Program Manager, Communications, Greater Central Coast Division

Sutter Health•Goleta, CA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Program Manager, Communications contributes to, develops, and supports innovative communication plans, strategies, and messaging for assigned focus areas in coordination with communications leadership. The role uses proactive research and Lean-based approaches to develop and implement internal and external communications for multiple audiences and stakeholders, with the goal of building awareness, understanding, and commitment to Sutter Health. It supports communications that advance the organization’s culture, explain initiatives, and foster understanding of business strategies. The position manages and supports integrated campaigns, activities, and events across a variety of channels, while cultivating a unified corporate identity and ensuring consistent, appropriate use of Sutter Health brand assets. It provides analytical support and guidance to multifunctional teams, helps identify and mitigate issues, oversees contract communications professionals, and continually evaluates communications plans, content, and distribution methods for effectiveness. Potential focus areas include Executive Communications/Thought Leadership; Issues Management/Reputation Management/Corporate Affairs; Media Relations/External Communications; and Enterprise & Systemwide Communications. This is a hybrid position requiring 8–12 or more onsite days per month. The ideal candidate lives within 45 minutes of Santa Barbara. The role is full-time, daytime, Monday through Friday, with occasional weekend requirements and 40 weekly hours. It is a regular, exempt position.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Communications, English, Journalism, Marketing, Public Relations, or a related field, or equivalent experience in lieu of the degree.
Five years of recent relevant experience.
Knowledge of strategic communications planning, social networking, graphic standards and corporate identity management, graphic design principles and production, news and feature writing, leadership presentations, script writing and editing, publications development and management, photography and audio/video production, website development and maintenance, audience-list maintenance, and special-events coordination.
Professional written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills, including presentation and negotiation competencies and the ability to translate corporate goals into effective communications and constituent-relations plans.
Current knowledge of regional, state, and national healthcare and medicine issues, Northern California current events, and cultural and healthcare trends.
Business acumen and strong analytical skills, with the ability to develop innovative communications solutions to complex problems and meet business objectives.
Exceptional attention to detail, time-management, and organizational skills, including the ability to maintain production schedules and adhere to multiple timelines and budgets.
Functional knowledge of selecting and hiring third-party talent for creative services, graphic design and production, publication development and management, market research, and advertising.
Understanding of and experience with Lean or other process-improvement philosophies and methodologies.
Competency in Microsoft Office, with working knowledge of graphic-design, data-management, and statistical-analysis software.
Ability to assess target-audience attitudes, opinions, and preferences and develop communications to build consensus, awareness, or understanding.
Ability to foster productive and collaborative relationships with internal and external constituencies and effectively manage resources.
Ability to synthesize information across subject areas and create communications plans that produce an engaging, positive reader experience.
Ability to manage, prioritize, and drive multiple projects in a changing environment while delivering quality work on time and on budget.
Ability to negotiate effectively with staff, senior management, vendors, media partners, external agencies, and organizations.
Ability to identify and solve complex problems, make actionable recommendations and informed decisions from multiple information sources, and offer new perspectives on existing solutions.
Ability to build collaborative relationships with peers, departments, stakeholders, management, and vendors to achieve marketing goals and corporate objectives.

Responsibilities

Support communications for designated audiences using initiative, creativity, sound judgment, audience research, and strong constituent relationships.
Conceptualize, develop, and implement portions of communications campaigns in support of organizational strategy.
Cultivate focus-area news and stories for system-wide audiences through relationships with subject matter experts.
Develop and integrate messaging into broader Sutter Health communications and marketing strategies.
Collaborate with department staff to ensure deliverables meet time, cost, quality, strategic, KPI, and brand standards.
Develop efficient work and tracking processes.
Participate in research and audit initiatives to inform and assess communications strategies, channels, employee perceptions, and communication preferences.
Keep the assigned focus-area leader informed about key communications activities and their value.
Interpret and enforce AP Stylebook, Sutter Health publications style, and brand style-guide requirements.
Follow strategic communications plans and meet deadlines and delivery dates.
Create and maintain a library or repository of communications materials for the targeted focus area.
Partner with Sutter Health Communications colleagues on initiatives supporting the organization’s mission, strategic vision, and plan.
Develop coordinated internal campaigns and employee engagement strategies supporting reputation and culture-building work.
Oversee project management and communications support for division initiatives and serve as a communications consultant on key projects.
Oversee and support content development and establish standards for internal communications, including newsletters, announcements, email, scripts, web pages, reports, speeches, presentations, and videos.
Supervise annual editorial calendars, content, and platforms for traditional and online internal communications in coordination with communications colleagues.
Ensure communications materials are accurate, error-free, timely, and produced within budget, including arranging appropriate reviews before publication.
Manage vendor, freelance, and agency relationships to support high-quality, cost-efficient communications.
Support legal and crisis communications for various audiences in coordination with communications leaders.
Oversee quantitative and qualitative metrics and analytics to evaluate engagement, effectiveness, and performance and identify opportunities to advance communications strategies.
Oversee contract communications professionals to align communications with strategic priorities.
Proactively identify, address, and mitigate communications issues while protecting and enhancing Sutter Health’s brand and reputation.