Associate Director, Member Education & Communications

OUR COMPANY BACKGROUND & CULTURE

UPP is the first pension plan of its kind in Ontario’s university sector, proudly serving over 46,000 members across six universities and nineteen sector organizations. Our purpose is to bring greater retirement peace of mind to the university sector by investing with integrity and serving members with care. As a sector-wide plan designed for growth, our doors are open to all Ontario universities.

We’re a team of progressive thinkers and agile doers operating within a fast-paced culture of collaboration and respect. We believe in bringing smart and capable people together to create, solve, and grow with a clear shared vision and values of integrity, inclusivity, ingenuity, and impact.

We’ve built and nurtured a culture that is intentionally welcoming and purposefully rooted in equity, diversity, inclusion, and reconciliation (EDI&R). We believe diverse teams, perspectives, and lived experiences contribute to better decisions and a better workplace. As UPP celebrates its fifth anniversary, we’re proud to be recognized for our efforts:

• 2026 Greater Toronto’s Top 100 Employers
• 2026 Canadian HR Award for Excellence in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging

Join us in building a bright future for our members, our organization, and each other.

THE ROLE

Reporting to the Director, Pension Communications, the Associate Director, Member Education & Communications is responsible for translating the overall Member Engagement strategy into member-focused education strategies, priorities and programs.

The Associate Director leads education content strategy and material development, as well as member communications planning, ensuring members receive clear, accessible and relevant information that builds pension understanding, retirement confidence and trust in UPP.

This role is based in downtown Toronto under a hybrid work policy, allowing employees the flexibility to work remotely and in-office (approximately two days per week in-office).

This job is for an existing vacancy.

SPECIFIC ACCOUNTABILITIES

Member Education and Communications Planning

• Lead the member communications and education roadmap and editorial calendar, translating the strategy into audience-focused programs, content plans and learning objectives, and carrying the work through to delivery.
• Assess member insights, service themes, lifecycle needs and evolving business needs to recommend education priorities and identify gaps in available learning resources.
• Build annual and initiative-level education plans, defining audiences, learning outcomes, formats, channels, sequencing, responsibilities and evaluation approaches.
• Integrate education into major pension, service and organizational initiatives by identifying member learning needs early and recommending appropriate materials and delivery approaches.

Education Content & Learning Experiences

• Lead the development of member education materials, including presentations, guides, videos, explainers, digital learning resources and other formats suited to member needs.
• Develop and maintain presentation materials for member education sessions, working closely with Pension Services, accountable for presentations delivery, to ensure the content is clear and audience focused.
• Translate complex pension information into clear, accurate and accessible learning content for members with different levels of pension knowledge.
• Develop and oversee content from concept through review, approval and release, maintaining editorial quality, plain language, accessibility, brand alignment and version control.
• Create content briefs, learning objectives, outlines and standards that help internal teams and external partners develop consistent, high-quality education materials.

Partnership & Leadership

• Lead education projects and working groups, setting clear expectations, roles, timelines and quality standards for contributors.
• Model inclusive, collaborative and accountable ways of working and support a culture of plain-language communication and continuous learning.
• Work with technical subject matter experts to ensure pension content is accurate while maintaining communications accountability for how information is structured and presented.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

• 7+ years of progressive experience in member education, communications or adult learning, including developing member- or customer-facing programs in complex, multi-stakeholder settings.
• Strong working knowledge of pensions, including plan provisions, pension administration and the issues members face. Experience working in or with a pension plan is strongly preferred; experience in financial services or the university sector is an asset.
• Experience developing member education plans, programs and materials, including presentations and resources for different audiences. Experience supporting large-scale change or education programs is an asset.
• Proven ability to turn strategic priorities into clear education plans and supporting member communications and carry the work through to delivery.
• Strong writing, editing and plain-language skills, including the ability to make complex pension information clear and engaging.
• Strong stakeholder management and partnership skills, with the ability to work across operational, digital, policy and external teams.
• Post-secondary education in communications, public relations, journalism, adult education, business or a related field, or equivalent experience. Pension or retirement-related certifications (RPA, PPAC) are an asset.

ATTRIBUTES

• Strategic and audience-focused.
• Strong communications and editorial judgment.
• Collaborative and confident working across organizational boundaries.
• Insight-driven and curious about member needs and behaviours.
• Strong planner who balances strategy with effective delivery.
• Inclusive people leader committed to quality, accountability and continuous improvement.

EXPECTED COMPENSATION

The expected compensation for this role is a combination of base salary and variable incentive. The final total compensation offered will vary depending on your skills, experience and other factors.

LIFE AT UPP

Do work that matters. We are duty-bound to serve our members’ interests, and it’s a responsibility we don’t take lightly. That’s why we’ve ingrained sustainability in our work from day one—to ensure our members have a resilient future to retire into, both today and for generations to come.

Stronger together. Collaboration is how UPP was born, and it’s how we work with each other and our partners day in, day out. No one at UPP is just a number (even if they are excellent at math) and every win is a shared win.

Grow every day. You’ll have the opportunity to work on unique, once-in-a-career projects that maximize your skill set and probably teach you some new ones—at any stage in your career.

Prioritize wellness. At UPP, wellness takes many forms. Ultimately, it’s about ensuring our people are cared for in the ways that matter to them. Check out some highlights of our inclusive employee-focused benefits program including:

• Defined benefit pension plan
• Flexible hybrid work model
• Paid time off – vacations, personal days and wellness days
• Work remotely up to eight weeks/year
• Comprehensive group benefits including medical, dental, vision, etc.
• Extended paramedical and mental health service coverage
• Health care and lifestyle spending accounts
• Fertility treatments, paid parental leave, and gender affirmation coverage
• Education Assistance program

This posting will remain open for a minimum of seven (7) days and will remain open until a sufficient number of qualified applications are received or finalist candidates have been identified.

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools may be used to support certain stages of the recruitment process, including sourcing, screening, and assessment. All hiring decisions involve human review and intervention by UPP employees.

UPP enthusiastically welcomes applications from all qualified applicants and especially invites people with lived experience as an Indigenous person, a person with a disability or as a member of another Human Rights Code protected group that faces barriers to employment to apply. Our goal is to create a barrier-free experience for every candidate throughout the recruitment process.

UPP respects your privacy. For information on how UPP handles the personal information you provide during the application process, please see our Job Applicant Privacy Statement.