Company:                        Harlequin Enterprises ULC   

Job Title:                          Manager, Brand Marketing & Communications

Department:                   Harlequin Brand Group

Status:                              Regular Full Time   

Location:                          22 Adelaide Street West, Toronto (Hybird) 

We celebrate and support the differences that make each of us unique, striving to create a welcoming workplace that ensures everyone has a voice and are able to do their best work. We welcome all applicants, including those who identify with groups that are traditionally underrepresented in the publishing industry including, but not limited to, Black, Indigenous, people of colour, members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community and persons with disabilities.

Join us and share your story.

Join our dynamic team as Manager, Brand Marketing & Communications and play a pivotal role in shaping the future of the iconic Harlequin brand. Reporting to the Senior Manager of Brand Marketing & Communications, you will be at the heart of developing the brand strategy and storyline, collaborating with creative agencies to inject fresh energy into Harlequin's brand narrative and spearheading innovative brand programs and initiatives that not only bolster brand awareness, but also drive meaningful audience engagement and boost sales in North America.

You will be the gatekeeper of Harlequin's brand essence, ensuring that its unique identity resonates internally and through all external communications. You'll measure the heartbeat of our brand initiatives by tracking KPIs and deciphering the narrative behind the numbers, monitor marketing trends and competitive activities and watch over and nurture Harlequin’s brand equity in partnership with the insights team.

Strategy (20%)

• Collaborate with the Senior Manager and brand agency (where applicable) to shape the Harlequin Brand strategy, focusing on driving brand awareness, equity, and sales.
• Keep on top of technology and marketing trends to identify new promotional and partnership opportunities that support brand and audience growth.
• Evolve promotional plans based on marketplace trends, emerging opportunities and brand initiative and product campaign results.
• Lead the development of the brand content marketing strategy including channel and program-specific plans such as Influencer Outreach, Video Program, etc.
• Provide strategic direction and oversee the execution of brand marketing, paid influencer, and content initiatives.
• Act as a promotional consultant to Harlequin’s publishing teams on product and author specific promotion.

Execution (40%)

• Alongside the Senior Manager, Brand, develop and execute Harlequin brand programs and initiatives, in collaboration with OMNI channel marketing and communications teams, agency partners, author engagement team and other key stakeholders.
• Cultivate and maintain Harlequin’s brand identity standards, ensuring creative and messaging consistency across all Harlequin Brand group touchpoints and channels.
• Work closely with public relations to ensure alignment to brand strategy and areas of focus between groups and amplification of publicity initiatives through brand owned channels.
• Oversee execution of content marketing initiatives, paid influencer outreach program, video content program and brand blog.
• With the support of the Assistant Manager, Brand Marketing, oversee the creative production program for brand marketing and communications initiatives, product marketing priorities, and more.

Talent & Culture (15%)

• Attract, develop, retain, and motivate top talent to execute our business strategy and drive superior results.
• The direct management of Assistant Manager, Brand Marketing and Assistant Manager, Brand Content. Provide ongoing coaching, feedback, and development opportunities to grow staff.
• Demonstrate leadership by aligning the team, fostering a winning culture, and ensuring engagement, growth, and performance.
• Act as a consultant, guiding wider product marketing team on author/product specific marketing efforts to develop campaign development skills across the group.

Results & Analysis (15%)

• Conduct robust post-analysis with key stakeholders on brand marketing initiatives, programs, and tests, ensuring timely delivery of results and insights.
• Evaluate KPI performance of brand initiatives, conduct competitive analysis and monitor industry trends to propose effective optimization tactics.
• Monitor Harlequin’s brand equity in collaboration with the insights team.

Communication (10%)

• Enhance communication, planning, alignment, and marketing information sharing across the wider marketing and communication team.
• Ensure on time development and communication of plans to meet stakeholder needs.
• Engage in knowledge sharing including results, insights from content marketing initiatives and on-going changes in the content marketing with broader brand team.
• Develop best practices and training material and work closely with the Author Engagement team to syndicate to author base.

Specific training or job experience required includes:

• 6 + years of related consumer facing promotional experience, with a strong background in digital marketing and proven ability to establish and measure against campaign KPI’s
• Brand management in the consumer goods industry knowledge.
• Post-secondary diploma/degree in PR/Business/Marketing
• Digital experience in a consumer facing and or entertainment brand environment.
• Strong partnership development & relationship management experience
• Enthusiastic, highly collaborative, team player with exceptional creativity, problem solving, decision-making and presentation skills.
• Calm under pressure, with the ability to take initiative, effectively lead cross-functional teams and prioritize multiple projects under tight timelines.

Competencies/Skills:

Competencies and skills required to perform this job include:

• Excellent communication skills, including ability to communicate complex information to non-technical audience.
• Strong attention to detail, time management and organization skills with the ability to meet deadlines.
• Proactive approach with exceptional creativity, problem solving, and decision-making skills.
• Interest in or knowledge of/experience in book publishing.
• Creative and innovative thinker with a drive for results.

What's in It For You?

• The opportunity to be part of a company on the leading edge of publishing, working with a very talented team and exceptional books
• Remote work, flexible start/stop times
• Paid time off days and vacation allotment, starting at three weeks
• Author events and access to discounted books
• Working with passionate people!

About HarperCollins Canada and Harlequin

Harlequin is a leading publisher of commercial fiction and narrative nonfiction. We publish more than 100 titles a month that reach audiences globally. Encompassing highly recognizable imprints that span a broad number of genres, we are home to many award-winning New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling authors. Harlequin is a division of HarperCollins Publishers, the second-largest consumer book publisher in the world. Through HarperCollins’s global publishing program, Harlequin titles are published in 17 countries and 16 languages.

Known worldwide for the quality of its list, HarperCollins Canada is the proud home of many bestselling and award-winning authors, including Esi Edugyan, Heather O’Neill, and Lawrence Hill. It is our vision to publish the best books of our generation and to work with authors over the length and breadth of their careers. Our authors are at the centre of everything we do. In addition to the Canadian publishing program, HarperCollins Canada is responsible for the sales, marketing, and publicity of HarperCollins titles from around the globe.

HarperCollins Canada and Harlequin are Equal Opportunity Employers committed to equal employment opportunities. Employment decisions are based on job requirements and the skills, knowledge, and experience of the candidate, regardless of any other factors unrelated to job performance. We are also committed to ensuring that the accessibility needs of candidates and employees are considered and accommodated during the recruitment process.

We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.