Sr. External Affairs and Healthcare Policy Communications Lead

Job Summary:
The Sr. External Affairs Comms Manager is a senior communications professional within GuideWell's Enterprise Communications function, responsible for building and protecting GuideWell's reputation with the audiences that shape its operating environment, policymakers, regulators, government officials, community leaders, advocacy organizations, and industry stakeholders. This role serves as the bridge between the communications function and GuideWell's government affairs, regulatory, and community engagement efforts, ensuring the organization's voice is present, credible, and consistent in the conversations that matter most to its business and mission. Unlike media relations (which focuses on earned coverage) or internal communications (which focuses on employees), this role's primary audience is external influencers: those who shape policy, regulate the industry, or hold the trust of the communities GuideWell serves, with a local market focus (local business associations, local governments, etc.). The Sr. External Affairs Manager is an individual contributor with broad scope. This role reports to the Sr. Director, Strategic Communications & Reputation and works in close partnership with the Sr. Director, Enterprise Communications (responsible for Media & Issues), Government Affairs, Legal, Community Relations, and enterprise leadership.

Essential Functions:

• Domain Ownership & Leadership: Serve as GuideWell's senior expert and owner for External Affairs & Stakeholder Communications, setting the strategy, maintaining standards, and ensuring the function delivers measurable outcomes in this area. Develop and maintain an annual plan aligned to enterprise narrative priorities, the legislative and regulatory calendar, and organizational goals.
• Content / Program Development & Execution: Own the development and delivery of GuideWell's external affairs communications program, including public affairs and policy communications, stakeholder engagement, advocacy and regulatory narrative, community impact communications, coalition building, and regional PR agency partnership, ensuring all work reflects GuideWell's enterprise messaging framework and maintains consistent voice, quality, and narrative integrity.
• Public Affairs & Policy Communications: Develop and execute communications strategies (a "single GuideWell voice" on issues) that support GuideWell's government affairs and public policy priorities at the federal, state, and local level, ensuring a single, coherent GuideWell voice on policy issues.
  Build and maintain compelling messaging around health care policy, regulatory affairs, and legislative priorities, translating complex policy dynamics into clear, accessible narratives that resonate with policymakers and their staff.
  Partner with the Government Affairs team to ensure communications and advocacy strategies are aligned and mutually reinforcing.
  Draft and review external communications materials in regulatory and legislative contexts, including comment letters, position papers, and policy briefs.
  Monitor the regulatory and policy landscape for emerging issues and proactively brief the Sr. Director and enterprise leadership before situations require a reactive response.
• Stakeholder Engagement & Relationship Strategy: Map and maintain GuideWell's key external stakeholder landscape, identifying priority audiences and developing engagement strategies tailored to each.
  Support the government affairs team in building and sustaining trusted relationships with community leaders, advocacy organizations, health system partners, local business associations, local governments, and industry associations, ensuring GuideWell is seen as present, invested, and worth listening to.
  Develop and oversee stakeholder communications programs that keep key audiences informed, engaged, and aligned with GuideWell's priorities and values.
• Community Impact Communications: Develop and execute communications strategies that highlight GuideWell's contributions to the communities it serves, connecting the organization's community-embedded, mission-driven track record to its current transformation story.
  Lead campaign concepts like "Blue in Your Backyard", developing and disseminating community impact content to Government Relations for distribution to state and federal elected officials and other target audiences.
  Support the organization's profile with community foundations, nonprofits, and local civic institutions.
• Coalition Building & Third-Party Amplification: Design and lead GuideWell's coalition strategy, identifying, recruiting, and activating external partners, advocates, community organizations, and industry allies who can bring credible, independent voices to the conversations GuideWell needs to influence.
  Build a network of aligned third-party voices, providers, nonprofits, civic leaders, patient advocates, and community organizations - whose participation in key conversations expands GuideWell's reach and lends credibility the organization cannot generate alone.
  Develop and maintain the relationships, materials, and engagement infrastructure that make coalition partners effective, ensuring they are equipped with accurate, on-narrative information and motivated to stay engaged over time.
• Industry Association Strategy - BCBSA, AHIP & Peer Organizations: Serve as GuideWell's primary communications owner for industry association relationships, including BCBSA, AHIP, and other relevant organizations, ensuring the enterprise is actively leveraging the communications resources, materials, messaging frameworks, and advocacy approaches these associations produce.
  Monitor and synthesize BCBSA and AHIP communications strategies, policy positions, and advocacy campaigns, identifying where GuideWell should align, amplify, or adapt association-level messaging for its own stakeholder and policy audiences.
  Ensure GuideWell is an active and visible participant in industry association forums, contributing GuideWell's voice and perspective to shaping the collective industry narrative, not just receiving it.
  Integrate learnings and materials from industry association engagement into GuideWell's communications strategy, briefing the Sr. Director, enterprise leadership, and Government Affairs on relevant developments and ensuring association resources are put to strategic use across the function.
• Cross-Functional Integration: Partner closely with the Sr. Director, Enterprise Communications (Media & Issues) and colleagues across Enterprise Communications, including Enterprise Narrative, Internal Communications, CEO Communications, and Business Partner Content Strategy as well as Government Affairs, Legal, and Community Relations to ensure external communications is integrated with the broader communications function and organizational agenda. Actively share intelligence, coordinate on shared moments, and contribute to enterprise-wide planning.
• Stakeholder & Leader Support: Serve as the primary communications advisor to enterprise leadership on matters of policy, regulatory affairs, community engagement, and external stakeholder relationships. Support leaders who are representing GuideWell at industry events, coalition meetings, and stakeholder forums as a credible and informed organizational voice. Provide counsel, develop materials, and prepare leaders for policy engagements and external stakeholder interactions.
• Measurement & Continuous Improvement: Define success metrics for External Affairs & Stakeholder Communications that go beyond activity, tracking indicators of stakeholder sentiment, narrative penetration in policy conversations, coalition engagement, and GuideWell's credibility and visibility with priority external audiences. Use data to make stop, start, and scale decisions and report results in a format useful for senior leadership.
• Regional PR Agency Partnership & Hyperlocal Strategy: Own and drive GuideWell's relationship with its regional strategic public relations firm, serving as the primary communications function contact and ensuring the agency is operating as a true strategic extension of the team. Direct the agency in developing data-driven, hyperlocal stories that resonate in the Florida communities where GuideWell's mission is most visible, and hold the agency accountable for narrative outcomes, not just deliverables.

