Director - Communications and Public Relations

Government Employees Health Association•Summit, MO

1d•$144,171 - $203,229•Remote

About The Position

Government Employees Health Association, Inc. (G.E.H.A) is a nonprofit member association that provides health and dental benefits that millions of federal employees and retirees, military retirees and their families have counted on since 1937. Offering one of the largest health and dental benefit provider networks available to federal employees in the United States, G.E.H.A empowers health and wellness by meeting its members where they are, when they need care. G.E.H.A has one mission: To empower federal workers to be healthy and well. The Director of Communications and Public Relations is a strategic, highly collaborative leader responsible for shaping and executing the company’s communications strategy. This role oversees external communications, public relations, internal employee communications, executive thought leadership, and brand reputation management to support the organizational goals. The Director ensures consistent, clear, and compelling messaging that supports the company’s mission, strengthens trust, and enhances organizational visibility through sound counsel and guidance, proactive earned media pursuit, and thoughtful communication strategies executed across internal and external channels.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in communications, Public Relations, Journalism, Marketing, or related field.
10+ years of progressive experience in communications, public relations, or corporate affairs, including 5+ years demonstrating strong leadership and effective people management skills.
Experience in health insurance, healthcare, or highly regulated industries required.
Demonstrated success managing communications strategy, media relations, crisis communications, and executive messaging.
Exceptional writing, editing, and storytelling skills with the ability to simplify complex topics.
Ability to navigate fast-paced, highly matrixed environments with sound judgment and discretion.
Experience working cross-functionally with legal, compliance, HR, and executive leadership.
Strategic thinking and business acumen
Emotional intelligence and relationship-building
Proactive issue identification and crisis management
Creative brand storytelling
Data-driven decision-making
Executive presence and professionalism
Must have the ability to provide a non-cellular High Speed Internet Service such as Fiber, DSL, or cable Modems for a home office. A minimum standard speed for optimal performance of 30x5 (30mpbs download x 5mpbs upload) is required.
Latency (ping) response time lower than 80 ms
Hotspots, satellite and wireless internet service is NOT allowed for this role.
A dedicated space lacking ongoing interruptions to protect member PHI / HIPAA information

Responsibilities

External Communications & Public Relations Design and execute a strategic external communications strategy that aligns with business objectives, regulatory requirements, and evolving market trends.
Direct media outreach by generating stories, drafting press releases, preparing statements, coordinating interviews, and managing crisis communications.
Supervise the PR Agency of Record, offering unified leadership to the public relations team.
Develop and sustain strong connections with prominent journalists, major trade publications, industry leaders, and community organizations.
Track shifts in industry trends, policy updates, and competitors’ actions to proactively identify communication risks and opportunities.
Develop and implement earned media strategies to enhance the company’s brand perception in the community and market.
Collaborate with organizational leaders across functions to support and garner earned media on topics including CSR, partnerships, open season, and more.
Brand Reputation Management Safeguard and strengthen the organization’s brand reputation through consistent messaging and cross-channel alignment.
Lead reputation monitoring and social listening efforts; prepare responses to emerging issues.
Partner with marketing, legal, compliance, and government affairs to ensure brand integrity across all public-facing content and engagements.
Develop and maintain corporate narratives, messaging frameworks, and brand voice guidelines.
Change Management and Crisis Communication Lead cross-functional collaboration with marketing, legal, compliance, and government affairs to coordinate unified responses to crisis communications, ensuring brand integrity is maintained across all public-facing content and engagements.
Collaborate with functional teams to support change management communications, provide proactive counsel for internal and external change management initiatives, and support crisis communication efforts.
Internal Communications Manage function responsible for company-wide employee communication channels, including intranet content and email communications.
Lead internal communications functions, supporting team members as they manage and streamline processes to support, coordinate, and balance requests from internal clients, including calendars, intake, reporting, and other tasks.
Executive Thought Leadership Provide strategic counsel to senior leaders on communication style, narrative development, and public engagement.
Ensure leaders are prepared for media interactions, key meetings, and internal events through briefing materials and coaching.
Create and manage comprehensive strategic media plans for each participating executive, ensuring successful media placements, the development and execution of social media content strategies and roadmaps, and alignment with organizational objectives.
Ownership of securing high-impact opportunities for executive visibility across traditional and digital platforms and regularly assess the effectiveness of media strategies.
Oversee PR agency initiatives including conference and speaker submissions, awards bureaus, and additional related activities.
Leadership & Management Lead and develop a high-performing communications team, fostering creativity, accountability, and professional growth.
Manage agency partners, freelancers, and other external resources.
Oversee communications budget, planning, and reporting.
Establish KPIs and measurement frameworks to track communication effectiveness and improve performance.

Benefits

Competitive pay/salary ranges
Incentive plan
Health/Vision/Dental benefits effective day one
401(k) retirement plan: company match – dollar for dollar up to 4% employee contribution (pretax or Roth options) plus a 6% annual company contribution
Robust employee well-being program
Paid Time Off
Personal Community Enrichment Time
Company-provided Basic Life and AD&D
Company-provided Short-Term & Long-Term Disability
Tuition Assistance Program