SENIOR DIGITAL CONTENT ADVISOR (Social Media)

Position Overview:
The Senior Digital Communications Advisor (Social Media) provides strategic leadership for the City of Toronto’s corporate social media presence, ensuring a consistent, accessible and audience-focused approach that strengthens public trust and enhances resident engagement.

The role leads the development of social media strategy, governance and best practices across the organization, and provides expert advice on content, digital engagement, community management, and emerging platform trends. It plays a key role in managing communications for high-profile, sensitive, and complex issues, including emergency and crisis situations.

Working collaboratively across divisions, the position ensures social media content is coordinated, aligned with corporate priorities and responsive to community needs. It uses analytics and audience insights to improve performance and inform strategic decision-making, while also supporting capacity-building through training and guidance for staff.

Through strategic leadership and innovation in digital engagement, this role helps position the City of Toronto as a trusted and responsive organization across social media channels.

Major Responsibilities:
Leads the strategic planning, governance and continuous improvement of the City’s corporate social media program, implementing detailed plans and recommending policies, procedures and best practices that support corporate objectives.

Oversees the delivery of strategic communications services for sensitive, high-profile and contentious matters and provides strategic advice on social media communications during emergency, crisis and emerging issues.

Collaborates with divisional leads and business units to develop, coordinate, and provide strategic advice on social media content, campaigns and editorial planning, ensuring communications are clear, audience-focused, action-oriented, and aligned with corporate priorities.

Develops and applies corporate social media standards, governance, accessibility standards and brand guidelines to ensure a consistent, high-quality and trusted presence across City of Toronto social media channels.

Monitors emerging social media trends, platform developments, legislation, industry best practices and initiatives by other levels of government, conducting research and recommending opportunities to enhance digital engagement and communications strategies.

Develops and interprets performance metrics, analytics and reporting to evaluate campaign effectiveness and inform strategic decisions.

Provides strategic communications advice during emergency and crisis communications, ensuring timely and coordinating messaging across corporate social media channels.

Analyzes analytics, audience insights, user feedback and research to evaluate performance, optimize content and campaigns, improve engagement, and inform strategic decision-making.

Provides strategic advice on social media approaches that improve resident experience and support corporate and divisional priorities.

Mentors and coaches staff, and develops training on social media strategy, governance, content creation, community management, accessibility, and platform best practices.

Communicates, influences and builds consensus among a variety of stakeholders with competing priorities through regular dialogue and consultation while balancing business objectives, public expectations and audience needs.

Provides input into and administers assigned budget, ensuring that expenditures are controlled and maintained within approved budget limitations.

Key Qualifications:

Post-secondary education (communications, public relations, digital media, marketing, journalism)r or a combination of relevant education and experience.
Extensive experience in planning, developing, implementing, and evaluating complex social media communications strategies that drive public engagement, enhance service delivery, and support organizational priorities.
Extensive experience creating and advising on social media content that is accessible, audience-focused, actionable, and aligned with corporate brand and communications standards.
Considerable experience using data, analytics, and audience insights to inform decision-making, evaluate performance and communicate findings and recommendations to senior leadership.
Demonstrated experience with social media management tools and editing software (e.g. Hootsuite, Adobe Creative Cloud, Canva).
Strong knowledge of social media strategy, platform best practices, content optimization, community management, and emerging digital trends.
Knowledge of accessibility legislation, inclusive communications practices and techniques for reaching diverse and multilingual audiences.
Strong project management and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines and competing demands in a fast-paced environment.
Demonstrated ability to build effective working relationships, influence stakeholders, and achieve consensus across diverse and often competing interests.
Well-developed communication, advisory and presentation skills, with the ability to provide strategic guidance to senior leaders and cross functional teams.