Required Experience:
6 years related work experience. Experience Details: Progressive experience in public affairs, government relations communications, corporate communications, or stakeholder engagement with demonstrated expertise building and protecting organizational reputation with external influencer audiences.
Related Bachelor's degree or additional related equivalent work experience Communications, Journalism, Public Policy, Political Science, Public Relations, or related field
Deep understanding of health care policy, regulatory environments, and the stakeholder landscape affecting health insurers and integrated health companies.
Proven ability to develop compelling policy and advocacy narratives for sophisticated external audiences; able to make complex regulatory and legislative content clear and persuasive without oversimplifying.
Experience working alongside government affairs or lobbying functions; comfort operating in legally and politically sensitive communications environments.
Strong relationship-building instincts and trust earning with difficult and high-profile audiences.
Ability to operate proactively; mapping the stakeholder and policy landscape before issues arrive.
Comfortable operating as a senior individual contributor with broad scope, managing a wide portfolio without losing priority clarity.

Preferred Qualifications:
Experience in the Florida health care market, BCBS system, or managed care / health plan environment. Background working directly with state or federal legislative and regulatory bodies, or in government affairs consulting. Existing relationships with Florida or national health care policy stakeholders. Familiarity with community investment, CSR communications, or nonprofit stakeholder engagement. Experience building or managing coalitions; identifying aligned external partners, developing engagement strategies, and sustaining third-party relationships over time. Experience managing an external PR agency relationship with accountability for strategic outcomes, not just deliverables.
Master's degree Communications, Public Policy, Political Science, or related field

General Physical Demands:
Sedentary work: Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally to move objects. Jobs are sedentary if traversing activities are required only occasionally.

Physical/Environmental Activities:
Must be able to travel to multiple locations for work (i.e. travel to attend meetings, events, conferences). Occasionally

What We Offer:
As a Florida Blue employee, you will be at the heart of GuideWell's vision - to lead the nation in transforming health through compassionate, connected, and technology-enabled care that delivers personalized value and empowered living.

To support your wellbeing, comprehensive benefits are offered. As an employee, you will have access to:

• Medical, dental, vision, life and global travel health insurance;
• Income protection benefits: life insurance, short- and long-term disability programs;
• Leave programs to support personal circumstances;
• Retirement Savings Plan including employer match;
• Paid time off, volunteer time off, 10 holidays and 2 well-being days;
• Additional voluntary benefits available; and
• A comprehensive wellness program

Employee benefits are designed to align with federal and state employment laws. Benefits may vary based on the state in which work is performed. Benefits for intern, part-time and seasonal employees may differ.

To support your financial wellbeing, we offer competitive pay as well as opportunities for incentive or commission compensation. We also conduct regular annual reviews with pay for performance considerations for base pay increases.

Annualized Salary Range: $109,300 - $177,600

Typical Annualized Hiring Range: $109,300 - $136,600

Final pay will be determined with consideration of market competitiveness, internal equity, and the job-related knowledge, skills, training, and experience you bring.

We are an Equal Employment Opportunity employer committed to cultivating a work experience where everyone feels like they belong and can perform at their best in pursuit of our mission. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment.