Director, Communications - December 2016 - Tennis Canada

Director, Communications

      December 2016

Director, Communications

OVERVIEW OF ORGANIZATION
Founded in 1890, Tennis Canada is a non-profit, national sport association with a mission to lead the growth
of tennis in Canada and a vision to become a world-leading tennis nation. The future is bright for tennis in
Canada, and you will be right in the middle of it all at Tennis Canada! The organization values teamwork,
passion, integrity, innovation and excellence.

Tennis Canada seeks to grow participation across Canada and develop champions on the international stage.
Tennis Canada owns and operates the premier Rogers Cup presented by National Bank WTA and ATP events
in Toronto and Montreal, two of the best-run sporting events in the world which annually bring the globe’s
best tennis players to Canada. In addition, Tennis Canada owns and operates eight professional ITF
sanctioned events and financially supports 11 other professional tournaments. Tennis Canada operates
national junior training centres and programs in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Calgary.

Tennis Canada is a proud member of the International Tennis Federation, the Canadian Olympic Committee,
the Canadian Paralympic Committee and the International Wheelchair Tennis Association, and serves to
administer, sponsor and select the teams for Davis Cup, Fed Cup, the Olympic and Paralympic Games and all
wheelchair, junior and senior national teams. Tennis Canada invests its surplus into tennis development.

In recent years, Canadian tennis has seen historic achievements, with players reaching Grand Slam finals and
record high world rankings, and participation and interest is on the rise. Join us as we look to build on this
exciting momentum and produce even greater results. We are a team of innovators, who are passionate
about our work and pursue excellence together every day.

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Director, Communications

POSITION & SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE PROFILE
Title:                Director, Communications
Reports To:               Chief Marketing Officer
Direct Reports:           Two; Communications Manager & Regional Communications Manager
Location:                 Toronto

OPPORTUNITY
The Director of Communications will define and oversee the implementation of Tennis Canada’s overall
communications strategy. The scope of the role includes internal communications, external communications
with key stakeholders, media relations and public relations. The mandate of the Director of Communications
is to help Tennis Canada deliver its mission and specifically:
  Drive interest and participation in tennis in Canada
  Drive awareness, participation and ticket sales for our tournaments and primarily Rogers Cup/Coupe
      Rogers, Davis Cup, Fed Cup and Coupe BN
  Increase awareness and brand equity for Tennis Canada, showcasing its work, achievements, ownership
      of tournaments and success in developing elite players
  Bring communications best practices to Tennis Canada and provide leadership and mentorship to the
      communications team
Reporting directly to the Chief Marketing Officer, the Director of Communications will manage a team of two
direct reports and two indirect reports in Toronto and Montreal. The successful candidate will mentor,
develop and inspire a high performing team locally and virtually.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
  Oversee the creation and execution of a communications plan that drives media coverage for Rogers
    Cup/Coupe Rogers throughout the year and beyond Sports media
  Develop and oversee the execution of a year round communications plan that drives coverage and helps
    generate broader interest and fandom for tennis among Canadians by identifying/creating interesting
    story angles and leveraging Canadian wins on home soil and abroad
  Oversee the creation of a content calendar that can be leveraged across our platforms (social, digital,
    newsletters), and leveraged with media and key stakeholders (Provincial Tennis Associations, Donors,
    Past Ticket holders, etc.)
  Develop and oversee the communications plan for the celebration of 10th anniversary of the National
    Training Center in September 2017
  Bring industry best practices to both the communications team and the TC organization
  Oversee communications and media outreach in support of the Provincial Tennis Associations and the
    Tennis Development department
Tournament media and PR (including Rogers Cup and Coupe Rogers)
  Oversee creation and execution of a communications plan that drives media coverage for Rogers
    Cup/Coupe Rogers throughout the year and beyond Sports media:
  Develop an editorial strategy that generates broad media coverage for RC/CR year round
  Oversee production of all tournament related publications and materials (newsletters, drawsheets,
    media guides)
  Oversee media centre operations for all major professional events across Canada
  Work closely with ATP, WTA, ITF and USTA to identify opportunities, plan and execute global media
    initiatives to promote tournaments and players
  Develop relationships with media and influencers to broaden to appeal of RC/Coupe Rogers

