Are you motivated by the opportunity to significantly change the landscape for the wellness of young people across Canada? Are you passionate about helping young people deal with the challenges of growing up in today’s complex, ever-changing world?

You always see the potential and can envision and do—meaning you enjoy exploring what is possible and have strong experience and abilities to manage projects and details. You have a deep understanding of government relations at the federal, provincial/territorial and municipal levels, and recognize the need for growing government funding to enable our mission and vision for youth mental health.

Kids Help Phone is on a transformational journey, one that will see us change the landscape of youth mental health in Canada with new technology and clinical service innovation. We need team members that are passionate about making a real difference in young people’s lives. It will take courage. It will take resilience. Sound like a journey you want to be a part of? Then keep reading…

The Organization

Kids Help Phone is a Canadian and world leader, known for our expertise and continuous innovation as Canada’s only 24/7 professional counselling and information service for young people in both English and French. We have been pioneers in virtual care and e-health solutions for young people in Canada for almost 30 years.

Since 1989, we have offered kids, teens and young adults a critical lifeline of hope and support through our free, anonymous and confidential services, which research shows significantly improves youth mental health.

Young people reach out to Kids Help Phone’s professional counsellors and trained volunteers from every corner of the country via phone, Live Chat and texting, and benefit from our database of local youth-serving programs. Kids Help Phone’s website is a widely recognized model of youth-focused design; offering therapeutic tools, games, information, and counselling.

As an organization that speaks with young people every day, we work to share their perspectives and improve their well-being on a societal level. We are a leader in e-mental health solutions for young people in Canada. Kids Help Phone raises the majority of our revenue from individuals, foundations, corporations, and community fundraising; thanks to our generous donors, we can work to achieve our vision of a future where every young person in Canada will access the support they need in the way they need it most

And finally…

Are you are inspired by helping to meet the quickly evolving needs of young people in Canada today and are ready to contribute to a dynamic organization dedicated to improving their mental health and well-being?

History in the making!

Does this sound like a journey you want to be a part of?

The Position

The Director, Government Relations is responsible for planning, developing and implementing strategic government partnerships for Kids Help Phone. This role will be a critical position in the largest fundraising campaign of its kind for youth mental health in Canada’s history. It is essential to position Kids Help Phone as a trusted and essential service that is making a profound impact on child and youth mental health and wellbeing.

Reporting to the SVP, National Partnerships & Government Relations, this role works with executive leadership across the organization to plan and evaluate strategic directions, goals and metrics for the portfolio, informed by an organization-wide Government Relations strategy (federal, provincial, municipal). The role identifies and develops funding opportunities to help advance provincial and local government priorities with Kids Help Phone, and continuously grows a strong base of champions and supporters for both elected and non-elected government officials to ensure 24/7 access to clinical service for youth in Canada.

What You'll do

Planning and Implementation

Develops, leads and evaluates the implementation of the Government Relations (GR) strategy in support of Kids Help Phone’s funding priorities.
Designs, manages and executes strategic communications to government officials
Develops a portfolio of relationships with government contacts, and supports relationship development with between Kids Help Phone C-suite and high-level government officials
Ensures all outreach and follow up to government officials follows agreed timelines and requirements, in collaboration with key stakeholders across the organization.
Monitors legislation and media, providing reporting and updates to influence and inform GR strategy and tactics.
Manages and attends related meetings and event processes, producing briefing notes, Q&As, announcements, submissions etc.
Works with members of the Executive and peers on the Operations Leadership Team to identify potential government funding opportunities.
Ensures that Kids Help Phone’s GR strategy is aligned, compliant and reflective of our vision and mission.
Strategically works and contributes as a member of the Operations Leadership Team and Senior Advancement Leadership Team – supporting projects and initiatives related to Advancement and Board deliverables

Financial and Systems Management

Develops budgets for portfolio, projects and operational requirements
Partner with cross-functional teams to ensure appropriate integration across fundraising portfolios and systems
Ensure timely and accurate data entry and management in Raiser’s Edge

