Company :

Job Description :

JOB SUMMARY

The job drives the development and implementation of marketplace reputation strategies, involving communications and grant making, supports the organization’s strategy and brand, mission/vision/values, business priorities and support to the ultimate sale of health insurance. Serves as the company's primary spokesperson on key business issues in the regional market. Serves as a strategic communications advisor to the Market President, senior leaders and develops and executes strategic executive communications plans and delivers consistent messaging throughout the organization. The incumbent will focus on external and internal audiences. Externally, the primary focus is on advancing company strategy by promoting and enhancing the organization’s reputation and brand across markets through effective media and community relations, and issues and crisis management communications practices. Externally, it also includes identifying community needs, fostering community relationships and building non-profit capacity through strategic grant making. Internally, the primary focus is on employee engagement, and business and cultural transformation through the application of effective manager and employee communications practices. Must be adept at understanding complex issues, working cross functionally to develop strategic communications for multiple constituencies and coordinating their dissemination.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Perform management responsibilities to include, but are not limited to: involved in hiring and termination decisions, coaching and development, rewards and recognition, performance management and staff productivity. Plan, organize, staff, direct and control the day-to-day operations of the department; develop and implement policies and programs as necessary; may have budgetary responsibility and authority.
• Responsible for the oversight of millions of dollars of grant making to the community each year. The ideal candidate must bring media relations acumen to the role, having experience in the planning, development and execution of news media relations campaigns in support of company objectives. The candidate will also have knowledge of the local nonprofit community and experience in grant making. The candidate must be adept at understanding complex issues, working cross functionally to develop strategic communications for multiple constituencies and coordinating their dissemination, as a well as matrixing to Community Affairs and the Highmark Foundation to identify community needs, build nonprofit relationships and execute determination of grant making.
• The person in this role will have budget responsibility and management oversight for outside services such as public relations firms, free-lance writers and other vendors needed to support internal and external communications campaign and promotional activities.
• Public relations / external communications (only): -Serve as the primary public relations lead for enterprise or regional activities and issues ranging from crisis communications to serving as a spokesperson on highly visible issues critical to our business in the news media or community. -Partner with the Market President and senior leaders, are able to deal with highly confidential and visible projects, and develop and execute media and community outreach strategies working collaboratively across business groups, and with social media, web publishing and internal communications teams. -Manage corporate projects that cross business lines and work to maintain the company’s reputation and brand in the marketplace, including core health business, provider areas and subsidiaries.
• Community Relations: -Provide strategic guidance to the Market President and grant making-affiliated Board committees about nonprofit grant making, including identification of priority community issues, RFPs and guidance on nonprofit capacity needs. -Work in concert with the Community Affairs and Highmark Foundation teams to align regional grant making with larger corporate priorities for funding and support.
• Internal communications (only): -Provide strategic consulting on communications best practices to the Market President and senior leaders; develop, design and deliver manager and employee communications that increase employee engagement in executing enterprise strategy, and foster a customer-focused, high-performance culture. -Work collaboratively with public relations, social media, web publishing and other communications teams to communicate high-impact management decisions and other strategic business-related changes and oversee the development, writing, editing, approval and delivery of all content published through enterprise communications channels including the HighWire homepage (intranet), email, mobile apps and all-employee meetings.
• Other duties as assigned or requested.

EDUCATION

Required

• Bachelor’s Degree Communications, Business or related field

Substitutions

• 6 years of related and progressive experience in lieu of Bachelor's degree

Preferred

• Master's Degree in Communications, Business or related field

EXPERIENCE

Required

• 7 years in Journalism, Public Relations or Employee Communications
• 3 years in a leadership or management role

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Preferred

• Experience dealing with senior management.

• Community-based nonprofit experience

LICENSES or CERTIFICATIONS

Required

• None

Preferred

• Accreditation in Public Relations (APR)

SKILLS

• Knowledge of the health care industry critical for success
• Extensive experience dealing with local, regional and national media is required. Must also have the ability to react to the news media requests for immediate response on high profile issues
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Excellent strategic communication & planning skills
• Strong project management skills
• Strong influence management and relationship building skills
• Possess the ability to think on his/her feet while dealing practically with conflicting demands and expectations
• Possess exceptional conflict resolution and negotiating skills
• Able to handle and adjust to interruptions with ease, make efficient and precise executive decisions and effectively react to last minute changes
• Self-starter with the ability to work under pressure independently and as part of a team
• Vendor management

Language (Other than English):

None

Travel Requirement:

0% - 25%

PHYSICAL, MENTAL DEMANDS and WORKING CONDITIONS

Position Type

Office-based

Teaches / trains others regularly

Frequently

Travel regularly from the office to various work sites or from site-to-site

Rarely

Works primarily out-of-the office selling products/services (sales employees)

Never

Physical work site required

Yes

Lifting: up to 10 pounds

Constantly

Lifting: 10 to 25 pounds

Occasionally

Lifting: 25 to 50 pounds

Rarely

Disclaimer: The job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and essential duties and responsibilities of work performed by employees within this job title. It may not contain a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees to do this job.

Compliance Requirement : This job adheres to the ethical and legal standards and behavioral expectations as set forth in the code of business conduct and company policies.

As a component of job responsibilities, employees may have access to covered information, cardholder data, or other confidential customer information that must be protected at all times. In connection with this, all employees must comply with both the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) as described in the Notice of Privacy Practices and Privacy Policies and Procedures as well as all data security guidelines established within the Company’s Handbook of Privacy Policies and Practices and Information Security Policy.

Furthermore, it is every employee’s responsibility to comply with the company’s Code of Business Conduct. This includes but is not limited to adherence to applicable federal and state laws, rules, and regulations as well as company policies and training requirements.

Highmark Health and its affiliates prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities, and prohibit discrimination against all individuals based on their race, color, age, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation/gender identity or any other category protected by applicable federal, state or local law. Highmark Health and its affiliates take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment individuals without regard to race, color, age, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation/gender identity, protected veteran status or disability.

EEO is The Law

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