Director, Media Relations

TuftsMedicine; United States; On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Tufts Medicine in the United States is seeking a seasoned media relations leader reporting to the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer. You will develop and execute strategies to elevate visibility, protect reputation, and coordinate communications across hospitals, physicians, services, research, and leadership.

This role acts as chief strategist for institutional and crisis communications, partners with executive leadership and legal, and guides SME preparation and media training for

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications, Journalism, Public Relations, or related field.
• Eight (8) years in media relations/public relations/corporate communications, with at least five (5) years in healthcare.
• Experience as organizational spokesperson and managing proactive/reactive media relations.
• Crisis communications leadership, playbook development, and experience as PIO.
• Experience leading high-performing communications teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing Media Relations team with clear performance goals.
• Direct daily Media Relations operations: budget, staffing, resource allocation, vendor management.
• Build internal and external relationships to maximize media impact with journalists, editors, producers, and influencers.
• Develop and execute data-informed media strategies to elevate Tufts Medicine’s visibility across levels.
• Serve as chief media relations strategist and primary spokesperson; manage enterprise spokesperson roster.
• Design and deliver media training programs for executives and designated spokespeople.

Skills

Media relations

Public relations

Crisis communications

Leadership / team management

Spokesperson/public information

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree (preferred)

Tools

AI-powered content platforms (WRITER, ChatGPT, Copilot)

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 Description

Minimum Qualifications

• 1. Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Journalism, Public Relations, or a related field.
• 2. 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.
• 3. Experience serving as an organizational spokesperson and managing both proactive and reactive media relations at a senior level.
• 4. 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.
• 5. Experience leading and managing high-performing communications teams, including direct people management, coaching, mentoring, and performance development of professional staff.

Preferred Qualifications

• 1. Master's degree in Marketing, Communications, Journalism, Business Administration (MBA), or a related field.
• 2. Experience as a working journalist, reporter, or newsroom professional.
• 3. 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.
• 4. Experience successfully building or scaling a media relations program or department.
• 5. Experience in healthcare including academic hospitals, health systems, medical schools or life sciences.
• 6. 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.
• 7. Experience serving as a public information officer (PIO) or in an emergency management / incident command structure.
• 8. Experience with academic medical center communications, including peer-reviewed journal embargo management, clinical trial communications, and research promotion.
• 9. 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

Duties and Responsibilities: The duties and responsibilities listed below are intended to describe the general nature of work and are not intended to be an all-inclusive list. Other duties and responsibilities may be assigned.

• 1. 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.
• 2. Directs the daily operations of the Media Relations team including budget, staffing, resource allocation, and vendor and agency management.
• 3. 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.
• 4. 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.
• 5. 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.
• 6. Designs and delivers ongoing media training programs for executives, physicians, clinicians, and other designated spokespeople, including interview preparation, message development, on-camera coaching, mock int