Director, Media Relations

Tufts Medicine; Burlington (MA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

Tufts Medicine seeks a seasoned Chief Media Relations Officer to lead strategic media relations and communications for the health system, overseeing crisis communications and serving as the primary spokesperson 24/7.

You will collaborate with executive leadership, legal, risk, patient safety, and the Tufts University School of Medicine communications team to ensure accurate, unified messaging across care, research, and education.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Journalism, Public Relations, or related field.
• Eight (8) years of progressively responsible experience in media relations, PR, or corporate communications, with at least five (5) years in healthcare.
• Experience serving as an organizational spokesperson with proactive and reactive media relations at a senior level.
• Experience leading crisis communications and issues management, including playbooks and rapid-response messaging.
• Experience leading and managing high-performing communications teams with people management.

Responsibilities

• Leads, mentors, and develops a high-performing Media Relations team with clear performance goals.
• Directs daily operations of the Media Relations team, including budget, staffing, and vendor management.
• Builds relationships with local, regional, and national journalists, editors, and influencers to maximize impact.
• Develops and executes data-informed media relations strategies for visibility across the enterprise.
• Serves as chief media relations strategist and primary spokesperson for institutional and crisis communications, establishing a spokespeople roster.
• Designs and delivers ongoing media training for executives and clinicians, including crisis scenarios.
• Counsels senior leaders on media engagement and messaging strategies.
• Collaborates with content, digital, and internal comms teams to launch major initiatives and announcements.
• Leads executive visibility programs through op-eds, expert placements, and national rankings initiatives.
• Ensures communications adhere to brand standards and maintain reputational integrity.
• Maintains crisis communications playbooks, holding statements, and escalation procedures; conducts drills and post-incident reviews.
• Oversees media monitoring, sentiment analysis, and performance metrics to demonstrate ROI.
• Coordinates with Government Relations and Public Affairs for policy-related communications.
• Supports community benefit and health improvement program communications.

Skills

Media relations

Crisis communications

Strategic leadership

Spokesperson experience

Team leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Marketing/Communications/PR

Master's degree in Marketing/Communications/Business (MBA)

Job description

Job Overview

Reporting to the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, this position leads strategic media relations and communications for Tufts Medicine, the primary health system of Tufts University School of Medicine. This role develops and executes media relations strategies that elevate the visibility and protects the reputation of the health system across its hospitals, physicians, services, research enterprise, and leadership at national, regional, and hyperlocal levels. This position serves as the system's chief media relations strategist and primary spokesperson leading issues management and crisis communications on a 24/7 basis. This 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. This role requires a seasoned communications leader who combines strategic vision with media savvy, crisis management expertise, and deep knowledge of the academic health system landscape.

Job Overview

Reporting to the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, this position leads strategic media relations and communications for Tufts Medicine, the primary health system of Tufts University School of Medicine. This role develops and executes media relations strategies that elevate the visibility and protects the reputation of the health system across its hospitals, physicians, services, research enterprise, and leadership at national, regional, and hyperlocal levels. This position serves as the system's chief media relations strategist and primary spokesperson leading issues management and crisis communications on a 24/7 basis. This 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. This role requires a seasoned communications leader who combines strategic vision with media savvy, crisis management expertise, and deep knowledge of the academic health system landscape.

Job Description

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Journalism, Public Relations, or a related field.
• Eight (8) years of progressively responsible experience in media relations, public relations, or corporate communications, with at least five (5) years in a healthcare, academic health system, or hospital environment.
• Experience serving as an organizational spokesperson and managing both 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 public information officer during emergencies or reputational events.
• Experience leading and managing high-performing communications teams, including direct people management, coaching, mentoring, and performance development of professional staff.

