Senior Manager

Work Location Type: Hybrid 

As a leading industrial distributor with operations primarily in North America, Japan and the United Kingdom, We Keep The World Working® by serving more than 4.5 million customers worldwide with products delivered through innovative technology and deep customer relationships. We’re dedicated to providing value for customers, fostering an engaging culture for team members and driving strong financial results.

Our welcoming workplace enables you to learn, grow and make a difference by keeping businesses running and their people safe. As a Great Place to Work-Certified™ company, we’re looking for passionate people to join our team as we continue leading the industry over our next 100 years.

Position Summary:

Grainger Canada is Canada’s leading distributor of industrial supplies providing a wide range of products and services that make it easy for customers to keep their operations running and their people safe. Grainger offers the broadest selection of in-stock, brand name products from the world’s top manufacturers, and serves customers from a Canada-wide distribution network.
 

Reporting to the Vice President, Communications, this role is responsible for the management of all internal and external communications activities, projects and initiatives for the Canadian business. The Sr. Manager is responsible for developing and executing the Grainger Canada communications strategy, managing the community investment program, planning for and responding to the communications needs of the business and overseeing the Communications Specialist and Translation Manager directly and the Translation Specialist indirectly. This role also serves as the strategic communications advisor to the Grainger Business Subsidiaries.

Job Responsibilities (You Will):

• Serve as communications lead for Grainger Canada, with responsibility for developing the internal and external communications strategy.
• Serve as a member of the Grainger Canada leadership team, providing advice and counsel on communication strategy including broad-based strategic, change and leader communications as well as external communications and issues.  
• Oversee team of communicators and translators in Canada and provide guidance and support to communicators aligned to the Grainger Business Subsidiaries.
• Oversee communications and translation budget.
• Work closely with Translation Manager to evolve the translation program across the North American business and introduce new technology to manage the growing volume of translation needs.
• Manage requests and work with stakeholders to understand needs, prioritize requests and align to the appropriate communications channel.
• Oversee the development and distribution of daily, weekly and monthly communications.
• Oversee message development for specific audiences including weekly updates, email communications, speaking notes, key messages and FAQs.
• Advise on and support issues management and crisis communications.
• Identify interdependencies between business initiatives to ensure clarity and consistency across all communications.
• Oversee the development and distribution of content on internal communications platforms including SharePoint intranet site and Firstup.
• Lead the strategic development and maintenance of the company’s community investment program.
• Partner with enterprise communications and manage distribution of content across relevant businesses as needed.
• Develop the strategy and oversee logistics and content for Quarterly State of the Business meeting and other large meetings.
• First point of contact for external requests including media, community giving partners and requests for donations.
• Provide communications support to Sr. Leadership. Support external communications efforts with leaders as needed.
• Foster open, honest, transparent communications between senior leaders, mid-level managers and non-exempt team members in ways that enhance engagement and service to customers.
• Create relevant strategic communication playbooks and templates to help leaders communicate with their teams and better scale communications resources to areas of greatest impact.
• Measure and assess the effectiveness of communications activities and improve communications channels. Use data to make decisions on future communications.

Education/Experience (You Have):

• 7+ years of experience providing strategic internal and external communications counsel for large, complex projects and change initiatives by understanding the needs of different audiences.
• University degree in Communications, Journalism, Business or related field.
• Experience across multiple dimensions of communications, and a willingness to experiment with new ways to communicate.
• A track record of building relationships and stakeholder management across all levels of the organization. Ability to serve as a business/communications advisor and member of Grainger Canada’s leadership team.
• Experience working in a matrixed environment and across multiple facilities and regions, and leading large-scale change communications projects.
•  Strong strategic thinking and planning skills. Exceptional communication skills (verbal, written and editing). Ability to distill complex information into easy-to-understand messages and offer creative and effective strategies  to engage internal and external audiences.
• Ability to manage multiple processes/projects at one time with sharp attention to detail.
• Continuous improvement and forward-thinking mindset.
• Handle sensitive or proprietary company information.
• Show up as a business leader beyond the role of communicator.
• Experience with Microsoft suite of products including SharePoint an asset.

Work Environment:  

Must be able to travel within and outside Canada; up to 5%, depending on business needs.

Rewards and Benefits:
Our programs provide choice and flexibility to meet your individual needs. Check out some of the benefits available to you with Grainger (may vary based on hours worked):

• Medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage
• Paid time off (PTO) and up to 12 company holidays per year (dependent on home province)
• Life insurance coverage, including spousal and dependent life insurance.
• Employee Family Assistance Program to help team members with physical, emotional, mental, financial and other concerns
• Registered Retirement Savings Plan & Defined Contribution Pension Plan to help you save for your financial future
• Educational & Professional Membership Fee Assistance program
• Employee discounts, team member perks and more!

DEI Statement

We encourage you to apply even if your experience doesn't perfectly match this job post as you may still be the right candidate for this role or others. We aspire to create a culture where everyone is comfortable being who they are, can learn and grow to realize their full potential, and is recognized and rewarded for their impact.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. All qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, or disability. Should you need a reasonable accommodation during the application and selection process, please advise us so we can provide appropriate assistance.

Pre-employment background checks are required for all external candidates. Internal candidates undergo a background check when they move from a non-driving role to a driving role.

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