Director, Communications

Schedule: Monday - Friday | 8:00am - 5:00pm | Must be available to work occasional nights/weekends as needed for event coverage and crisis communications

Job Summary: The Director, Communications oversees and drives internal and external messaging while supporting the implementation of strategic initiatives for Saint Francis Health System (SFHS). This role is instrumental in shaping and executing communication strategies. The director leads communication efforts for all clinics, facilities, and services within the health system including the development and implementation of internal and external communications and social media strategies.

Minimum Education: Bachelor's degree in Business, Communications, Journalism, Marketing, or related field.

Licensure, Registration and/or Certification: None.

Work Experience: Minimum 8 years of experience in marketing and/or communications roles including 2 years in a leadership level role. Experience within a healthcare environment, highly preferred. Please note, this role requires more than just external communication experience; we are looking for a candidate with expertise in both external and internal communications, as well as social media experience.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: Strong understanding of healthcare trends, regulations, and best practices. Exceptional strategic thinking and problem-solving abilities with a collaborative work style. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to effectively communicate complex information to various audiences with cultural competence. Ability to work collaboratively with cross-functional teams and senior executives. Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities with competing deadlines. Strong leadership skills, with proven ability to build, mentor, and coach a high-performing team. Outstanding presentation skills.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities: Leads communications team overseeing functions including media relations, internal/external communications, public relations, crisis communications, issues management, reputation management, and social media. Stays up to date on current industry trends and developments incorporating that knowledge into overall communication strategies. Collaborates with leadership to establish annual communications strategies aligned with strategic plans and market priorities. Tracks communications performance metrics and makes data-driven decisions to improve and optimize strategies. Develops and deploys internal communication programs to achieve high engagement among employees and providers. Serves as a point of contact for media inquiries, manages relationships with media representatives and outlets including proactive media pitches, press releases, and media kits to generate positive media coverage. Develops and implements crisis communication plans to effectively manage and respond to potential crises or emergencies. Oversees reputation-building communication opportunities for the market. Leads, in collaboration with team, a robust social media strategy to drive engagement, web traffic, conversion, and patient acquisition. Gains advanced expertise of social media management tools and leverages all relevant features. Oversees the social media ambassador program to ensure quality content and brand compliance. Develops and maintains detailed annual budgets, reconciliation, and tracking reports for communications programs and associated spending.

Decision Making: Independent judgment in making decisions from many diversified alternatives that are subject to general review in final stages only.

Working Relationships: Direct supervision of others. Prepares and gives performance evaluations. Works with internal and/or external customers via telephone or face to face interaction. Works with other healthcare professionals and staff. Works frequently with individuals at Director level or above.

Special Job Dimensions: None.

Supplemental Information: This document generally describes the essential functions of the job and the physical demands required to perform the job. This compilation of essential functions and physical demands is not all inclusive nor does it prohibit the assignment of additional duties.

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