Vice President Product, Marketing & Brand

United Way of the Alberta Capital Region

Edmonton, AB

THE ORGANIZATION

In Canada, United Way is a network of 75 local United Way offices. Each office is registered as its own non-profit organization and governed by an independent volunteer-led local Board of Directors. Each United Way works locally to raise funds and invest in improving lives within its community.

Located in Edmonton, Alberta, the United Way of the Alberta Capital Region ( is home to about 70 passionate employees.

In general and collaboratively, the United Way of the Alberta Capital Region (UWACR) promotes and advocates for inclusive communities and workplaces, and strives to create pathways out of poverty by investing in and working together with partners, different levels of government and other community organizations largely within the greater Edmonton Metropolitan Region.

Our United Way’s mission is to mobilize collective action and create pathways out of poverty, and our vision is to create a poverty-free community. We value and operate with a commitment to:

• Creating solutions.
• Continuous learning.
• Being courageous in our work.
• Capturing our customers’ hearts and minds.
• Being insights driven and utilizing real data.
• Applying a lens of equity and inclusion to all that we do.

THE POSITION

The VP of Product, Marketing & Brand reports to the President and CEO and as a member of the executive leadership team, will have a very transformational role in the organization.

The United Way of the Alberta Capital Region is embarking on a new social enterprise vision. The successful candidate will become the architect for this new direction, responsible for product, marketing, communications, and brand and how these departments and teams align with the organization’s strategies and values with the end goal of increasing financial and customer value.

THE CANDIDATE

You are an individual that aligns with and supports the values of the United Way. You are a highly engaged executive leader capable of engineering transformative change in an organization. You are a high performer, critical thinker, creative, composed under pressure, team-oriented professional that can function in a little ambiguity, but still maintain focused on the desired vision and outcomes.

Not only do you possess the experience and a track record of creating strong brand, and effective marketing and communication strategies, but you understand how to productize an organization’s capabilities, assets, and services into customer-centric solutions. You have tangible expertise in product marketing and product life cycle management, and can create and deploy a multi-year product development strategy that integrates marketing, communications and brand.

You can lead, mentor, guide, excite and engage your teams. People enjoy working with you given your welcoming and inclusive nature, solid knowledge and experience, clear communication, and decisiveness. You lead with humility and empathy, respecting and learning from others.

You maintain a pulse on the community and understand how and who to bring together as partners in a product offering toward the betterment of a social challenge. You build and cultivate strong relationships and partnerships with your team, the organization, vendors, volunteers, community, and corporate partners.

As an important member of the executive leadership team, you will be an ongoing contributor of ideas, recommendations and initiatives building a continuous improvement culture.

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Co-architect, champion and articulate the organization’s new vision and direction centered around commoditizing the organization’s products.
• Lead Product, Brand, Marketing, and Communication Teams, including all respective strategies and initiatives.
• Direct the development of UWACR products that convert into measurable returns.
• Guide and advise on tactics, initiatives that best achieve value for customers.
• Promote and encourage continuous improvement and the re-imagining of new and innovative ways to develop product value.
• Budget, allocate, track, assess and report all relevant department and project financials.
• Build, cultivate and nurture trusted relationships among staff, stakeholders, community partners and customers.
• Lead, guide, engage, mentor, inspire, excite, collaborate, and challenge your teams.
• Understand community issues, needs, and trends toward identifying the customer audience and assessing opportunities and investments that advance product offerings.
• Keep apprised and advise the executive team on current and new initiatives.
• Collaborate with directors in the development and oversight of respective operating budgets to ensure the effective and efficient allocation of resources to meet established objectives and outcomes.
• Institute measurements for success through KPIs, analytics or metrics, and evaluate for progress holding yourself and others accountable.
• Encourage and foster continuous learning and excellence among directors and teams.
• Manage for risks and instill policies and procedures to best mitigate risks.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Post-secondary degree or diploma in Communications, Marketing, Business, or related.
• Eight (8) to fifteen (15) years of progressive related experience.
• Five (5) to seven (7) years of within a leadership / executive role.
• Accreditation through the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) or International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) are considered an asset.
• Equivalent combinations of education and experience will be considered.
• Impeccable ethics and integrity.
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills.
• Demonstrates extensive knowledge and/or a proven success in the following areas:
  • Data management, analytics tooling and infrastructure, and creativity.
  • Research and identification of product offerings and value propositions.
  • Product marketing, product development and product strategy.
  • Designing and delivering multi-year product campaigns.
  • Leading strategies in product, marketing and brand that drive awareness, customer solutions, and revenues.
  • Managing for P & L at a departmental or project level.
  • Leading cross-functional teams in product, marketing, communications, and brand.
  • Developing digital products in multiple platforms, creating roadmaps and utilizing project prioritization planning.

COMPENSATION

Compensation will be commensurate upon experience and skills, consisting of an annual salary plus a generous benefits package. Relocation support is negotiable if required.

COMMITMENT

United Way of the Alberta Capital Region is committed to creating an inclusive workplace that reflects our diverse community that we serve. We encourage candidates from diverse backgrounds and those who may need accommodation to apply to join our team. By incorporating a variety of experiences and perspectives, we create opportunities for innovative solutions and maximize the impact of our work.

CONFIDENTIALITY

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