Preferred Qualifications

• 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, with familiarity navigating the interplay between clinical, research, and education missions.
• Experience successfully building or scaling a media relations program or department.
• Experience in healthcare including academic hospitals, health systems, medical schools or life sciences.
• Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) or certification from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), or equivalent professional body.
• Experience serving as a public information officer (PIO) or in an emergency management / 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 (e.g., WRITER, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot) for content creation, media monitoring, and workflow automation.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Leads, mentors, and develops a high-performing Media Relations team, establishing clear performance expectations, goals, and professional development plans that align with the system's communications strategy.
• Directs the daily operations of the Media Relations team including budget, staffing, resource allocation, and vendor and agency management.
• Builds and manages internal and external relationships to maximize media relations impact, cultivating strong, trust-based relationships with local, regional, and national journalists, editors, producers, and influencers.
• Develops and executes comprehensive, data-informed media relations strategies that elevate the visibility of Tufts Medicine and its hospitals, physicians, services, research, and leadership at national, regional, and hyperlocal levels.
• Serves as the system's chief media relations strategist and primary spokesperson for institutional, system-wide, and crisis communications, while establishing and managing the enterprise spokesperson hierarchy — identifying, designating, preparing, and coaching subject matter experts (SMEs), clinical chiefs, and executives to serve as spokespeople for their areas of expertise, and maintaining a roster of approved spokespeople by topic and service line.
• Designs and delivers ongoing media training programs for executives, physicians, clinicians, and other designated spokespeople, including interview preparation, message development, on-camera coaching, mock interviews, and crisis scenario preparation, ensuring the organization has a deep bench of confident, prepared spokespeople across all service lines and campuses.
• Counsels senior leaders, executives, and clinical leaders on media engagement, message development, interview preparation, and the strategic implications of media interactions.
• Collaborates with system-wide content, digital, and internal communications teams to successfully launch major initiatives, campaigns, and announcements for the enterprise.
• Collaborates with system and service line leaders to develop national, regional, and hyperlocal strategic communications plans based on research, data, and market intelligence.
• Leads a structured executive visibility and thought-leadership program that positions Tufts Medicine leaders, physicians, and clinicians as recognized authorities in their fields through a deliberate calendar of op-eds and bylined articles, expert-source media placements, speaking platforms, industry awards submissions, and national ranking and reputation survey engagement (e.g., U.S. News, Forbes, Becker's).
• Highlights the health system's commitment to education and research, working closely with the Tufts University School of Medicine communications team to publicize key scientific discoveries, clinical trials, and education programs as well as developing amplification strategies for published research findings.
• Ensures all media relations activities, materials, and messaging adhere to Tufts Medicine brand standards, including brand voice, visual identity, messaging frameworks, and approved talking points, and serve as a brand steward in all external communications.
• Leads the health system's crisis communications and issues management function on a 24/7 basis, serving as the primary point of contact for breaking news, patient safety events, clinical incidents, and reputational threats, and maintaining round-the-clock readiness to coordinate rapid-response messaging across all channels in collaboration with executive leadership, legal, risk management, and patient safety teams.
• Develops and maintains comprehensive, living crisis communications plans, playbooks, holding statements, media protocols, and escalation procedures — reviewing and updating them on a regular cadence to reflect organizational changes, new clinical programs, regulatory developments, and lessons learned from prior incidents.
• Designs and conducts regular crisis communications tabletop exercises, simulations, and scenario drills with executive leadership, clinical leaders, and the communications team to test readiness, validate protocols, and build organizational muscle memory for crisis response; lead post-incident reviews to refine playbooks and improve future response.
• Leads proactive issues management and reputation risk monitoring, using real-time media intelligence and social listening to identify emerging risks, conduct issue triage, and advise leadership on communication strategies to mitigate reputational impact before situations escalates.
• Navigates HIPAA, patient privacy, and consent requirements in all media relations activities, including reviewing and approving media requests involving patient stories, coordinating patient consent and authorization forms, ensuring compliance with state and federal privacy regulations in all external communications, and partnering with legal and privacy officers on complex cases.
• Oversees the system's media monitoring and listening program to track coverage across earned, shared, and owned media in real time, identify breaking stories and emerging issues, monitor competitor and peer coverage, and measure the impact of media relations efforts.
• Tracks, analyzes, and reports media relations performance metrics to the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer and senior leadership on a regular cadence, including share of voice, media sentiment, coverage volume and quality, message pull-through, spokesperson placements, and reputation indicators, using data to refine strategies and demonstrate the ROI of media relations investments.
• Builds and protects the system's public reputation through consistent messaging, storytelling, and campaigns nationally, regionally, and locally.
• Maintains production schedules and ensure timely, high-quality delivery of all media relations projects, press releases, media advisories, and related materials.
• Serves as the communications interface with the Government Relations and Public Affairs team, aligning media and external communications strategies with the system's legislative, regulatory, and community advocacy priorities, supporting communications around policy initiatives, legislative testimony, and regulatory matters, and coordinating joint messaging on issues of shared interest.
• Supports communications for the system's community benefit and community health improvement programs,