both personalized and general donor reports, capital campaign materials, annual fund, reunion and legacy giving campaigns
• Expand the reach and impact of UCC’s content by developing or repurposing content for videos, social media, website and other
• Manage the script or content development and implementation of production of content for UCC’s video, social and digital channels
• Collaborate with UCC colleagues and external creative partners to ensure that design and production enhances the content developed by this role
• Act as roving Advancement reporter to capture school and community life stories, images and videos that can be utilized in communication materials, including co-ordination of both individual and roundtable-style interviews, and co-ordination of photoshoots
• Provide general editing and writing support to Advancement colleagues, with meticulous attention to CP Style as well as UCC’s house style

Communications Planning

• Support or collaborate on the College-wide content (written, video, digital) calendar; lead execution of calendar and put into action its tactics and specifics
• Implement and update on a regular basis the UCC Style Guide in adherence to CP Style as well as UCC’s house style ensuring that it reflects appropriate changes to language and communication style

Operational

• Analyze relevant data on UCC audience segments to refine communications strategies and plans in support of continually evolving content and brand narrative
• Review College-wide communications and marketing materials for consistency of brand and written style guide

Knowledge Sharing

• Develop relationships that enhance the College’s brand and effectiveness of its communications and marketing
• Develop and maintain “knowledge sharing” relationships with fellow Advancement team members and across College

Other

• Participate in various Advancement cross-functional teams and projects
• Support marketing and communication needs of VP Advancement, AVP Advancement and Executive Director, Marketing and Communications as required
• Other duties as required

Qualifications & Competencies

• Sophisticated writing and editing skills and proficiency with CP Style
• Experience and familiarity with print, digital media and video production and processes
• Progressive communications experience in an education and/or fundraising environment
• Experience writing and editing donor communication pieces such as cases for support, proposals, donor reports, and stewardship reports
• Familiarity with creative process and working with agency partners an asset
• Demonstrated ability to write, edit and execute communication and donor impact materials that are aligned with goals and objectives
• Demonstrated experience working on cross-functional teams on communications and marketing strategies, tactics and plans that leverage core strengths of a brand and position it for future growth
• Strong organization and project management skills; able to prioritize, work with interruptions and deal with several tasks simultaneously; able to flexibly shift between multiple communications priorities
• Meticulous attention to detail
• Strong relationship management, with a proven track record of strong collaboration with colleagues and external partners, and positive and productive relationships with interview subjects
• Ability to identify and evaluate trends and best practices in other sectors and determine applicability to the Advancement communications products of the College
• Applies sound judgment and problem-solving, an innate willingness to find reasonable solutions and work independently to do

For more Information

KCI (Ketchum Canada Inc.) has been retained to conduct this fundraising leadership search on behalf of Upper Canada College. Interested marketing and communications professionals are invited to contact Tara George or Jill Anderson at KCI Search + Talent via email at UCCCWP@kcitalent.com.

To view full position brief, visit www.kcitalent.com

Please send resume and letter of interest to the email address listed above by January 23, 2023.

Please note that the hiring range for this position is $65,000 – $85,000 per annum, plus a wide range of benefits and perquisites that are available to all UCC employees.

For more info about working at UCC please visit: https://www.ucc.on.ca/welcome/careers

UCC is proud to be an Employer Partner of the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI). This partnership provides our team with learning resources and is one part of our journey to embrace pluralism – celebrating differences, cherishing similarities, and giving voice to multiple perspectives.

Upper Canada College requires full vaccination for all eligible students and employees who will be accessing the campus for in-person learning and activities. In accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code, exemptions will only be considered for defined medical conditions as determined by a clinician and/or for reasons of religion or creed. Candidates are asked to proactively identify if they require more information about policy-accepted exemptions. A Criminal Records Check and a Vulnerable Sector Check will be required for this position