External Communications Manager

Aster DM Healthcare; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 6,000,000 - 8,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Aster DM Healthcare in Bengaluru seeks a senior leader to drive external communications and corporate reputation for a diversified healthcare group. You will shape PR strategy across corporate and hospital levels, engaging national and regional media and leading leadership visibility initiatives.

You will develop narratives around growth, clinical excellence, technology and community impact, while ensuring governance, disclosure and regulatory alignment.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the annual external communications strategy aligned with the organisation's business and corporate objectives.
• Build the organisation's reputation across healthcare, business, financial and mainstream media.
• Develop communication narratives around business growth, clinical excellence, healthcare innovation, patient outcomes, technology, expansion and community impact.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen the organisation's share of voice and reputation across relevant stakeholder groups.
• Develop annual PR plans, communication calendars, campaigns and strategic communication programmes.
• Establish clear measurement frameworks for PR and reputation outcomes.
• Lead the organisation's corporate media relations strategy.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with national, regional, business, financial, healthcare and trade media.
• Drive proactive media engagement through: press releases, media briefings, interviews, press conferences, roundtables, background briefings, expert commentary, editorial opportunities.
• Identify relevant news opportunities across hospitals, business units and corporate functions.
• Ensure consistent messaging across corporate and hospital-level PR and manage the PR agency ecosystem with focus on quality, ROI.
• Develop and execute the external profile strategy for the MD, CEO and senior leadership, building differentiated positioning across business, healthcare, policy and industry platforms.
• Develop opportunities for media interviews, opinion articles, podcasts, industry conferences, keynote speeches, panel discussions, awards and recognitions, and business/healthcare forums.
• Develop leadership messaging, talking points, interview briefs and Q&A documents to support visibility with strategic priorities.
• Establish thought leadership platforms on healthcare transformation, patient-centric care, medical innovation, digital health & AI, preventive healthcare, clinical excellence, accessibility, sustainability and the future of healthcare.
• Drive thought leadership through opinion pieces, white papers, reports, interviews, podcasts and expert commentary.
• Identify proprietary data and stories to strengthen the organisation's thought leadership.
• Collaborate with Investor Relations, Finance, Legal, Compliance and leadership to ensure alignment and governance compliance.
• Develop communication frameworks for major corporate announcements including milestones, expansions, mergers, partnerships, leadership changes, investments, new facilities and milestones.
• Ensure crisis communication protocols are in place and coordinate with legal, compliance, HR, operations and leadership during critical situations.
• Coordinate crisis simulations and preparedness exercises.
• Promote external visibility for clinical excellence and medical expertise, while protecting patient privacy and ethical standards.
• Develop clinical stories and platforms on areas like complex procedures, innovations, centres of excellence, research and education initiatives.
• Create guidelines for doctors and clinical leaders engaging with the media.
• Establish a consistent corporate PR framework across hospitals and geographies, guiding hospital teams and agencies on media engagement.

Job description

Role Purpose

The DGM / GM External Communications will lead the organisation's external communications and corporate reputation agenda, strengthening its positioning as a leading healthcare organisation among patients, employees, media, investors, policymakers, industry stakeholders and the wider community.

The role will develop and execute the external communications strategy covering corporate PR, media relations, leadership profiling, thought leadership, reputation management, crisis communications, corporate announcements and stakeholder engagement.

As a listed healthcare organisation, the role will ensure that all external communications are aligned with the organisation's business strategy, brand positioning, disclosure requirements, governance standards and regulatory framework, while maintaining a strong and credible corporate reputation.

Key Responsibilities

1. External Communications Strategy

• Develop and execute the annual external communications strategy aligned with the organisation's business and corporate objectives.
• Build the organisation's reputation across healthcare, business, financial and mainstream media.
• Develop communication narratives around business growth, clinical excellence, healthcare innovation, patient outcomes, technology, expansion and community impact.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen the organisation's share of voice and reputation across relevant stakeholder groups.
• Develop annual PR plans, communication calendars, campaigns and strategic communication programmes.
• Establish clear measurement frameworks for PR and reputation outcomes.

2. Corporate PR & Media Relations

• Lead the organisation's corporate media relations strategy.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with national, regional, business, financial, healthcare and trade media.
• Drive proactive media engagement through:
• Press releases
• Media briefings
• Interviews
• Press conferences
• Roundtables
• Background briefings
• Expert commentary
• Editorial opportunities
• Identify relevant news opportunities across hospitals, business units and corporate functions.
• Ensure consistent messaging across corporate and hospital-level PR.
• Manage the PR agency ecosystem and ensure quality, effectiveness and ROI.

