POSTING #: CUPE-2023-33

WE ARE HIRING!

Located on the Niagara Peninsula in Southern Ontario, Haldimand County is a single-tier municipality with diverse urban and rural communities, an endless supply of four-season outdoor activities and an outstanding quality of life.

Our diverse team of responsive and dedicated professionals are committed to providing our citizens with high-quality services making our County a great place to work and live.

We’re currently looking for a Research and Marketing Technician to assist our Economic Development & Tourism team on its journey to successfully manage the growing development within our county. The ideal candidate for the Research and Marketing Technician position is a dedicated self-starter individual with strong communication skills and proven experience in delivering excellent customer service to its stakeholders.

The County believes in encouraging our employees to contribute to meaningful work that makes a positive difference. Joining our team opens the door to a rewarding career where the health and wellness of our employees, families, and communities is vital to the success of our workplace. The municipality’s dedication to work/life balance, wellness programs, employee recognition programs, learning and development opportunities, competitive salaries and benefits are a few of the reasons why you should join us today!

If you want to become a leader in your field and take your career to new heights, let's talk and build something great!

PURPOSE OF POSITION:

Reporting to the Manager, Economic Development and Tourism the incumbent will:

• Provide technical and administrative assistance to the Manager, Division staff, as well as other Departmental staff.
• Provide coordination of business services, functions and operations related to the Economic Development and Tourism Division.
• Provide marketing support to the division for all programs, projects and initiatives.
• Provide research and data analysis support to the Division and various committees including Business Development and Planning Advisory Committee, Agricultural Advisory Committee; Haldimand Business Network and Tourism Network.
• Assist the Division staff in the promotion of business and tourism development and retention in Haldimand County with the goal of producing economic benefit through assessment growth, employment, increased social development as well as contributing to an enhanced quality of life for residents.
• Assist with the formulation and implementation of business attraction, development and retention strategies, programs and initiatives;
• Engage industry-related stakeholders and community groups on various initiatives, learning opportunities and partnerships

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE:

• University undergraduate level – four years or equivalent (relative to area of responsibility – planning, economic development, marketing or business)
• PLUS
• Minimum 3 years, up to and including four years current related experience (work / coop / volunteer)
• Experience in customer relationship management, account management, marketing, business, sales and/or related employment is preferred;
• Certificate in Economic Development is considered an asset.

Or equivalent to the above.

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS REQUIRED:

• Good understanding of municipal government, its operations and services.
• Sound technical knowledge relative to responsibilities.
• Good knowledge of business and legal processes and financial management methods to assist prospective investors with the development of their projects in Haldimand County.
• Interpersonal skills to establish and maintain relations with others (potential investors, County staff, peers within other organizations, various agencies/organizations and various levels of government – municipal, provincial and federal).
• Demonstrated research, analytical, problem solving and decision-making skills to enable the assessment of issues/situations, develop options and make recommendations and/or decisions when/as required within scope of authority.
• Communication skills (listening, writing, verbal) to provide clear information/responses to inquiries ensuring solid understanding of County requirements and to assist Division staff to influence, persuade potential investors.
• Provide relevant and timely information to staff and the public in a tactful and professional manner with the ability to assess concerns, complaints and issues, and develop approaches to effectively problem solve or manage conflict.
• Ability to track statistics, prepare reports, correspondence, documentation etc. required to track success, highlight areas for improvement and the development of future plans.
• Ability to make decisions that enable effective and efficient program delivery and develop innovative implementation approaches.
• Time management/organization skills to identify priorities, re-arrange work if required to meet identified deadlines
• Valid Ontario Driver’s License and access to a reliable vehicle.
• Sound knowledge of economic development principles, practices, programs and contacts;
• Creative abilities to develop and design written materials, promotional material, videos and knowledge of effective marketing and advertising methods.
• Must have ability and skill dealing with confidential issues.
• Proven initiative to work independently and as a team member, with minimal direction, to resolve issues without forwarding them to the immediate supervisor and to identify issues and initiate activities to resolve them.
• Excellent customer service skills in terms of a timely response to issues, proactive communication and problem resolution.
• Expertise creating and executing divisional marketing including digital and traditional platforms.
• Demonstrated experience working in a cooperative team environment involving internal and external stakeholders, tight deadlines and challenging levels of expectation.
• Ability to be flexible and willing to embrace change.
• Ability to work remotely and conduct day to day work virtually as required.

