Communications Assistant

Communications Assistant

Start  Date: 1 year contract

Where: Edmonton (in-person)

Report to: Communications coordinator 

Salary: $18-20/hour, 20h/week

About the Role

Islamic Family is seeking a creative, thoughtful, and driven Communications Assistant to help build bridges through storytelling.

This role focuses on developing innovative and meaningful ways to share the stories of our community — including staff, volunteers, youth, families, and newcomers. You will help highlight stories of hardship, hope, resilience, and belonging, with particular attention to relationships between diverse communities rooted on Treaty 6 territory in Edmonton.

Working collaboratively with multiple departments, the Communications Assistant will contribute to storytelling across a variety of platforms including blogs, video, newsletters, social media, and web content. This role is ideal for someone eager to grow, experiment creatively, and use media as a tool for impact and connection.

Key Responsibilities
The Communications Assistant will work closely with the Communications Coordinator and collaborate across departments. Responsibilities include:

Content Creation & Storytelling

• Create and gather compelling content that reflects diverse voices and lived experiences
• Write blog posts, social media content, newsletters, and web copy
• Develop visual and multimedia storytelling pieces (graphics, photography, video)
• Document events through photography and videography
• Highlight stories in an authentic, respectful, and community-centered way

Design & Visual Communication

• Design graphics for social media, newsletters, print materials, and campaigns
• Ensure designs prioritize accessibility alongside strong visual aesthetics
• Translate ideas and themes into strong visual concepts
• Plan, storyboard, and produce videos, illustrations, and other creative assets

Strategy & Planning

• Develop and coordinate content plans that:
• • Prioritize audience growth and positive engagement
  • Identify key stories and themes aligned with organizational priorities
• Contribute to media engagement strategies
• Support website content updates and visual maintenance

Collaboration & Organizational Support

• Attend regular team meetings and check-ins with Communications and HR
• Coordinate with departments to identify storytelling opportunities
• Support broader communications and design needs as assigned

Required Qualifications

Please submit a portfolio of designs and/or content you have created.

• Minimum 1 year of experience in content creation, storytelling, social media coordination, or graphic design  (Strong independent or volunteer projects will also be considered.)
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Strong time management skills and ability to meet deadlines
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, and audio/video recording and editing software (asset)
• Strong written communication skills
• Willingness to learn, receive feedback, and grow creatively

30-60-90 Day Success Plan

First 30 Days – Learn & Integrate

Focus: Orientation, relationship-building, understanding the organization

• Complete onboarding and familiarize yourself with Islamic Family’s programs and services
• Meet with department leads to understand storytelling needs
• Review past campaigns, brand guidelines, and content analytics
• Attend events or program activities to observe and document
• Begin creating small content pieces (social posts, event highlights, internal communications)
• Develop a draft 3-month content calendar with your supervisor

Outcome:
Clear understanding of brand voice, audiences, and content priorities. Initial content pieces published.

Days 31–60 – Create & Contribute

Focus: Active content production and strategic implementation

• Launch a consistent posting schedule across key platforms
• Produce at least one in-depth storytelling feature (blog, video, or photo essay)
• Support a coordinated campaign highlighting a program or theme
• Begin refining visual identity consistency across platforms
• Assist with website updates and improvements
• Analyze engagement metrics and adjust strategy accordingly

Outcome:
Demonstrated ownership of recurring content streams and measurable engagement growth.

Days 61–90 – Lead & Innovate

Focus: Strategic storytelling and long-term impact

• Develop and present a 6-month content strategy proposal
• Lead a cross-department storytelling initiative
• Build a content pipeline system for ongoing story collection
• Strengthen media engagement opportunities where appropriate
• Identify opportunities for new storytelling formats (e.g., short-form video series, youth spotlight campaign, podcast concept)

Outcome:
Established as a reliable creative contributor with clear strategic direction for future communications.

About Islamic Family

IslamicFamily supports the mother fleeing abuse without asking her to compromise her identity or safety. We support the man seeking counselling that honours his values. We support youth in search of creative platforms that amplify their voice. We support families starting over amidst hardship. We are IslamicFamily – created to serve. For over 30 years, we have been driven to disrupt systemic inequity, reflect a rich tradition with beauty, innovate, and serve with excellence.

Rooted on Treaty 6, IslamicFamily serves people from all walks of life. We run one of Edmonton's Food Bank's largest depots, provide urgent financial relief, support survivors of gender-based violence, empower refugees, and offer youth programming.

IslamicFamily is an Imagine Canada & Great Places to Work™ accredited charity and a proud recipient of the Government of Alberta’s Inspiration Award for its work combatting domestic violence (2020), the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Professional Service Award (2020), the Justice Innovation Award (2022), and the YEG Startup Community Award (2022).

How to Apply?

Confidence (or the lack thereof) can sometimes hold us back from applying for a job. Here’s a secret: there is no perfect candidate. If you are committed to growth and development, we encourage you to apply — even if you do not check every box.

To be considered, please submit you full application that has:

• Your resume
• A portfolio of your work
• In lieu of a cover letter, a video (maximum 5 minutes) discussing one of the following:
  a) An experience you’ve had designing or creating digital content
  b) Your ideas for representing social services through digital storytelling

Applications and questions can be sent to: Career@islamicfamily.ca