Remote Communications Director for Health Advocacy

American Heart Association; Baltimore (MD); Hybrid; USD 65,000 - 88,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Retirement plan

Tuition assistance

Paid time off

Job summary

American Heart Association in Baltimore, MD is seeking a Communications Director. This home-office-based role travels across the Baltimore metro area and statewide as needed, collaborating with development and health strategy teams to craft communications and marketing deliverables that support fundraising, education, awareness campaigns, advocacy, and branding.

The position focuses on mission-related messaging and requires strong AP style writing, media relations, and stakeholder training

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in journalism, marketing, public relations, or related field, preferred.
• 3 years of experience in journalism, marketing, marketing communications, or public relations.
• Intermediate to advanced skills with Microsoft Office, including Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word.
• Ability to travel within your territory daily; requires access to reliable transportation at all times on an immediate basis.
• Experience working with groups and/or volunteers with the ability to train, lead, and guide them to achieve program goals.
• Willing to work outside normal hours, including some evenings and weekends as needed.
• Excellent written and verbal skills, and outstanding social skills with a variety of audiences, including multicultural, and via numerous marketing platforms, including writing for the web and mobile. AP style writing and local media relationships are a plus.
• Knowledge of not-for-profit healthcare organizations with a focus on medical-related issues is helpful.

Responsibilities

• Develop plans to reach the media, general public, and target audiences through traditional media outlets, social media, press releases, and other relevant materials and sources.
• Develop an integrated market-wide communications plan and timelines for market advocacy priorities, core fundraising events, for the Community Impact priorities, and for all sponsorships that include a media component.
• Sharing the markets Community Impact story via public and media relations, social media, and video creation.
• Cultivate media sources both internal and external, providing spokesperson training to volunteer leadership and staff.
• Support script writing for both internal and external speaking opportunities.
• Support market events by leading the stage presentation and prepping speakers, working with external production teams to create videos, and working with media outlets the night of events. Handle local relationships with spokespeople, marketing, and media organizations/media networks.
• Work with media and other third-party vendors to provide traditional and non-traditional media sponsorship opportunities.
• Coordinate all promotional activities with media sponsors, including PSAs, interviews with American Heart Association spokespeople, other media pitches, and more. Run market-specific social media channels.
• Share critical wellness resources, risk messaging, and communication campaigns for the public to save and change lives in the community. Using AP style writing to create press releases, pitch stories to media, draft briefs, etc.
• Champion volunteers for the organization, including cardiac and stroke survivors, physicians, philanthropists, and more.
• Monitor the use of the Association’s name and logo by internal teams and media sponsors, ensuring branding guidelines are adhered to.
• Act as the communications consultant and authority to internal teams and lead communications-related market trainings on branding, crisis communications, and message creation.

Skills

Written and verbal communication

Social skills across audiences

AP style writing

Education

Bachelor’s degree in journalism, marketing, public relations, or related field

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

American Heart Association in Baltimore, MD is seeking a Communications Director. This home-office-based role travels across the Baltimore metro area and statewide as needed, collaborating with development and health strategy teams to craft communications and marketing deliverables that support fundraising, education, awareness campaigns, advocacy, and branding.

The position focuses on mission-related messaging and requires strong AP style writing, media relations, and stakeholder training