COMPUTER EXPERTISE:

Level 4 - The incumbent must possess intermediate and advanced computer skills scored at 65% or higher for Outlook and at least one of Word / Excel / PowerPoint to ensure their:

• Proven ability to use desktop or department / division specific software packages on their own or combine information from different software packages to get the desired result
• Solid understanding of the software to enable the incumbent to know the best tool to do the job efficiently.
• Knowledge to utilize software to develop quality reports, professional looking presentations, publications and/or to develop complex spreadsheets for analysis or presentation of data (including use of formulae)
• Be proficient in a wide range of social media and website applications to support divisional marketing requirements including but not limited to Facebook, Facebook Business Suite, Google My Business, and Instagram etc.
• Ability to utilize digitized mapping systems.
• Demonstrated experience in the use of Adobe Acrobat to convert and create fillable electronic forms.
• Thorough understanding and knowledge of digital/electronic forms.
• Thorough understanding of website content management platforms and development of best practices.

Accountabilities / Tasks

Include, but are not limited to the following:

• Liaison with local and external industry, businesses and commercial clients interested in developing and/or expanding an operation or business
• Provide timely and thorough advice, information and assistance to support those efforts.
• Promote the County as an area for business development and investment through networking, conferences, public / private / volunteer partnerships and developing strong working relationships with peers in government organizations.
• Act as a Departmental resource to promote the creation and coordination of municipal business recruitment related infrastructure such as business parks, services, facilities, amenities, and programs including the identification of areas that should be safeguarded for business development.
• Contribute to the development of appropriate policy alternatives and appropriate recommendations relative to Economic Development for Division staff’s consideration / review.
• Assist with the application of legislation and regulations relevant to work undertaken by the Division; including relevant corporate policies.
• Administration of contracts related to the projects or services of the Division pertaining to economic development and tourism development.
• Research and prepare draft documentation to / for Division staff and Management on current projects, conditions, issues, making recommendations as required.
• Maintain expertise at a high level by attending appropriate courses, seminars, conferences, by undertaking selected readings, and by liaising / networking with organizations, agencies and peers.
• Represent the Division at relevant meetings, including site visits that are periodically after hours and on weekends. Examples include, but not limited to, Tourism Outreach activities, Chamber/BIA meetings, tradeshows and community events
• Practice effective public relations to sustain the positive image of the Corporation of Haldimand County
• Liaise with relevant divisions, departments, provincial ministries and federal departments, outside agencies, neighbouring destination management organizations and other groups and maintain regular contact with the public on matters related to economic development and tourism.
• Acts as back-up to the Senior Economic Development Officer, as required. Assumes day to day activities and other responsibilities during absences or schedule conflicts.
• Receive, review, track and respond to inquiries, concerns requests for information and public feedback and provide the appropriate response as required.
• Monitor expenditures of assigned accounts.
• Ensure that the Division goals and objectives are always considered while work is being performed.
• Prepare reports and deliver presentations to Council, Committees and Senior Management as required.
• Undertake tasks/work assignments as directed by the Manager and/or divisional staff.

Data and Research Analysis

Responsible for collection, tracking, organizing, compiling analysis and maintenance of data including but not limited to visitor data collection, property inventory, community profile data, investment requests, business data that contains statistics and other relevant information for the Economic Development and Tourism division using a variety of tools and approaches.

• Develop and track performance measurements for the division.
• Writing grant proposals and award applications as required.
• Undertakes projects such as sector specific research, cluster studies and economic impact analysis.
• Conducts research on best practices for economic sustainability, analyzes economic trends and uses considerable judgement to make recommendations.
• Produces statistical, sectoral and economic reports in support of the division’s objectives.
• Creates and maintains a reference library of relevant technical information such as federal, provincial, regional and municipal business and economic development related organizations, publications and statistical information related to business and economic development.
• Undertake analysis to provide information such as decline in vacancy rates, land absorption rates and trends overtime.
• Advise the Division Manager and staff of issues and policies related to business recruitment, retention, skills training, servicing and marketing strategies, land availability and community improvement;

