General Summary

The Senior Director of Public Relations is a strategic leader responsible for shaping and protecting the brand and reputation of WellSpan in alignment with its mission, vision and values and strategic goals. With a passion for brand storytelling, this role leads a team of PR experts and serves as a key partner to executive leadership in building/protecting the organization's brand and reputation with multiple external stakeholders. This role oversees all aspects of external communications, including media relations, social media, crisis communications, thought leadership and community relations. The role requires a deep understanding of healthcare environments and media and social media trends in a highly regulated and mission-drive setting. The Senior Director of Public Relations is an exceptional communicator with a proven ability to lead and inspire teams, build strategic relationships, and drive external communications that enhance our national reputation.

Essential Functions:

Strategic PR Leadership:Develops and executes a comprehensive public relations strategy that elevates the organization's national, regional and local reputation, supports business goals and reflects its mission and values.Partners with and serves as an advisor to senior leadership on thought leadership, media strategy, public positioning, reputational risk.Demonstrates a deep understanding of external constituencies: elected officials, community partners, community members, donors, employers and other stakeholders.Oversees Media Relations, Social Media and Community Relations, ensuring best in class strategies and policies to extend WellSpan's brand and reputation nationally, regionally, and locally.Thought Leadership:Develops external messaging platforms for the organization and its strategic priorities.Positions executives and clinical leaders as trusted voices in healthcare through media interviews, op-eds, speaking engagements and events.Crisis and Issues Management: Leads the organization's response to crises, sensitive issues, and high-profile events with speed, accuracy, and empathy.Develops and maintains crisis communication protocols and serve as a key member of the incident command or emergency response team.Measurement and Insight: Establishes KPIs/metrics to assess effectiveness, message awareness and feedback loops. Uses data to continuously improve work and demonstrate impact.Regularly scans external environment for best practices in public relations and improvement opportunities.Team and Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborates effectively with the other Marketing and Communications leaders to deliver results and create and positive work environment for all.Leads, mentors, and inspires a high-performing in-house creative team fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Manages external creative agencies and freelancers as needed.

Qualifications

Minimum Education:

Bachelors Degree RequiredMasters Degree Preferred

Work Experience:

15+ years Experience in Communications, Journalism or Public Relations. Required15+ years Communications, Journalism or Public Relations, preferably with experience in a large, complex healthcare organization. Preferred

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Strong executive presence and ability to influence senior leaders.Proven success in media relations, crisis communications and executive visibility/thought leadership.Calm under pressure with excellent judgment and collaborative mindset.Strong relationships with healthcare and business media.Experience with digital communication platforms and analytics tools; willingness to incorporate AI into processes.Proven leadership and team building skills, strong journalistic writing, copyediting and project management skills. You’re unique and you belong here.

At WellSpan Health, we are committed to treating all applicants fairly, regardless of their job classification. If you require assistance or accommodation due to a disability, please reach out to us via email at . We will evaluate requests for accommodation on a case-by-case basis. Please note that we will only respond to inquiries related to reasonable accommodation from this email address. Rest assured, all requests for assistance or accommodation are handled confidentially, allowing applicants to share their needs openly and honestly with us.