3. CEO & Leadership Profiling

• Develop and execute the external profile strategy for the MD, CEO and senior leadership team.
• Build differentiated positioning for leadership across business, healthcare, policy and industry platforms.
• Develop opportunities for:
• Media interviews
• Opinion articles
• Podcasts
• Industry conferences
• Keynote speeches
• Panel discussions
• Awards and recognitions
• Business and healthcare forums
• Develop leadership messaging, talking points, interview briefs and Q&A documents.
• Ensure leadership visibility supports the organisation's strategic priorities and corporate reputation.

4. Thought Leadership

• Establish the organisation and its clinical/business leaders as credible voices in healthcare.
• Develop thought-leadership platforms around areas such as:
• Healthcare transformation
• Patient-centric care
• Medical innovation
• Digital health & AI
• Preventive healthcare
• Clinical excellence
• Healthcare accessibility
• Sustainability
• Future of healthcare
• Drive opinion pieces, white papers, reports, interviews, podcasts and expert commentary.
• Identify proprietary data, insights and stories that can strengthen the organisation's thought leadership.

5. Listed Company Communications

• Work closely with Investor Relations, Finance, Legal, Compliance and senior leadership to ensure communication consistency.
• Support communication around corporate developments while adhering to applicable stock-exchange and regulatory disclosure requirements.
• Ensure external communication does not inadvertently disclose material, unpublished or price-sensitive information.
• Develop communication frameworks for major corporate announcements, including:
• Business milestones
• Expansion
• Acquisitions / mergers
• Strategic partnerships
• Leadership changes
• Major investments
• New facilities
• Significant clinical/business milestones
• Ensure appropriate alignment between investor communication, media communication and broader corporate messaging.

Note: The role should work closely with Investor Relations and Compliance; ownership of statutory disclosures should remain with the appropriate authorised function.

6. Crisis & Reputation Management

• Develop and maintain the organisation's external crisis communication framework.
• Identify potential reputational risks and prepare communication playbooks and holding statements.
• Lead external communication during:
• Patient-related incidents
• Operational disruptions
• Regulatory matters
• Litigation-related issues
• Cyber/security incidents
• Media controversies
• Social media escalations
• Business disruptions
• Establish crisis communication protocols, spokesperson structures and escalation mechanisms.
• Coordinate with Legal, Compliance, HR, Operations and leadership during critical situations.
• Conduct periodic crisis simulations and preparedness exercises.

7. Healthcare & Clinical Communications

• Build strong external visibility for clinical excellence and medical expertise.
• Identify compelling clinical stories while ensuring patient privacy, consent and ethical communication standards.
• Promote achievements such as:
• Complex procedures
• Clinical innovations
• Centres of excellence
• Medical breakthroughs
• Research and publications
• Patient success stories
• Healthcare technology
• Medical education initiatives
• Develop communication frameworks for doctors and clinical leaders engaging with the media.

8. Hospital & Regional PR

• Establish a consistent corporate PR framework across hospitals and geographies.
• Guide hospital communication teams/agencies on media engagement and reputation management.
• Create mechanisms for identifying local news and clinical stories that can be elevated to national platforms.
• Ensure hospital-level communication remains aligned with the corporate brand and positioning.
• Develop guidelines for local spokespersons and hospital leadership.

9. Digital & Social Reputation

• Partner with Digital, Brand and Social Media teams to ensure consistency between earned, owned and paid communication.
• Monitor online conversations and emerging reputational risks.
• Identify opportunities for corporate storytelling across digital platforms.
• Support social media communication during major corporate announcements and reputation-sensitive situations.
• Ensure rapid escalation of potentially high-risk conversations.

10. Awards & Industry Recognition

• Develop and manage the organisation's external awards and recognition strategy.
• Identify relevant national and international awards across healthcare, business, leadership, innovation, ESG and employer brand.
• Develop strong nominations and supporting narratives.
• Manage the awards calendar and ensure quality submissions.
• Leverage credible awards and recognitions for reputation building.

11. Agency & Budget Management

• Lead external PR/communications agencies and specialist partners.
• Define agency mandates, KPIs and deliverables.
• Review agency performance and effectiveness.
• Manage annual external communications budgets.
• Ensure optimal allocation of resources across corporate PR, leadership profiling, campaigns and reputation programmes.
• Negotiate and manage agency contracts and commercials.