Senior Manager, Earned Media and Public Relations

Riverside Health; Newport News (VA); On-site; USD 96,000 - 133,000; Full time

Job summary

Riverside Health System seeks a Senior Manager, Earned Media & Public Relations to lead the health system's external communications. You will shape enterprise earned media, executive thought leadership, and reputation management, guiding the in-house team and coordinating with content and marketing partners.

This role requires strategic vision, media relations expertise, and the ability to manage high-profile projects within a complex healthcare environment.

Qualifications

• 5-6 years of public relations experience in healthcare communications.
• Proven success leading proactive earned media strategies.
• Experience counseling senior executives and organizational leaders.
• Strong media relations, storytelling and crisis management capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead Riverside's earned media strategy.
• Establish annual goals, campaigns, and success metrics.
• Identify proactive storytelling opportunities with key stakeholders.
• Secure high-value earned media opportunities and crisis communications support.
• Oversee and develop the in-house PR function and staff.

Skills

Executive counseling

Crisis management

Media relations

Storytelling

Leadership

Strategic planning

Education

Bachelor's degree in Communications/PR

Job description

Hiring Range

$96,400.00 - $132,550.00/Annual Actual pay is determined based on job-related factors such as relevant experience, education, credentials, skills, internal equity, and business needs.

Newport News, Virginia

Hiring Range

$96,400.00 - $132,550.00/Annual Actual pay is determined based on job-related factors such as relevant experience, education, credentials, skills, internal equity, and business needs.

Overview

The Senior Manager, Earned Media & Public Relations serves as Riverside's senior public relations strategist, responsible for leading the health system's earned media, executive thought leadership, institutional reputation, issues management and Public Information Officer (PIO) program. Reporting to the System Director, Brand & Integrated Communications, this role develops enterprise public relations strategies that advance Riverside's visibility, credibility and influence among key stakeholders. The Senior Manager oversees the day-to-day media relations function through direct management of the Manager, Media Relations & Communications while personally leading national and trade media strategy, executive thought leadership initiatives, organizational reputation efforts and high-impact earned media opportunities. This role serves as a trusted advisor to executive leadership and is responsible for building, maturing and advancing Riverside's in-house public relations function.

What You Will Do

• Enterprise Earned Media Strategy-
• Develop and lead Riverside's enterprise earned media strategy in support of organizational priorities, strategic growth initiatives and brand objectives.
• Establish annual earned media goals, priorities, campaigns and success metrics.
• Identify proactive storytelling opportunities that strengthen awareness, credibility and trust among key stakeholder audiences.
• Serve as the organization's senior advisor regarding earned media strategy and opportunities.
• Lead the evolution and continued maturity of Riverside's in-house public relations function, including processes, workflows, governance and best practices.
• National, Trade and Strategic Media Relations-
• Develop and maintain relationships with national, regional and healthcare trade media.
• Lead proactive outreach efforts to secure high-value earned media opportunities that position Riverside as a leader in healthcare innovation, quality, workforce development, patient experience and community health.
• Direct media strategy for enterprise announcements, strategic initiatives and high-profile organizational priorities.
• Identify opportunities for thought leadership placement, feature stories, bylined articles and executive interviews.
• Provide strategic oversight and guidance to local and regional media relations efforts managed by the Manager, Media Relations & Communications.
• Personally lead media engagement activities when complexity, visibility, organizational risk or strategic importance warrant elevated involvement.
• Executive Thought Leadership & Influence Strategy-
• Develop and manage Riverside's executive and physician thought leadership program.
• Create and maintain annual visibility plans for executives, physicians and key subject matter experts.
• Identify and secure opportunities for speaking engagements, industry recognition, award submissions, media interviews, bylined articles and conference participation.
• Partner with communications, content, social media and marketing teams to amplify thought leadership initiatives.
• Position Riverside leaders as trusted voices within healthcare and the communities Riverside serves.
• Maintain an enterprise roadmap of thought leadership opportunities and executive engagement activities.
• Institutional Reputation & Public Perception Management (10%)
• Lead strategies that strengthen Riverside's organizational reputation among media, community leaders, industry influencers, healthcare partners, policymakers and other key stakeholders.
• Monitor emerging issues, trends and reputational risks that may impact organizational perception.
• Develop proactive communication strategies that reinforce trust, credibility and stakeholder confidence.
• Analyze media narratives, message pull-through and competitive visibility to identify opportunities and potential risks.
• Help shape healthcare conversations and strengthen Riverside's influence within the markets it serves.
• Crisis Communications, PIO Leadership & Issues Management -
• Serve as Riverside Health System's lead Public Information Officer (PIO) and oversee the organization's PIO program.
• Lead PIO preparedness, training, activation processes and ongoing program development.
• Support and coordinate designated PIOs across the health system to ensure consistent messaging and response protocols.
• Partner with the System Director to execute crisis communications strategies during incidents, emergencies and high-profile issues.
• Coordinate media relations and external communications activities during crisis and incident response efforts.
• Develop crisis communications plans, messaging frameworks, response protocols and spokesperson preparation materials.
• Monitor emerging issues and provide communications recommendations to leadership.
• Measurement & Performance Reporting-
• Establish and oversee Riverside's earned media measurement framework.
• Monitor and report on media coverage, executive visibility, share of voice, message pull-through and reputational trends.
• Develop executive-level reports that demonstrate communications impact and organizational value.
• Evaluate campaign effectiveness and optimize strategies based on performance insights.
• Leadership & Team Development -
• Lead, coach and develop the Manager, Media Relations & Communications.
• Establish departmental goals, priorities and performance expectations.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, innovation and continuous improvement.
• Ensure efficient allocation of resources and execution of earned media initiatives.
• Build capabilities that strengthen Riverside's long-term public relations and media relations function.
• Stays informed as a subject matter expert (SME) about emerging trends in digital and traditional advertising.
• Participates in strategic discussions to identify innovative approaches for meeting evolving business needs.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelors Degree, Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, Marketing or related field. (Required)

Experience

• 5-6 years 5-6 years of progressively responsible experience in public relations, media relations, corporate communications or healthcare communications. (Required)
• Demonstrated success leading proactive earned media strategies and securing media coverage (Required)

Skills And Abilities

• Experience counseling senior executives and organizational leaders
• Experience managing complex communication issues and crisis situations
• Strong media relations, storytelling and relationship-building skills
• Experience supervising and developing communications professionals

To learn more about being a team member with Riverside Health System visit us at https://www.riversideonline.com/careers.