Description

The Minnesota Hospital Association’s (MHA) mission is to advance the health of individuals and communities through leadership, advocacy, and collaboration on behalf of Minnesota hospitals and health systems. Since 1917, MHA has worked to equip Minnesota’s hospitals and health systems with leading-edge resources, best practices, and guidance to provide high-quality patient care and services to the communities they serve. MHA provides services to hospital and health system members in areas including: federal and state advocacy, continuous quality improvement and patient safety, communications, data and information services, education and professional development, finance, business partnership services, and priority issue support.

Summary

Integral to MHA's mission, vision and values, communications is a cornerstone of the association. MHA communications provides leadership and communications counsel in the areas of media relations, message development, public relations, and advocacy support on behalf of all association divisions.

The communications senior strategist is a partner with MHA’s senior leadership team, staff, and members to ensure strategic and comprehensive communications. This role interacts with key audiences, including: hospital and health system CEOs and communicators, health care community stakeholders, media, and policymakers across the state. The communications senior strategist:

Assures quality control: Achieves a standard of excellence in our work products and outcomes, including accuracy and timeliness.
Is member focused: Strives for high customer satisfaction with MHA staff, the senior leadership team, and members.
Communication: Balances listening and advice, speaks and writes clearly and accurately, provides counsel to others and keeps team members informed.
Collegiality: Is helpful, respectful, approachable and team oriented, builds strong working relationships and a positive work environment.
Initiative: Takes ownership of our work, doing what is needed without being asked, following through and being accountable.
Efficiency: Plans ahead, manages time well, sets and meets deadlines and offers better ways to do things.
Coachability: Takes feedback, adjusts, is willing to learn and embrace continuous improvement.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

Communications strategy, issue management and crisis communications

Works in partnership with the MHA senior director of communications on strategy and issue management.
Monitors media and social media for trending issues that may need an MHA response.
Anticipates potential issues that will need the engagement of MHA communications.
Prepares key messages and provides advice and counsel for MHA staff and members on key health care-related issues.
Creates and edits MHA fact sheets, advocacy alerts, and other collateral on topical issues in the media, legislative priorities, and crisis situations.

Media relations

Serves as a media liaison, coordinating media interviews, writing talking points, and preparing spokespeople. Maintains a positive relationship with statewide media and health care trade media, including pitching story ideas that support MHA as an influential health care organization.

Chief storyteller

Oversees the writing, editing, dissemination of MHA’s ongoing, regular communications including weekly e-newsletter for members (Newsline), topic-specific e-newsletters, and other content.
Drafts media materials, such as press releases, media pitches, key messages, and interview briefing documents.
Manages information-gathering and writing for MHA reports, including annual community benefit report, end-of-year report, and others.
Writes scripts and other executive communications.
Serves as the primary internal communications liaison to produce external and member communications on behalf of MHA service divisions.
Coordinates with MHA content leader to ensure key priorities are included in digital content for the MHA website, social media channels, educational videos, and other communications vehicles.
Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Impeccable writing, editing, and proofreading skills to ensure accurate and clear communication.
Mastery of AP style.
Strong interpersonal skills to ensure meaningful communication with members, especially with hospital communicators and CEOs.
Ability to adapt to constantly changing health care and political issues.
Excellent communication skills to work effectively with MHA staff, senior leadership team, media, and members.
Ability to plan for and manage long-term as well as day-to-day communications content.
Knowledge and understanding of policy issues and the role of the state and federal government in health care.
Ability to work in a dynamic and nimble environment while maintaining painstaking attention to detail and accuracy in all work products.
Demonstrated ability to write strategic communications pieces for an organization and present the information in an aesthetically pleasing format.
Effective communication and presentation skills to represent MHA to the media, MHA members, other organizations, government agencies, and the public.

Required

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

Bachelor's degree (B.A.) from four-year college or university in journalism, public relations, or communications
7-10 years of experience in communications, public affairs or public relations, including 3-5 years of experience in a health care-related setting; or equivalent combination of education, experience and/or training.

Preferred

Master’s degree (M.A.) in public policy or public health.
Experience in associations, member organizations or public relations.
Health care industry communications experience.
Video production, graphic design, and/or podcasting experience.

Pijlhove

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