About Us At Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds (BNP), we connect children with nature by creating natural play opportunities that emphasize creativity, interaction, and pedagogy. Our team is a diverse group of designers, educators, fabricators, and constructors, dedicated to fostering natural curiosity, creativity, and a sense of adventure through our playgrounds and educational initiatives. Position Overview As the Director of Communications, you will provide strategic leadership across organizational communications, brand, marketing direction, executive thought leadership, and related strategic initiatives. Reporting directly to the CEO, you will serve as a trusted advisor and thought partner, helping translate the organization’s vision into clear priorities, messaging, and action. You will lead a small team of communications and marketing professionals and work with internal specialists, external agencies, and partners to strengthen how BNP communicates with employees, clients, partners, and communities. You will ensure that our brand and communications remain consistent, support organizational priorities, and contribute to business growth. As BNP grows, the scope and influence of this role will continue to evolve. The ideal candidate is a strategic and practical leader who can bring structure to complex priorities, build alignment across departments, and help shape the organization’s future while remaining grounded in its mission, values, and culture. Key Responsibilities Strategic Partnership and Organizational Alignment * Serve as a trusted advisor to the CEO, helping translate BNP’s vision into clear priorities, initiatives, messaging, and action. * Support strategic planning, annual priority-setting, and organization-wide initiatives. * Research emerging trends, opportunities, and challenges to support informed decision-making and long-term planning. * Work with leaders across the organization to strengthen communication, collaboration, and alignment around shared priorities. * Help employees understand, support, and carry out BNP’s strategic direction while maintaining alignment with its mission, values, and culture. Brand and Communications Leadership * Lead BNP’s brand and communications strategies across all internal and external channels. * Maintain clear and consistent standards for brand voice, messaging, visual identity, and storytelling across BNP’s family of brands, products, services, programs, and partnerships. * Strengthen how clients, partners, employees, and communities understand and experience BNP, including what distinguishes the organization as an industry leader. * Oversee executive, internal, external, and organizational communications, including communications that support growth and change. * Lead media relations, public relations, issues management, and reputation management, ensuring communications are accurate, credible, and aligned with relevant safety and compliance standards. Marketing, Content, and Performance * Provide strategic oversight of marketing activities, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities, brand strategy, and business objectives. * Guide content and storytelling across the website, email, social media, publications, presentations, and other communication channels. * Oversee the promotion of BNP’s projects, products, keynotes, workshops, professional development programs, and other services. * Work with internal specialists, AI-enabled marketing systems, and external agency partners to guide marketing direction and execution. * Partner with Sales to build awareness, generate qualified inquiries, and support business growth. * Establish and monitor measures for audience growth, engagement, media coverage, website performance, content delivery, program promotion, and lead generation.   Thought Leadership and Strategic Initiatives * Partner with the CEO and Executive Leadership Team to strengthen BNP’s influence across North America and internationally. * Lead communications for executive team member presentations, conferences, keynotes, media opportunities, industry publications, awards, recognition, and executive visibility. * Develop relationships and strategic partnerships that expand BNP’s reach, strengthen its reputation, and advance its mission. * Lead cross-functional projects that support organizational planning, change, new business opportunities, innovation, and long-term growth. * Guide the responsible adoption of AI and other emerging tools across communications, marketing, and related organizational processes.   Team Leadership * Lead, coach, and develop a small team of communications and marketing professionals. * Establish clear roles, priorities, performance expectations, and measures of success. * Conduct regular 1:1 meetings and performance discussions to provide feedback and support professional development. * Oversee external agencies, contractors, budgets, and other communications and marketing resources. * Assess future team, technology, and resource needs as the organization grows. * Foster a collaborative, accountable, and innovative team culture aligned with BNP’s values.   Qualifications * Post-secondary education in Communications, Business, Marketing, Public Relations, or a related field; equivalent experience will also be considered. * A minimum of 7 years of progressive experience in strategic communications, brand leadership, marketing, public relations, or a related field, with at least 2 years in a leadership or management role. * Demonstrated experience leading and developing a team, including setting priorities, delegating work, and providing coaching and feedback. * Experience developing and implementing organization-wide brand, communications, or marketing strategies. * Exceptional writing, editing, verbal communication, and presentation skills. * Experience advising senior executives and developing executive communications or thought leadership content. * Experience leading cross-functional initiatives and supporting organizational growth or change. * Strong business acumen with the ability to connect communications and marketing activities to organizational priorities and results. * Strong relationship-building, influencing, organizational, and project management skills. * Experience managing agencies, contractors, budgets, and external partners. * High emotional intelligence, sound judgment, discretion, integrity, and professional maturity. * Experience with AI-enabled communications or marketing tools, or within the natural playground, design-build, recreation, or education sector is an asset.   This posting is for an existing vacancy. Our hiring process does not involve the use of artificial intelligence to screen, assess, or select applicants.