Marketing

• Manage all content on the TourismHaldimand and BusinessHaldimand webpages.
• Oversee the design and production of Economic Development and Tourism promotional materials including multimedia, print and digital advertising campaigns, publications, promotional items, information packages and other resources and materials to meet Haldimand County initiatives.
• Responsible to develop and coordinate the Economic Development and Tourism marketing plan.
• Explore new ways to engage and identify new opportunities to reach target markets, key economic sectors and potential investment opportunities.
• Source and oversee the acquisition of new photos and videos for the purposes of marketing.
• Support the Division with the coordination of key communication including but not limited to: media releases, notices, advertisements, radio advertisements, email communications, management of the divisional content on BusinessHaldimand.ca and TourismHaldimand.ca in accordance with County policies and procedures.
• Develop, track and report on performance/success metrics and annual targets to assess the effectiveness of marketing programs and initiatives including monitoring analytics and reporting outcomes of social media and other online campaigns.
• Assist in the development of budgets to support the annual marketing plan.
• Assemble investor and business related packages to support economic development efforts, marketing employment lands and sector specific opportunities.

Project Management

• Actively participate in and provide support for special projects.
• Provides project management oversight for primary research projects including:
• Manages market research projects including the development of project plans, statement of work, within research approaches and methodologies;
• Summarizes findings and implications of research and develops product and tools to disseminate findings;

• Develops and implements the logistics and coordination of events such as but not limited to the Business Excellence Awards, Small Business Week, Workshops/Training and public open houses.
• Assist in the administration and maintenance of the Community Improvement Plan financial incentive plans. Draft improvements to existing Community Improvement Plan
• Coordinate the administration, marketing and replacement of signage through the County’s Signage Program.
• Coordinate all film inquiries, patio inquiries and other similar programs.
• Actively participate in and provide support for special projects.
• Manage and coordinate tradeshows, trade missions, real estate and other marketing and promotional events.

Administrative Related Responsibilities

• Secures venues, prepares and distributes agenda packages, attends meetings, records and transcribes minutes and distributes the meeting minutes and related correspondence. This includes but not limited to Business Development and Planning Advisory Committee, Agricultural Advisory Committee, Haldimand Business Network and the Tourism Network
• Maintains the economic development calendar to ensure priorities and deadlines are met. Schedules and arranges appointments, meetings.
• Maintains, updates and files a variety of records.
• Monitors and maintains adequate office supplies, resources.
• Supervises the inquiry fulfillment for the website, toll-free telephone line, various email accounts and provide customer service to meet industry standards for the Economic Development and Tourism division.
• Responsible for ongoing enhancements to the internal customer relationship management system
• Coordinate inventory, shipments and receipts of print materials (e.g. Brochures, maps) inbound and outbound to various locations within Haldimand County and externally. Communicate with other tourism offices and government contacts, tracking shipments, coordinating deliveries and disposal/recycling of surplus or expired inventory.
• Ensure required divisional databases are current and maintained. These include but are not limited to – the existing CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software, business listings, and property inventory;
• Administer the souvenir/promotional items for the division.

All Haldimand County employees are expected to:

• work safely and respect others in the work place
• maintain confidentiality
• work within policies and procedures determined by Haldimand County and / or legislation relative to the function

Posting Period: May 25 – June 8, 2023

EMPLOYEE GROUP: CUPE Local 4700 (Haldimand)

POSITION STATUS: Permanent Full-Time

Hours worked per week: 35

Position: Research and Marketing Technician

Grade: 8

Wage Range: $29.708 - $34.391 / Hr (January 2023)

Department / Division: Planning & Economic Development / Economic Development & Tourism

Location: Haldimand County Administration Building

County employees who are interested in applying for this position must complete the EMPLOYEE APPLICATION FORM and submit the completed form together with a resume and covering letter as appropriate in confidence to Human Resources by 4:30 p.m. on the last day of this posting.

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Accommodation is available for any applicant with a disability, as it relates to the recruitment process of this position. Upon request, Haldimand County will consult with the applicant and provide, or arrange for the provision of a suitable accommodation in a manner that takes into account the applicant’s accessibility needs due to disability.

As per current Legislation, if it is determined that those employees with priority placement status are suitable for this job, before a selection decision has been made, this competition may be cancelled.