Social Media Specialist

Position Details

• Job Type: Temporary Full-time, Up to 14 Months, Non-Union
• Salary Range: $83,165.82 to $111,460.53 per year
• Posted: Thursday, October 8, 2026
• Application Deadline: Thursday, October 22, 2026
• Location: City Hall, Barrie
• Department: Communications and Community Services Division

The Opportunity

The Communications and Community Services Division creates communications strategies, providing leadership on the development of communications programs, community engagement, crisis communications, managing the City’s digital communication tools including social media, overseeing media relations, managing the corporate brand, multimedia development, graphic design, and sponsorship development. This strategic portfolio reflects the importance and need for the City to champion Customer Service and to align people and systems to support citizen-centric service.

Under the general guidance of the Supervisor of Digital Communications, the Social Media Specialist is responsible for overseeing the City's corporate and business-development-related social media channels with respect to communications content, design, and strategy. This position actively explores new ways to build the City's social media presence and promotes and protects the City's image through the development of creative communication campaigns specific to social media channels.

With consideration to both digital content strategy and graphic design, this position advises on the most effective way to present information to residents and stakeholders via social media platforms, while furthering the strategic marketing and communication goals of the corporation. The Social Media Specialist acts as gatekeeper for the corporation's reputation on social media, directing and flagging customer service inquiries, communicating directly with and educating stakeholders, and being on the lookout for trending topics or breaking news that influence the City's communications messaging.

Our Culture and Qualifications of the Job

Corporate Culture:
Your workplace values align with our corporate values of Strive, Share and Care and you want to join us in providing exceptional services and programs to build a prosperous, growing and sustainable community.

Equally important to what we do is how we do it - your actions reflect our core accountabilities of Personal Awareness, Teamwork and Collaboration, Respect and Inclusion, Innovation, and Service Excellence, which define how we work together to succeed.

Education

Three (3) year College Diploma in Communications, Public Relations, Marketing, Media Studies, or related discipline.

Don’t meet the credentials as outlined but have years of directly related experience? Please see the City’s Education Equivalency Policy to determine if you may qualify for equivalency. Further information is available at www.barrie.ca/government-news/jobs

Experience

• Four (4) years of experience performing duties related to the major responsibilities of the position
• Managing a corporate image/brand through development of creative design and multimedia solutions, communications campaigns for social media channels and/or websites
• Leading the development and creation of marketing and communications campaigns (including copywriting, photography, videography, etc.) for social platforms and adapting to various channels

Knowledge, Skill, Ability

• General knowledge of the Occupational Health and Safety Act
• Working knowledge of Canadian Anti-Spam Law Regulations
• General knowledge of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Graphic Design, Brand Management
• Thorough knowledge of Social Media Marketing principles and standards
• Communicate information in both technical and user-friendly languages
• Disseminate, promote, and adapt corporate messaging via appropriate channels/platforms to diverse audiences
• Develop, cultivate, and maintain effective relationships across various stakeholder groups
• Exercise discretion and judgment to make sound decisions under tight timelines and/or conflicting priorities when monitoring online discussions/forums, and handling confidential, sensitive, or controversial information
• Maintain a high standard of public relations at all times
• Deal with difficult customers; diffuse emotionally charged situations; resolve issues diplomatically and professionally
• Think and act strategically in a political and community service environment
• Maintain website content using content management systems (i.e. SharePoint)
• Intermediate skills in active listening, customer service, interpersonal communication, initiative, negotiation, organization, presentation, prioritization, professionalism, reading comprehension, research, teamwork, and technical aptitude
• Intermediate computer literacy in social media channels/platforms, marketing and communication tools and analytics, corporate websites and intranets, Adobe Creative Suite multimedia software, and knowledge of web software and languages including content management systems, HTML, CSS, and responsive web design
• Availability, as assigned, to assist with after-hours questions, concerns, or emergencies

Conditions of Employment

• Valid Ontario Class "G" Driver's Licence in good standing
• Satisfactory Criminal Record Check (required for new employees according to Police Record Check Policy. Existing employees who have met this criteria are exempt.)

Other Important Information

Location: City Hall, Barrie