Senior Director of Communications (AKA Howling Wolf)
Are you a wolf in a Communications Director’s clothing?
Do you have the clear strategic vision of the wolf pack leader, a pithy way of communicating that makes things stick, and at the same time, a talent for nurturing relationships to align strong collaboration and accountability with your team and partners?
If so, you’re the person we’re looking for.
The Senior Director of Communications leads the design and delivery of Canopy's communications strategy to achieve campaign impact and organizational priorities. This role brings strategic rigour, communications savvy, and outstanding people skills to lead and organize a high-performing team that owns and drives ambitious communications goals.
The role partners closely with two teams: The Impact Team, to keep communications aligned and integrated with campaign delivery, and Culture and Engagement (C&E), which leads on engagement. Communications and C&E collaborate on Canopy’s story arc.
Position:
Senior Director of Communications
Reports to:
Executive Director
Team:
Impact Communications
Location:
In Office or remote depending on location. UK and EU-based candidates welcome, with availability for regular overlap with Pacific Time working hours.
Position Type:
Full-Time
Compensation:
CAD 150,000 – 170,000
Key Responsibilities
- Strategy ownership and execution. Own and lead the design and execution of Canopy's communications strategy and ensure that creative campaign communications plans are developed and delivered to achieve key strategic impact and communications objectives.
- Brand elevation. Position Canopy as a distinct, recognizable voice in transforming the paper packaging and fashion industry supply chains from wood fibre to Next Generation Solutions to protect forests worldwide.
- Narrative consistency and storytelling. Ensure Canopy's narrative and messaging cuts through and influences target audiences via key channels. Ability to connect with different audiences through the power of storytelling. Collaborate with C&E on Canopy’s story arc, so that the narrative expressed externally and the engagement journey people experience reinforce one another.
- Sticky and strategic content delivery. Ensure that communications content is created that will activate target audiences to take action with Canopy with strong dissemination pathways. Communications partners with C&E by creating content designed to support and amplify engagement efforts,
- Team leadership and management. Lead the Communications Team and nurture a motivating, high-performing team culture. Take direct responsibility for the management of Communications Strategists and Team Operations with oversight of the media relations, digital and content functions. Nurture a team culture that enables all members to flourish.
- Strategic integration. Bring strategic communications expertise to the senior leadership of Canopy and the Impact Leadership Team (ILT) and ensure the strategic alignment and integration of communications with campaign planning and delivery through work with Impact and C&E teams. Build a regular working rhythm with C&E, including joint planning at the start of campaigns and initiatives, so that communications and engagement plans are developed and stay aligned.
- Cross-team partnership. Build trusted, collaborative relationships across teams, with C&E as a critical partner in delivery.
- External network management. Oversee the effective management of external communications consultants and agencies to provide additional support in the delivery of communications strategies, ensuring alignment, quality and value for money.
- Operational effectiveness. Accountability for communications planning, project management and budget management to underpin and support high performance.
- Evaluation and metrics. Ensure impact is assessed and learning is applied to strategic and tactical communications decisions and advice. Nurture a learning and test, refine and amplify culture in the team. Share insights with C&E so that engagement results inform storytelling, and storytelling results inform engagement.
Desirable
- Experience in environmental, sustainability, or systems-change communications.
- Experience working in at least two of the following markets: North America, Europe, China, India.
- Familiarity with the following systems: Google, Canva, Asana
Qualifications and Experience
Essential
- Significant senior-level experience leading strategic communications, ideally within a mission-driven, nonprofit, or campaign-based organization.
- Proven track record building and elevating an organizational brand to drive change with strong storytelling and narrative craft across different formats and channels.
- Clear track record of developing creative communications campaigns and sticky individual products that help pop the organization in a crowded media/communications landscape.
- Experience managing and developing a communications team, with strong coaching and people-leadership skills.
- Strong project management skills, with the ability to oversee and scope, sequence, and deliver high-profile initiatives on time and budget.
- Experience managing external agencies and consultants, including briefing, quality oversight, and performance evaluation.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, with the proven ability to translate complex or technical concepts into clear, compelling narratives for varied audiences.
- Demonstrated ability to build trust and influence across teams and senior leadership.
- Experience communicating to a global or international audience/network, with sensitivity to regional nuance.
- Ability to undertake approximately 5-6 international trips per year, with experience of delivering communications at international events.
- A great sense of humour!
- Embrace a “Yes, AND...” mindset to foster innovation and collaboration
To apply, please submit your CV, a cover letter, and a separate response to the prompt below. Applications missing either the cover letter or the prompt response will not be considered.
Cover letter:
A standard cover letter expressing your interest in Canopy and the Senior Director of Communications.
Prompt response to the application exercise:
Please answer the following question in a clearly labelled section within your cover letter document: Canopy's signature campaign is gaining traction, but a major fashion brand, one of your key targets, has just published a sustainability report claiming it is "forest-positive". Canopy’s research intelligence provides evidence that they are continuing to source from Ancient and Endangered Forests. Internal teams are divided: some want to publicly call out the greenwashing; others fear losing a seat at the table with that brand. Question: What is your communications recommendation, and why? Include: - Your strategic rationale in 3–4 sentences. - The single most important audience to move, what you want them to do and how you’ll approach this. - One risk you're accepting, and how you'll mitigate it. Please keep your response to 300–400 words.
On AI use and authenticity:
You may use AI tools to brainstorm, edit, or proofread, but please do not use AI to write your cover letter or prompt response for you. We want to hear your voice, experiences, and perspective, not a polished, generic version generated by a model. If you use AI for minor editing assistance, please add a short note at the end of your prompt response (e.g., "I used [tool name] to proofread this response"). Applications written in a genuine, original voice will be prioritized.
About Canopy
Our work is bold, collaborative, and rooted in the belief that thriving forests mean a thriving future.
Canopy is a solutions-driven not-for-profit environmental organization dedicated to protecting forests, species, and the climate. For 25 years, we’ve been transforming wood-based supply chains - from publishing and packaging to fashion and textiles - to eliminate fibre from the world’s most critical forests and help secure a thriving planet for all.
