About McElhanney
Based in Western Canada for over 110 years, McElhanney offers innovative and practical engineering, surveying, mapping, planning, landscape architecture, and environmental services. As a 100% employee-owned and operated firm, with over 1,500 staff members in 31 locations, we are proud to offer qualified staff with shareholding options in our company. At McElhanney, we work in teams to build strong connections with our staff, clients, and local communities. Our employees enjoy working here because of our varied projects, high levels of autonomy, opportunities for career development, excellent total compensation and benefits package, and collaborating with a team of great professionals.
The Opportunity
McElhanney is looking for a Senior Communications Specialist who enjoys making complex information clear, meaningful, and engaging. Reporting to the Communications Lead, you’ll play an important role in helping employees and leaders understand and navigate change as the firm continues to grow and evolve.
Your primary focus will be change management communications. You’ll support transformation initiatives, develop thoughtful communications plans, and work closely with project sponsors and project managers to help employees understand, adopt, and sustain important changes. You’ll also have opportunities to draw on your broader communications experience, including internal communications, external communications, and public relations.
A key part of this role will be supporting the implementation of McElhanney’s new Enterprise Resource Planning program through 2027. If you’re a strong writer who brings sound judgment, organization, and a collaborative approach, this is an opportunity to contribute to a significant firm-wide initiative and help shape how employees experience change.
Why This Role Might Be a Great Match For You
- You enjoy taking initiative, anticipating what’s needed, and finding thoughtful, resourceful ways to move work forward, with pride in the quality of your work.
- You’re energized by complex, high-impact work and remain focused and steady as priorities shift, timelines tighten, and information evolves. You’re comfortable navigating ambiguity and helping leaders and teams create structure, alignment, and momentum.
- You’re a strategic and empathetic communicator who balances business objectives with employee experience, using thoughtful communication to build clarity, awareness, confidence, alignment, and adoption.
- You naturally build trusted relationships by asking insightful questions, listening closely, and influencing without direct authority. With a collaborative, business partner mindset, you connect the dots across people, projects, and priorities to provide practical communications advice.
- You’re curious about the business and how your work contributes to broader organizational goals, and you’re equally comfortable shaping a strategic communications plan and rolling up your sleeves to bring it to life.
What You’ll Do
- Develop and execute change communications plans that support enterprise initiatives, organizational change, technology adoption, process improvements, and other strategic priorities.
- Partner with project sponsors, project managers, HR, IT, and business leaders to understand project objectives, shareholder impacts, audiences, risks, timelines, and communication requirements.
- Provide communications counsel and practical recommendations that enable leaders to communicate clearly, consistently, and confidently through periods of change.
- Create clear, compelling, and audience-focused communications, including leader messages, employee updates, FAQs, presentations, talking points, intranet content, campaign materials, and engagement resources.
- Lead the planning and coordination of a communications calendar to ensure strategic initiative messages are planned, sequenced, integrated, and aligned with broader corporate communications priorities.
- Translate complex project information, technical details, and business priorities into clear and actionable communications that support understanding, engagement, and adoption of employees and leaders.
- Conduct leadership, partner, and audience analysis to tailor messages, channels, timing, and engagement approaches for different employee groups.
- Identify communications risks, needs, message gaps, employee questions, and opportunities to strengthen clarity, trust, alignment, and adoption.
- Support organizational change readiness, engagement, and adoption by contributing to communication strategies, leader enablement resources, feedback mechanisms, and measurement plans.
- Manage communications deliverables, timelines, approvals, and outcomes across multiple initiatives while ensuring alignment with business objectives
- Measure and evaluate communication effectiveness using feedback, metrics, and engagement indicators, and provide recommendations for continuous improvement.
- Collaborate with the broader Marketing & Communications team to ensure change and strategic initiative communications align with McElhanney’s tone, brand, channels, and employee experience.
What You’ll Bring
- Post-secondary education and 6+ years of experience in communications, change management, or a related field or a combination of education and experience.
- Experience in internal communications, change communications, corporate communications, strategic communications, or a related discipline is a must.
- Experience supporting change communications for Enterprise Resource Planning or digital transformation implementations considered a strong asset.
- Demonstrated proficiency in change communications, including the ability to develop communications strategies that drive awareness, understanding, readiness adoption, and sustained behaviour change.
- Proficiency and experience in all areas of communications, including internal and external (marketing, public relations, media management, internal communications, executive communications.)
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to adapt messages for different audiences, channels, and situations.
- Comfort using design tools such as Canva or Adobe to create polished, engaging communications materials.
- Experience working with, influencing, and advising senior leaders, project sponsors, and cross-functional partners on communications strategy, organizational readiness, messaging, risks, timing, adoption approaches, and employee engagement.
- Strong project management, and prioritization including the ability to navigate ambiguity, influence decisions, and manage competing priorities.
- Ability to act as a trusted communications advisor and business partner, bringing holistic thinking, thoughtful questioning, and sound judgment to connect communications recommendations to broader business objectives.
- Sound judgment, discretion, and comfort working with sensitive or evolving information.
- Experience developing communications plans, audience maps, key messages, FAQs, leader materials, and measurement approaches.
- Familiarity with change management principles or methodologies, such as ADKAR, Prosci, or other structured approaches, is considered an asset.
What Can We Offer You?
The salary range for this position is $80,000 - $100,000 per annum. McElhanney offers fair compensation that is commensurate with the individual’s education, experience, skills, and professional qualifications. The posted base salary/wage range is representative of the required level of qualifications and experience for the position as noted in the job posting. The salary offered will be based on the experience and qualifications of the successful candidate.
- Work-Life Harmony: Balance your personal and professional commitments. Flexible hours to fit your lifestyle.
- Comprehensive Benefits: Maternity and parental leave top up program, health and dental coverage, RRSP matching, and Employee & Family Assistance Program.
- Safe & Inclusive Workplace: A culture of respect and inclusion for all.
- Compensation: Attractive total compensation package including a generous bonus plan
- Professional Development: Reimbursement for dues, educational assistance, mentorship program, workshops, and committee involvement.
- Career Progression: Support and mentorship to shape a career path that fits your goals.
- Relocation Support: Financial assistance if applicable.
Application Instructions
Please include the following in your application:
- An updated resume that is customized and relevant to the position.
- A cover letter (maximum 1 page) that includes:
- Your motivation for applying for this position, highlighting what specifically attracts you to the role.
- Explain how your unique blend of skills and experiences would enable you to make a significant impact in the role and contribute to McElhanney's ongoing success.
Our Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
At McElhanney, our unwavering commitment lies in cultivating a culture that aligns with our core values and fosters diversity, equity, and inclusion. We celebrate the collective achievements of a team rich in expertise, experiences, and perspectives, and welcome applications from individuals of diverse ethnicities, religions, backgrounds, genders, sexual orientations, gender identities, aboriginal statuses, various age groups, and those with disabilities. Requests for accommodations can be made at any stage of the selection process. If this job description resonates with you, we encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet all of the requirements outlined. We’re interested in getting to know you and explore the unique contributions you can bring to McElhanney!
If this is the opportunity for you, apply now or visit
www.mcelhanney.com/careers to learn more. We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Learn more about our recognition here:
McElhanney Requalifies as a Gold Standard Best Managed Company!
Visit us on
Glassdoor to learn more about our employee experience.
Our Purpose: Amaze our clients. Care for our communities. Empower our people.
McElhanney is aware of activities where individuals have received fraudulent job offers. Please be advised that McElhanney will not ask applicants for any form of monetary exchange at any point in the recruitment process. To learn more visit: www.mcelhanney.com/careers/fraud-warning. The disclosure of your information in accordance with this Policy and applicable law, including to third party service providers may result in your personal information being transferred outside of Canada, including to the United States. Such transferred personal information may be subject to the laws of these other countries and the laws of other countries regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information may be different from the laws of Canada. 
