Jason Ballantyne
Barrie,ON
Summary
- A communications expert with more than 20 years of experience in print and digital media, corporate and crisis communications, media relations and executive-level strategic counsel and support.
Overview
25
25
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Communications Officer
Corporation Of The Township Of King
02.2016 - Current
- Handle day-to-day corporate communications operations—from strategic development to successful execution—for King Township, a municipality of 28,000 residents in the Greater Toronto Area.
- Responsible for all outward-facing communications, including all digital channels.
- Responsible for responding to citizen inquires on social media and pro-actively managing issues on various community Facebook groups.
- Provide communication support to all levels of the organization, including the CAO, senior leadership, the mayor and council.
- Serve as the Public Information Officer in times of crisis.
- Develop media strategies to support product launches, increase public visibility and drive customer engagement.
- Act as point of contact for inbound media related calls.
- Coordinate and direct public relations activities to align with corporate strategic goals.
- Collaborated with internal stakeholders to design strategies for messaging and communications.
- Develop and implement short- and long-term communications strategies.
- Write content for media releases, website and social media campaigns.
- Developed and implemented social media strategy to increase engagement and reach new audiences.
- Collaborated with internal and external stakeholders to identify key messages and create compelling content for media releases and other materials.
Manager, Corporate Communications
Corporation Of The Town Of Aurora
03.2010 - 06.2014
- Provided external and internal communication support to all levels of the organization, including senior management, the mayor and council.
- Hired, developed and lead a team of three communicators that helped the Town of Aurora's corporate departments accomplish their goals through effective communication strategies.
- Maximized performance by monitoring daily activities and mentoring team members.
- Expanded communication channels, resulting in an annual 50 per cent increase in communications sent out year-over-year.
- Oversaw Aurora's entry into social media, both externally (Facebook, Twitter) and internally (Yammer, real-time media updates for senior management and council).
Manager, Communications and Media Relations
Canadian Automobile Association, Toronto
03.2005 - 02.2010
- Responsible for managing all aspects of media relations for CAA South Central Ontario, Canada’s largest membership organization with 1.7 million members.
- Worked with different business lines to help them accomplish their goals through effective communication strategies and member engagement.
- Managed team of four employees responsible for more than 600 media interviews in 2009.
- 20 per cent increase in earned media year-over-year.
- Expanded communication channels, resulting in an annual 50 per cent increase in member participation in engagement campaigns from 2006 to 2009.
- Oversaw CAA SCO's entry into social media.
Reporter/photographer/editor
Alliston Herald
05.1998 - 02.2005
- Responsible for generating news and feature stories and taking photos for the paid subscription newspaper-of-record in Alliston.
- Acted for editor and managing editor in their absences.
- Performed at the top levels of Canadian community journalism, winning numerous awards including five from the Canadian Community Newspaper Association for writing and photography and a community news media award from the Ontario Provincial Police.
- Prepared, rewrote, and edited pieces to improve readability and impact.
- Reviewed articles for grammar, spelling, punctuation, syntax, accuracy, and compliance with quality standards.
Education
Bachelor of Arts - Journalism
University of King's College
Halifax, NS03.1998
Bachelor of Arts - English (Honours)
St. Francis Xavier University
Antigonish, NS05.1995
Skills
- Public Relations
- Verbal and Written Communication
- Social Media Management
- Corporate Communications
- Media Spokesperson
- Digital Communications
- Strategy Development
- Internal and External Communications
- Website Management
- Crisis Management
- Executive Reporting
- Strategic Planning
Certification
- Planning Public Engagement – International Association of Public Participation (IAP2)
- Executing Public Engagement – International Association of Public Participation (IAP2)
- Project management – Schulich School of Business
- Project management – Franklin-Covey (The Four Disciplines of Execution)
- People management – Franklin-Covey (The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Managers)
Timeline
Communications Officer
Corporation Of The Township Of King
02.2016 - Current
Manager, Corporate Communications
Corporation Of The Town Of Aurora
03.2010 - 06.2014
Manager, Communications and Media Relations
Canadian Automobile Association, Toronto
03.2005 - 02.2010
Reporter/photographer/editor
Alliston Herald
05.1998 - 02.2005
Bachelor of Arts - Journalism
University of King's College
Bachelor of Arts - English (Honours)
St. Francis Xavier University
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