Manager, Operations, Integrated Marketing & Communication

Definity is the parent company to some of Canada’s most long-standing and innovative insurance brands, including Economical Insurance, Sonnet Insurance, Family Insurance Solutions, and Petline Insurance. Our ambition is to be one of Canada’s leading and most innovative property and casualty insurers. We can’t do that without our people, so we embrace and encourage a culture that’s collaborative, ambitious, rewarding, and empowering.

We offer a flexible, hybrid work experience where employees work from the office and virtually depending on the type of work they are doing and who they are working with. Bring your true self and be a part of our journey. It’s better here.

What can you expect in this role? 

Reporting to the AVP, Partnership & Operations within our Integrated Marketing & Communication (IMC) team, the Manager, Operations, Integrated Marketing & Communication provides leadership-level support for all operations requirements for the IMC team. The Operations Manager is a key leadership team member who ensures alignment to business priorities, service excellence for our internal partners, and cross-functional team efficiency.

Definity is introducing a new IMC Operations capability as our IMC team deepens its relationships and impact across the business. The successful candidate will bring a mix of entrepreneurial spirit, process focus, and people skills, alongside proven experience in marketing and communication operations. They are confident and comfortable working with executives and managing delivery negotiations with IMC partners and key stakeholders in the business to land on the best outcome for all parties. They understand business priorities and can quickly convert them into outcome-driven programs and align team capacity to requirements and deliverables.

This role represents a unique opportunity for an experienced professional to design how the team operates and has a meaningful impact on IMC efficiency and performance, and client satisfaction with IMC services.

Operations requirements span the lifecycle of distinct integrated marketing and communication programs, as well as across full business portfolios. Focus areas include: 

• Intake management, cross-functional integration, and resource assignment
• Continuous improvement and integration of processes, workflows, external partners, and tools/technology
• Expectation management, service level monitoring, and reporting 

The incumbent works with IMC leaders and cross-functional specialists to drive strong results against key performance indicators (KPIs) and service statements. The Operations Manager will ensure project efficiency is monitored, metrics are captured on completion, and opportunities for improvement are documented. 

Responsibilities:

People leadership 

• Provides leadership, coaching, and work assignment to Operations Specialist role to support the Partnership & Operations function 

Intake management, cross-functional integration, and resource assignment 

• Works with IMC leadership team and IMC Business Partners to oversee intake and assignment of strategic, complex, or cross-functional integrated marketing and communication initiatives, ensuring alignment to priority and strategy 
• Responsible for the day-to-day intake of integrated marketing and communication non-complex requests and assigns requests to the appropriate individual or team, based on pre-defined criteria 
• Coaches IMC team members on effective project management for all programs within IMC, with a focus on business outcomes and responsive planning and delivery 
• Leads planning and alignment of workback schedules for IMC strategic priorities and corporate milestones to support team alignment and accountability  
• Ensures barriers to success are readily identified and resolved, in coordination with the AVP, Partnership & Operations
• Collaborates with IMC leaders and IMC Business Partners to ensure service standards are met, challenges are addressed, and stakeholder expectations are well-managed

Continuous improvement and integration of processes, workflows, external partners, and tools/technology

• Monitors and continuously improves the central, dynamic IMC request intake and related briefing and project processes 
• Standardizes and continuously improves project kick-off and briefing processes
• Sets criteria for and applies a smart triage approach to intake, in alignment with strategic priorities and in partnership with IMC leadership team 
• Pursues, recommends, and organizes team professional development opportunities for IMC leadership team and IMC department
• Evaluates technology and tool enhancements to strengthen workflow
• Serves as key relationship owner between IMC and Enterprise Procurement (EP) to support service and technology acquisition; while partnering with and coaching leadership peers on key EP processes 
• Leads initiatives to acquire and integrate technology and tools for use by the full IMC department, e.g., martech, commstech, artificial intelligence, project management software, automation tools, campaign delivery tools, etc.

Expectation management, service level monitoring, and reporting

• Accountable for deadline commitments and delivery schedules; monitors and reports on service and delivery 
• Works closely with IMC Business Partners and IMC leaders to understand, report on, and improve service experience with internal clients, with a focus on timeliness and quality 
• Works with IMC Business Partners and IMC leaders to ensure measurement and reporting occur and connect to intended business outcomes; as well as partners to engage with executives and decision-makers to negotiate priorities and delivery expectations
• Leverages reporting functionality to monitor project execution and overall achievement of business goals through delivery of IMC programs and resourcing
• Coordinates milestone celebrations and provides feedback to leaders to support opportunities for recognition or development 

What do you bring to the role? 

• 8-10 years progressive technical and people leadership experience in marketing operations, project/program management, and/or marketing or communication agency operations
• Skilled at managing flow and processes for a high volume of projects with varying complexity, stakeholders, and program owners 
• Experience designing workflows and working within project management platforms that support marketing and communication teams, e.g., Asana, Jira Work Management, or similar, and advanced skills in Excel, PowerPoint, and other Microsoft applications 
• Proactively communicates information in a pragmatic, positive, and person-focused manner, layering excellent decision-making skills with a natural aptitude for observation
• Skilled, fair, and confident negotiator
• Brings a solid understanding of tools and technology to streamline and enhance marketing and communication operations and capabilities; enthusiastic about staying up to date with the tools and approaches for leading effective and efficient operations in marketing and communication 
• Exceptional analytical, time management, and organizational skills, and a strategic thinker who is always looking for opportunities for continuous improvement and efficiency 
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, collaboration skills, sound judgment, and well-developed measurement, analytical, and interpersonal skills 
• Remains calm and professional under pressure and excels well in a busy environment
• Pays close attention to detail and understands effective business approaches to inspire customer confidence, teamwork, employee accountability and ownership, and flexibility

Salary range is $74,100 - $136,500.

Interested in this role, but don't meet every requirement? We encourage you to apply! We know from experience that a candidate doesn't need 100% of the qualifications listed to bring incredible value to our team. We're actively seeking diverse backgrounds and perspectives to help us make insurance better. At Definity, inclusion, diversity, and equity aren't just "nice to have" — they're essential to our success.

What's in it for you?

• Hybrid work schedule for most roles
• Company share ownership program
• Pension and savings programs, with company-matched RRSP contributions
• Paid volunteer days and company matching on charitable donations
• Educational resources, tuition assistance, and paid time off to study for exams
• Focus on inclusion with employee groups, support for gender affirmation surgery, access to BIPOC counsellors, access to programs for working parents
• Wellness and recognition programs
• Discounts on products and services

Actual salary for the role may vary depending on work location of the successful candidate and other factors including but not limited to, skills, education, experience, working conditions and the local labour market.  In addition to base pay, eligible employees may participate in various incentive plans which are paid out at the discretion of the company and subject to individual and company performance.

Go ahead and expect a lot — you deserve it.
It's better here — but don't take our word for it. Definity was named by Great Place to Work® as one of the Best Workplaces™ in Canada for women, for youth, and for inclusion.

Our inclusive work environment welcomes diversity and supports accessibility. If you require accommodation at any time during the recruitment process, please let us know by contacting [email protected].

Background checks
This role requires successful clearance of background checks (including criminal checks and leadership references).

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