Public Relations and Policy Communications Lead

American College of Surgeons; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 135,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Vacation, personal, and holidays

Tuition reimbursement

Medical insurance

Dental, Vision, and Prescription

403(b) Matching

Pension plan

Flexible Spending Accounts

Employee Assistance Program

Disability insurance

Life Insurance

Domestic Partner Coverage

Job summary

The American College of Surgeons seeks a Public Relations and Policy Communications Lead to drive a modern media strategy and externally facing leadership.

You will craft messages about ACS membership and programs, shaping narratives for reporters, policymakers, hospitals, payors, and patients, while mentoring a small team to broaden reach and impact.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• 8+ years of progressive PR/media relations experience in a high-visibility organization.
• Demonstrated experience covering or pitching health policy and federal issues.
• People leadership experience required.
• Healthcare and policy experience required.
• Active, current relationships with reporters across health and policy media.
• Track record of developing creative, culturally connected pitch angles.
• Deep fluency in today's media landscape including digital-native outlets.

Responsibilities

• Design and lead a modern media relations strategy across traditional, digital, and activist outlets.
• Craft messages articulating the value of ACS membership, Quality Programs, and educational offerings.
• Develop compelling narratives for journalists, policymakers, hospitals, payors, and patients.
• Identify new pitch angles tied to current events and trends in healthcare.
• Partner with Advocacy & Health Policy to secure coverage of federal priorities.
• Maintain a strong network of reporters and editors across relevant media.
• Use earned media to strengthen ACS branding, trust, and public understanding.
• Prepare ACS leadership and experts for media interviews across formats.
• Lead a high-performing PR team and measure impact with media metrics.

Skills

Public relations

Media relations

Health policy

Leadership

Storytelling

Written communication

Executive presence

Policy communications

Education

Bachelor's degree

Advanced degree (plus)

Job description

About the American College of Surgeons

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is a professional and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and improve the quality of care for surgical patients. The College is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scientific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for all surgical patients. The College has more than 95,000 members and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world. For more information, visit www.facs.org.

Our Mission

The American College of Surgeons is dedicated to improving the care of the surgical patient and safeguarding standards of care in an optimal and ethical practice environment.

Our Vision

To create a healthcare landscape where surgeons thrive and every patient has access to and benefits from the highest standards of surgical care, driven by innovation, education, leadership, and trust.

Summary

The Public Relations and Policy Communications Lead is a senior, externally facing leader responsible for building and executing a modern media strategy that reflects today's shifting media ecosystem. This role will ensure ACS news reaches reporters, influencers, and audiences where they consume information. This individual is a sophisticated consumer of media, culture, and content themselves, with the instincts to spot emerging trends and continuously generate fresh pitch angles that connect the work of the ACS to what's happening in the broader conversation. This role is responsible for crafting the messages and narratives that articulate the value of ACS membership and the College's programs to the media and, through the media, to surgeons, policymakers, hospitals, health systems, payors and the public. This individual will partner with the VP, Strategic Marketing and Communications to build broad awareness, strengthen the ACS's reputation, and increase trust in its work. The Public Relations and Policy Communications Lead will also partner with the team to craft strategies that drive coverage of the ACS's work among public audiences. A critical component of the role is media relations in support of ACS's health policy and advocacy agenda. This role must understand the federal policy landscape and know how to translate the College's advocacy work into stories that earn coverage and build visibility for ACS's positions in Washington and beyond. Established relationships with reporters, across health, policy, and general-interest media, are essential to success in this role. This exempt position reports to the VP, Strategic Marketing and Communications in the division of Strategic Marketing and Communications and manages three direct reports: Senior Public Relations Specialist, Public Relations Specialist and Media Intelligence Analyst. The anticipated salary range for this position is $135,000-$160,000 (commensurate with related experience).

Major Responsibilities:

Modern Media Strategy

• Design and lead a media relations strategy built for today's fragmented, fast-moving media environment, spanning traditional press, trade and specialty media, digital-native outlets, podcasts, newsletters, and influential voices in health and policy conversations.

