Director, Media Relations

Tufts Medicine

6d•$147,995 - $188,689

About The Position

Reporting to the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, the Director, Media Relations leads strategic media relations and communications for Tufts Medicine, the primary health system of Tufts University School of Medicine. The role develops and executes strategies to elevate the visibility and protect the reputation of the health system, its hospitals, physicians, services, research, and leadership at national, regional, and hyperlocal levels. The Director serves as the system's chief media relations strategist and primary spokesperson, leading issues management and crisis communications on a 24/7 basis. The position partners closely with executive leadership, legal, risk management, patient safety, and the Tufts University School of Medicine communications team to ensure consistent, accurate communications across clinical care, research, and education. The Director leads the Media Relations team and its operations, including staffing, budget, resource allocation, and vendor and agency management. The role builds journalist relationships; develops data-informed media strategies; trains and advises spokespeople; oversees executive visibility, thought leadership, media monitoring, and performance measurement; and coordinates communications related to research, education, community health, government relations, and public affairs. The position also develops and maintains crisis plans and playbooks, coordinates rapid-response messaging, conducts readiness exercises, and monitors reputational risks. Communications must adhere to brand standards and applicable HIPAA, privacy, and consent requirements. The role requires a bachelor's degree and at least eight years of progressively responsible media relations, public relations, or corporate communications experience, including at least five years in healthcare, an academic health system, or a hospital environment. A master's degree and several additional professional and sector qualifications are preferred. The position requires 24/7 on-call availability, occasional travel between Tufts Medicine sites and to off-site meetings, conferences, or media events, and the ability to work at a computer workstation for extended periods. The listed pay range is $147,995.12–$188,688.50, based on full-time equivalent.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Journalism, Public Relations, or a related field.
Eight years of progressively responsible experience in media relations, public relations, or corporate communications, including at least five years in a healthcare, academic health system, or hospital environment.
Experience serving as an organizational spokesperson and managing proactive and reactive media relations at a senior level.
Experience leading crisis communications and issues management, including developing playbooks, coordinating rapid-response messaging, and serving as a public information officer during emergencies or reputational events.
Experience leading and managing communications teams, including direct people management, coaching, mentoring, and performance development.
Strategic planning skills, including translating enterprise goals into actionable, multi-channel media relations and communications strategies.
Strong leadership, people management, project management, collaboration, and relationship-building skills.
Expertise in public relations, media strategy, media relations, and marketing communications, including success securing high-impact coverage.
Strong spokesperson skills for live interviews, press conferences, and challenging media situations; ability to counsel and prepare senior executives and clinical leaders.
Excellent writing, editing, and publishing skills for press releases, media advisories, op-eds, talking points, and holding statements under tight deadlines.
Proficiency with media monitoring and analysis platforms, social listening, issues monitoring, and competitive intelligence.
Ability to analyze media coverage and performance metrics and communicate actionable recommendations to senior leadership.
Proficiency with digital and social media platforms and content management systems, and understanding of earned, owned, and shared channels.
Knowledge of HIPAA, patient privacy and consent requirements, and their application to media relations and external communications.
Familiarity with the academic health system landscape and the interplay between clinical care, research, and education.
Understanding of brand standards management, including brand voice, visual identity, and messaging consistency.
Experience with AI tools and platforms, particularly WRITER, for content creation, workflow automation, and marketing optimization.
Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office 365, including Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
Flexibility to respond to breaking news, emerging issues, and shifting priorities, including 24/7 crisis availability.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in Marketing, Communications, Journalism, Business Administration (MBA), or a related field.
Experience as a working journalist, reporter, or newsroom professional.
Experience in an academic health system, academic medical center, or medical school communications environment.
Experience building or scaling a media relations program or department.
Healthcare experience, including academic hospitals, health systems, medical schools, or life sciences.
Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) or certification from PRSA, IABC, or an equivalent professional body.
Experience serving as a public information officer or in an emergency management or incident command structure.
Experience with academic medical center communications, including peer-reviewed journal embargo management, clinical trial communications, and research promotion.
Experience with AI-powered productivity and content platforms such as WRITER, ChatGPT, or Microsoft Copilot.

Responsibilities

Lead, mentor, and develop the Media Relations team, setting performance expectations, goals, and professional development plans.
Direct daily team operations, including budget, staffing, resource allocation, and vendor and agency management.
Cultivate relationships with local, regional, and national journalists, editors, producers, influencers, and internal and external partners.
Develop and execute data-informed media relations strategies for Tufts Medicine, its hospitals, physicians, services, research, and leadership.
Serve as the system's chief media relations strategist and primary spokesperson, and establish and manage the enterprise spokesperson hierarchy and approved spokesperson roster.
Design and deliver media training for executives, physicians, clinicians, and other spokespeople, including interview preparation, message development, on-camera coaching, mock interviews, and crisis preparation.
Advise senior leaders, executives, and clinical leaders on media engagement, messaging, interview preparation, and the strategic implications of media interactions.
Collaborate with content, digital, internal communications, system, and service line teams on initiatives, campaigns, announcements, and strategic communications plans.
Lead executive visibility and thought-leadership efforts, including op-eds, bylined articles, expert media placements, speaking opportunities, awards submissions, and rankings and reputation survey engagement.
Work with Tufts University School of Medicine communications to promote scientific discoveries, clinical trials, education programs, and published research.
Ensure media materials and messaging comply with Tufts Medicine brand standards and approved messaging frameworks.
Lead 24/7 crisis communications and issues management, coordinating rapid-response messaging with executive leadership, legal, risk management, and patient safety teams.
Develop, maintain, and regularly update crisis plans, playbooks, holding statements, media protocols, and escalation procedures.
Conduct crisis communications exercises and simulations, and lead post-incident reviews to improve readiness and response.
Monitor reputational risks and emerging issues using media intelligence and social listening, triage issues, and advise leadership on mitigation strategies.
Ensure media activities comply with HIPAA, patient privacy, consent, and applicable state and federal regulations; coordinate patient authorizations and partner with legal and privacy officers.
Oversee media monitoring and listening to track coverage, breaking stories, emerging issues, competitor and peer coverage, and the impact of media relations efforts.
Analyze and report media performance metrics, including share of voice, sentiment, coverage volume and quality, message pull-through, spokesperson placements, and reputation indicators.
Build and protect Tufts Medicine's public reputation through consistent messaging, storytelling, and campaigns across national, regional, and local audiences.
Maintain production schedules and ensure timely, high-quality delivery of media relations projects, press releases, advisories, and related materials.
Coordinate with Government Relations and Public Affairs to align communications with legislative, regulatory, and community advocacy priorities.
Support communications for community benefit and community health improvement programs, investments, outreach, partnerships, and reporting.
Stay current with industry trends, media changes, and emerging technologies, integrating new channels, digital platforms, and AI-powered tools into communications strategies.
Apply expertise in public relations, media strategy, crisis communications, digital and social media, and content development to deliver measurable results.
Foster a collaborative, accountable, high-performing team culture and build trusted relationships across the health system.