Chief Communication-Marketing Officer

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center; Columbus (OH); On-site; USD 140,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus seeks a strategic leader to shape brand, communications, and enterprise storytelling across the health system. You will drive a data-informed, omnichannel marketing roadmap aligned with Impact 2035, collaborating with university leadership to enhance visibility and reputation.

The role requires 15+ years of healthcare or academic communications leadership, strong financial and people management skills, and the ability to translate

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; master's preferred.
• 15+ years of progressively responsible communications and marketing leadership in large, complex organizations; healthcare/academic experience preferred.
• Strong understanding of contemporary practices in complex organizations, ideally in academic health sciences or healthcare systems.
• Excellent financial, operational, and people management capabilities with data-informed decision making.
• Ability to align enterprise strategy with communications and marketing and translate priorities into executable plans.
• Experience leading transformational initiatives across a complex organization.
• Sophisticated understanding of healthcare industry trends, regulations, technology, and evolving consumer expectations.

Responsibilities

• Lead brand strategy, enterprise storytelling, and executive communications across the medical center.
• Develop and activate communications and marketing strategies aligned with the university's goals.
• Oversee budgeting, vendor management, and measurement of ROI across paid, earned, shared, and owned media.
• Partner with university marketing leadership and Advancement to align messaging and donor engagement.
• Lead internal communications and culture initiatives across a matrixed organization.
• Direct media relations and external visibility to strengthen reputation and rankings.

Skills

Leadership

Marketing leadership

Communications strategy

Strategic planning

Stakeholder management

Data-informed decisions

Financial acumen

People management

Change management

Crisis communications

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Job description

100% Brand Strategy & Differentiation

• Shape and execute a comprehensive marketing and communications strategy aligned with the Medical Center's Impact 2035 strategic plan to position OSUWMC as the health system of choice for Central Ohio, the premier academic medical center in the state of Ohio, and one of the top academic medical centers nationally.
• Create and implement an enterprise narrative and brand strategy that clearly differentiates OSUWMC from other health systems and academic medical centers.
• Establish and steward OSUWMC's brand strategy, including brand architecture for co- and sub-brands, enterprise brand standards, communications, and experience, fully aligned with the university's standards and governance.
• Elevate internal and external understanding of OSUWMC's tripartite mission and its people, programs, and services.
• Develop clear, compelling messaging tailored to diverse audiences, including faculty and staff, patients and families, students and learners, alumni and donors, and the communities they serve.

Strategic Growth, Consumer Engagement, & Digital Enablement

• Translate enterprise strategy into a dynamic, consumer-focused, comprehensive marketing and communications roadmap that supports enterprise growth.
• Elevate brand value and drive consumer engagement through a modern, data-informed, and digitally enabled approach that delivers measurable outcomes.
• Lead a modern, multi-platform digital strategy that leverages social media and integrated omnichannel storytelling to enhance OSUWMC's visibility and reputation at the local, regional, national, and global levels.
• Advance technology-driven innovation and personalization, embedding the consumer voice into marketing, communications, and experience strategies.
• Leverage audience insights, customer feedback, and data across stakeholder groups to inform engagement strategies and translate insights into actionable plans for service improvement.
• Working closely with key stakeholders, develop and activate targeted strategic marketing plans that support growth and enterprise objectives and ensure aligned messaging across service lines and partnerships.

Media Relations & External Visibility

• Direct the development and execution of local, state, national, and international media relations strategies and tactics.
• Strengthen OSUWMC's reputation and performance in external rankings and assessments, including U.S. News & World Report, Leapfrog, Doximity, and other credible industry benchmarks.

Executive Communications & Thought Leadership

• Design and implement executive communications strategies for internal and external channels that position the expertise and leadership of the CEO of OSUWMC, the CEO of the James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, the Dean of the College of Medicine, and other members of the senior executive team.
• Provide proactive counsel and strategic direction to medical center leadership on key issues, trends, and emerging dynamics in higher education, academic medicine, health care, and communications to ensure continued competitiveness and relevance.

Internal Communications, Culture, & Enterprise Alignment

• Oversee and drive modernized internal communications and employee engagement strategies that reinforce organizational values, support a strong culture, and foster alignment across a highly matrixed enterprise, particularly during periods of change.
• Build and strengthen collaborative, trusting relationships spanning clinical, academic, and operational environments to enable successful execution of university and Wexner Medical Center goals and strategic priorities.

Leadership, Operations, & Financial Stewardship

• Lead by example and embody the university's and medical center's mission, vision, and values.
• Build, inspire, and manage a high-performing communications and marketing organization grounded in collaboration, accountability, and ownership.
• Partner closely with university marketing and communications leadership to ensure coordination and alignment across brand strategy, internal communications, and crisis communications.
• Partner with Advancement leadership to strengthen the culture of philanthropy and align storytelling and engagement strategies with donor and community audiences.
• Oversee budgeting, financial planning, and expense management to optimize operations and maximize return on investment across paid, earned, shared, and owned media.
• Manage all external agencies and vendors to ensure performance, accountability, and results, using analytics and growth metrics to demonstrate impact.

REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor's degree required; master's and/or other postsecondary degrees preferred.
• At least 15 years of progressively responsible communications and marketing leadership experience in large, complex, and highly matrixed organizations; experience in health care and/or academic environments strongly preferred.
• Comprehensive understanding of contemporary and emerging communications and marketing practices within complex organizations, ideally within academic health sciences or health care systems.
• Strong financial, operational, and people management capabilities, with demonstrated ability to make effective, timely, and data-informed decisions.
• Proven ability to align enterprise strategy with communications and marketing strategy and to translate strategic priorities into executable plans that drive measurable outcomes.
• Demonstrated success leading transformational initiatives by aligning teams, processes, and resources across a complex organization.
• Sophisticated understanding of the factors that shape competitive positioning in dynamic environments, including health care industry trends, regulatory considerations, technological innovation, and evolving consumer expectations.

Thank you for your interest in working at Ohio State.

The university is an equal opportunity employer, including veterans and disability.

Final candidates are subject to successful completion of a background check. A drug screen or physical may be required during the post offer process.