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
King Township
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
Aurora, ON
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
Thornhill, ON
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
Alliston, ON
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