Stakeholder Engagement

Manages government prospects and partners in various stages of the pipeline management cycle
Identify and develop strategies to solicit & secure funding from new and/or expanded government sources
Oversight of strategic vendor partnerships to incorporate subject matter expertise and business intelligence.
Makes recommendations to Executive and anticipates emerging issue, trends and risks
Monitors the organization’s reputation and external presence, identifying opportunities and develops recommendations and draft responses as needed.
Proactively develops and implements guidelines and procedures for the government relations portfolio, including crisis communications, based on industry best practices and consultation with stakeholders.
Ensures that Kids Help Phone is actively championed by government stakeholders and decision makers.
Leverages networking opportunities with professional and organizational affiliations and attends functions that serve to effectively identify and cultivate prospective government relationships
Serve as a spokesperson and/or ensures appropriate spokesperson is in place and prepared for speaking engagements

Management

Provides oversight, direction and guidance to a direct report
Conducts annual staff performance reviews, ensuring staff are achieving objectives in alignment with the annual operating and solicitation, revenue, cultivation and stewardship goals.
Complies with policies, legislation, regulations and other legal requirements pertaining to employment.

What You'll Need

Post-Secondary Degree or equivalent work experience in Public Relations, Government relations, Communications or related field.
Minimum 6 years of experience in government relations, public affairs, or communication.
Experience with government relations programs in Canada. Demonstrated interest in the political system with an understanding of how to approach levels of government to access funding.
Strong networking and relationship building skills, including with executives, board members, media, government and cross-functional teams.
Exceptional writer and editor; proven ability to craft impactful, engaging and channel-specific content.
Detail-oriented with a proven ability to manage and oversee multiple projects simultaneously, and to manage vendor relationships.
Ability to influence internal partners and facilitate collaboration and alignment between divisions and corporate objectives.
Effective communication and collaboration skills, e.g., collaborative, open style, working in teams, strong written and oral communicator, strategic thinker with ability to execute plans, calm under pressure, go-to person for resources, understanding linkages with other related portfolios.
Proven project management skills and experience
Not-profit experience an asset
French – speaking & written (an asset)

The Small Print

The above is not an exhaustive list of duties and you may be asked to perform different tasks as necessitated by your changing role and the overall business objectives of Kids Help Phone. Don’t meet every single qualification and requirement? Studies have shown that women and racialized people are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Kids Help Phone we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role, but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles that our organization is recruiting for.

Accommodation Statement:

Kids Help Phone welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities, as such reasonable accommodations are available upon request from a candidate with a disability, thus ensuring you can take part in all aspects of the recruitment and selection process. If, as a qualified job applicant, you make an accommodation request, we will consult with you and provide reasonable accommodation according to your accessibility needs. If you wish to make a request for accommodation, please provide details in your cover letter when applying for this position.

Background Check:

The successful candidate to this role will be asked to complete a background screen, which may include criminal, credit, employment, educational checks and/or COVID 19 vaccination checks. All offers of employment are conditional on the receipt of satisfactory results of any applicable check.

Statement on I.D.E.A.:

Kids Help Phone provides services in one of the most diverse countries in the world. The diversity of our communities takes many forms. It includes differences related, amongst others to race, ethnicity, national origin, gender identity, gender expression and presentation, sexual orientation, religion, age, ability, and socioeconomic status. We see diversity as an asset to our organization and communities and strive to be reflective of the communities that we serve. We commit ourselves to promoting better understanding and appreciation of our human diversity; a commitment which is best realized through our individual and collective effort.

We are professionally and personally committed to celebrating the rich diversity, equity and inclusion of people who work in our company, to those who live in our communities, and to those who access our services and resources. We believe that it is critical that our services empower freedom of thought and opinion in an environment of mutual respect. All our activities and interactions are enriched by accepting each other as we are and by celebrating our uniqueness as well as our commonality. We are guided by the principle that celebrating diversity, equity and inclusion enriches and empowers the lives of all people.

Message to Agencies:

Kids Help Phone does not accept unsolicited telephone calls, referrals or resumes from any source other than directly from candidates. Kids Help Phone will not consider unsolicited telephone calls, referrals and/or resumes from vendors including and without limitation, search firms, staffing agencies, fee-based referral services and recruiting agencies. The submission of referrals or resumes by anyone other than a candidate directly to Kids Help Phone is not welcome. Unsolicited referrals and resumes sent to Kids Help Phone will be deemed gratuitous, and Kids Help Phone will not be obligated or bound in any way to pay a referral or any other fee if a person referred to us from a source other than a direct candidate is subsequently hired.

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