Narrative & Message Development

• Craft compelling messages and narratives that clearly articulate the value of ACS membership, Quality Programs, educational offerings, and beyond, translating clinical, organizational and policy priorities into stories that resonate with journalists and, through them, to surgeons, policymakers, hospitals, healthcare systems, payors, industry partners and patients.

Proactive Pitching & Trend Connection

• Continuously identify and develop new pitch angles that connect ACS's work to current events, cultural moments, and emerging trends in healthcare and beyond.
• Seek opportunities to keep the College part of relevant conversations.

Health Policy & Advocacy Media Relations

• Partner closely with the Division of Advocacy & Health Policy to build awareness of ACS's federal policy priorities and advocacy activities, with a working understanding of the federal policy landscape and the press that covers it, to secure meaningful coverage of ACS's positions and impact.
• Develop and successfully implement effective issues-focused media strategies.

Media Relationships

• Maintain and continually expand a strong personal network of reporters, editors, and producers across health, policy, and general media, serving as ACS's primary point of contact and trusted source for the press.
• Continuously monitor how the press is covering topics that are relevant to the ACS. Identify opportunities to cultivate relationships based on this monitoring.

Reputation & Trust Building

• Use earned media strategically to strengthen the ACS brand, build public and stakeholder trust in ACS's Quality and educational programs.
• Position the College as the leading voice in surgery and advocacy issues that are important to the surgical profession.
• Identify opportunities to ensure the ACS is the primary resource for patients and caregivers seeking information and guidance on surgical issues.

Issues & Crisis Media Management

• Serve as a senior counselor and spokesperson resource during high-visibility or sensitive issues, providing sound judgment on media strategy and messaging under pressure.

Spokesperson Development

• Prepare ACS leadership, physician spokespeople, and subject matter experts for media interviews, ensuring message discipline and confidence across a range of formats (print, broadcast, podcast, digital).

Team Leadership

• Build and develop a public relations team capable of operating at the sophistication this strategy requires, raising the caliber of media strategy and execution across the function.

Measurement

• Define and track meaningful media metrics (e.g., share of voice, message penetration, sentiment, reach into target audiences) to demonstrate the impact of earned media on awareness, reputation, and trust.

Required Education and/or Experience:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution is required. Advanced degree in journalism, communications, or a related field a plus.
• 8+ years of progressive public relations/media relations experience, with significant experience earning coverage in a complex, high-visibility organization is required.
• Demonstrated experience covering or pitching health policy and federal legislative/regulatory issues, with genuine understanding of how Washington and the policy press operate.
• People leadership experience required.
• Healthcare and policy experience required.
• Active, current relationships with reporters and editors across health, health policy, and general-interest media.
• A track record of developing creative, culturally connected pitch angles that have earned meaningful coverage.
• Deep fluency in today's media landscape, including digital-native outlets, podcasts, newsletters, and non-traditional platforms where influential health and policy conversations increasingly happen.
• Ability to understand media, culture, and current events, and translates that fluency into timely, relevant pitch ideas.
• Experience preparing and coaching executive or physician spokespeople for media engagements.
• Strong writing and storytelling ability, with experience translating technical or clinical material into accessible, compelling narratives.
• Ability to distill complex organizational and clinical priorities into clear, resonant stories that serve both member value and public trust.
• Adept at understanding the federal policy process and identifying what's newsworthy, timing pitches to the policy cycle.
• Partners effectively with advocacy and policy experts to turn substantive policy work into visible, well-covered stories.
• Balances scientific/clinical accuracy with narrative appeal.
• Possesses strong executive presence; credible with senior leadership, physicians, and media alike.
• Excellent writer and communicator across formats.

Comprehensive Benefits

We're committed to attracting and retaining top talent via valuable benefits!

• Vacation, personal, and sick hours including 13 paid holidays per year
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Medical - comprehensive coverage through BlueCross BlueShield
• Dental, Vision, and Prescription drug program
• 403(b) Matching Program
• Pension Plan
• Flexible Spending Medical/Dependent Care
• Employee Assistance Program
• Short Term/Long Term Disability
• Life Insurance
• Domestic Partner Coverage

The American College of Surgeons is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please send an e-mail to [e-mail] or call [phone] and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.

For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.