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Director, Communications

   Work closely with key Partners of RC/CR (Rogers, National Bank, other sponsors) to create or maximize
    opportunities for media coverage
   Develop a media strategy that helps generate interest in RC/CR from potential sponsors and partners
    (business and trade publications)

Participation and Grassroots
  Strengthen collaboration and support of Provincial Tennis Associations
  Guide coordinator to provide required communications support to PTA’s, including media relations
    (press kits, sample releases, key messaging) and shared content
  Guide communications of Tennis Canada programs and initiatives with PTA’s
  Support the new National Participation Programs (pilot in 2017, full national roll out in 2018)
  Support Tennis Canada 365 brand efforts, including annual brand campaign amplification and support
    of marketing plan initiatives
  Support Government Relations initiatives as required
  Support efforts to build new roof in Montreal, opening of new facilities as required or general facilities
    development advocacy with PR activity that enhance fundraising efforts
Tennis Canada
  Put in place an internal/external communications process to efficiently share news with key
   stakeholders in a timely manner
  Develop a year round communications plan that drives coverage and helps generate broader interest
   and fandom for tennis among Canadians by identifying/creating interesting story angles and leveraging
   Canadian wins on home soil and abroad
  Oversee development and implementation of a communications plan to celebrate the 10th year
   anniversary of National Training Center and strategically and appropriately generate awareness for
   and excitement for our Next Gen players
  Oversee media training for key stakeholders (next gen players, coaches, key execs) as required.
  Support Tennis Canada’s corporate sales efforts through Business-to-Business/Trade Communications,
   highlighting successes, innovation, new partnerships
  Drive awareness and brand equity for Tennis Canada as a not-for-profit and/or a cause that needs and
   warrants (given its accomplishments) the help and support of the public, the government and corporate
   sector
  Crisis management as required

QUALIFICATIONS
  7-10 years of PR & Communications experience, with mix of agency and client-side backgrounds
  Undergraduate degree in related field, advanced degree and/ or certificates a bonus
  Fluently bilingual in English and French would be an asset
  Superior written and verbal communicator, and an ability to develop stories/drive content creation
  Strong network of media contacts in entertainment, lifestyle and Canadian sports media
  Demonstrated ability to develop and execute strategic and creative communications that help drive
   extensive and diverse media coverage
  Strong leadership, initiative and ability to work well and collaboratively with key stakeholders
  Strong people management skills with experience managing at least 2 direct reports
  Willingness and ability for frequent travel within Canada (in Montreal at least monthly and for
   tournaments as appropriate)
  Some interest and understanding of the sports world/tennis
  Trend and social media savvy

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Director, Communications

LEADERSHIP ATTRIBUTES
  Strengthens and embodies the corporate brand and company culture & values, also acting as
   spokesperson.
  Extraordinary team player and ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment where quality, creativity,
   speed of decision making and execution are critical to organizational success
  Results driven, energetic, creative and hardworking, with a commitment to the highest quality of care
   and service
  Ability to lead by example and motivate a high functioning team
  High capacity; able to juggle a large volume of projects and deadlines
  Self-starter who takes a proactive approach to ensure all deliverables are met in a timely manner
  Great collaborator, exudes passion and enthusiastic

KEY COMPETENCIES
  Results Orientation – Aligns resources to accomplish key objectives; assigns clear accountability
  Communicating Effectively – Expresses ideas clearly and concisely; disseminates information about
    decisions, plans and activities
  Developing and Empowering – Offers constructive feedback and encouragement; delegates work and
    encourages individual initiative
  Inspiring Commitment – Motivates others to perform at their best; rallies support throughout the
    organization to get things done
  Forging Synergy – Maintains smooth, effective working relationships with internal and external key
    stakeholders; promotes teamwork
  Sound Judgement – Makes timely decisions and readily understands complex issues; develops
    solutions that effectively address problems
  Business Perspective – Understands the perspectives of different functional areas in the organization

YACOUB ELITE CONTACTS
Morgan Ruskin, National Practice Leader
Morgan.ruskin@yacoubelite.com
416-861-0882 ext. 221

Martha Papsin, Senior Director , Talent
Martha.papsin@yacoubelite.com
416-861-0882 ext. 227

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