Digital Content Consultant

Job Summary

The City of Mississauga has an opportunity for a senior level digital content writer to join our Digital Strategy and Experience Team. The successful applicant will design and implement website content and strategies for mississauga.ca on behalf of internal business service areas. Using strong research and best practices for digital in public and private sector organizations, the successful applicant will provide consultation and leadership on writing for the web, content management, style guides, standards, accessibility, training and customer-centric methodologies.

About the team
The Digital Strategy and Experience Team is working with people across our organization to make the City's online services and information simpler, clearer and faster for citizens and businesses. We're all about focusing on the customer, designing with evidence, and measuring our results. We work collaboratively and iteratively, so you'll be expected to work with our entire team, on many projects, sometimes on short notice. That means working with developers, designers, subject matter experts, and senior management - anyone we need to, to help us produce world-class content and services.

About you
As a Digital Content Consultant, you understand the art and science of writing for the web. You are a versatile writer, a seasoned editor, and a proven online content expert with considerable experience using customer insights. You are web savvy and accustomed to working alongside technical and creative staff on large scale digital initiatives. You help colleagues when needed even if it falls outside of your role. You know how to navigate large organizations, build relationships, and lead projects that require significant cross-team coordination and consensus particularly in municipal government where creativity is required, and resources are sometimes limited.

Duties and Responsibilities

Working alongside a team of content designers, you will be responsible for developing and executing digital content plans that create great customer experiences. You will lead the planning, writing, and activation of accessible, user-focused content on hundreds of topics, while developing and implementing new City-wide standards for content style and governance. This position will require up to 50% of time spent on writing and editing projects.

You'll need to

• Scope, write, edit and deliver digital content about complex topics that is clear, optimized for the web and supports customer journeys and business goals
• Develop and design web content that adheres to industry best practices (SEO, accessibility, plain language) and aligns with Mississauga’s Digital Strategy
• Provide leadership and consultation that supports a customer-centric approach; discover customer and partner expectations and priorities, and develop content to meet the public’s need for government services
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop and maintain corporate standards and procedures related to web writing, content management, and style guides for official city government website content
• Provide coaching, training, leadership and guidance to departmental teams related to digital content design, and enhance knowledge of corporate content standards with internal partners
• Analyze Voice of the Customer feedback and use quality assurance tools to ensure digital content focuses on user needs and experience
• Demonstrate the ability to effectively proofread, edit, and provide approvals of other editors' content in a collaborative and diplomatic manner
• Initiate and manage projects to implement the Digital Strategy with partners across City departments
• Report on website performance as it relates to content optimization
• Be an advocate for content best practices and to train and develop colleagues into great web writers.

Skills and Qualifications

• University degree or diploma in digital communications, journalism, communications or related field
• Minimum of six years progressive business experience with a proven track record in digital communications; preferably with a focus on customer experience in a large municipal government setting
• Experience leading editorial strategy for informational, service-focused and transactional websites
• Power user who has personal and professional experience in all facets of web
• Excellent editorial skills including producing proposals and content briefs, writing accessible content for diverse audiences, proofreading and copyediting, and creating editorial guidelines and documentation
• Extensive experience writing for digital projects involving complex topics, conducting site content audits, writing project plans, and repurposing content to tight deadlines
• Experience in working with WordPress and other content publishing systems
• Knowledge of using customer feedback to improve or refine webpage content through user surveys and analytics tools
• Highly developed conflict resolution, project management, time management, organizational, inter-personal and problem-solving skills
• Portfolio of projects that demonstrate your ability to structure and optimize online information, and write great, accessible content for the web in plain English
• The ability to lead project meetings; gain consensus for your strategies; and drive actionable outcomes
• Understanding of information architecture, user experience testing, iterative, agile methodologies