Director, Strategic Public Relations & Communications

Catholic Health; Melville (NY); On-site; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Benefits package

Tuition assistance

Defined benefit pension plan

Job summary

Catholic Health is seeking a Director of Public Relations, Media & Communications to shape and protect the reputation of St. Catherines and St. Charles Hospital across earned media, social channels, and internal communications.

You will lead storytelling about patient experiences and clinical excellence, coordinate with Corporate Communications, and guide a team to align messaging with system priorities while ensuring HIPAA compliance and brand integrity.

Qualifications

• 8-10+ years of progressive experience in public relations, media relations, or communications.
• Healthcare or hospital experience strongly preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations, Communications, Journalism, Marketing, or related field (Master’s preferred).

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary media contact for St. Catherines and St. Charles Hospital.
• Develop and execute media strategies that enhance visibility, credibility, and trust.
• Monitor media coverage and coordinate responses with Corporate Communications.
• Escalate sensitive or high-risk issues and support crisis communications efforts.
• Partner with local community relations colleague to promote campus and community events.
• Identify, develop, and promote patient and physician stories that reflect the mission and impact of both hospitals.
• Oversee content creation for press releases, feature stories, blogs, and digital channels.
• Direct the social media strategy with the corporate digital marketing team.
• Support internal presidents with strategic internal communications.
• Ensure content is HIPAA-compliant and aligned with brand standards.
• Track PR metrics and provide regular reports to leadership.

Skills

Storytelling

Media relations

Crisis comms

Internal comms

Social media

Stakeholder influence

HIPAA awareness

Healthcare issues

Clear messaging

Organizational alignment

Project management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations, Communications, Journalism, Marketing, or related field

Job description

Catholic Health is seeking a Director of Public Relations, Media & Communications to shape and protect the reputation of St. Catherines and St. Charles Hospital across earned media, social channels, and internal communications.

You will lead storytelling about patient experiences and clinical excellence, coordinate with Corporate Communications, and guide a team to align messaging with system priorities while ensuring HIPAA compliance and brand integrity.