Senior PR and Communication Manager

Vital Strategies, headquartered in New York City, is an international public health organization. Our programs strengthen public health systems and address the world’s leading causes of illness, injury and death. We currently work in 73 countries, supporting data-driven decision making in government, advancing evidence-based public health policies and mounting strategic communication campaigns. Vital Strategies’ priorities are driven by the greatest potential to improve and save lives. They include non-communicable disease prevention, cardiovascular health promotion, tobacco control, road safety, obesity prevention, epidemic prevention, environmental health, vital statistics systems building and multi-drug resistant tuberculosis treatment research. Our programs are concentrated in low- and middle-income countries and cities in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Pacific. Please visit our website at www.vitalstrategies.org to find out more about our work.

We believe our programs are strengthened when they are developed and supported by individuals with diverse life experiences, whose understanding of social and cultural issues can help make our work and workforce more inclusive. We encourage people of all racial, economic, social, cultural, sexual orientation, and gender expressions to apply. As such, our commitment is to promote equal employment opportunities (EEO) for all applicants seeking employment.

Vital Strategies offers highly competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits. The salary range for this position is $88,000 to $102,666 USD. The candidate must have eligibility to work in the U.S. at time of hire. Preference is for the position to be based in our New York City office but consideration will be given to suitable candidates who are based in countries where Vital Strategies can legally hire. The salary range for candidates outside the U.S. will be benchmarked to the local market.

Vital Strategies is committed to helping prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to protecting the safety of our employees. All U.S. employees will be required to be fully vaccinated unless the employee is approved for a reasonable accommodation due to a disability or a religious reason.

The Position:

Vital Strategies is seeking a Senior Communications Manager to join our team. This exciting new role will be responsible for executing a wide range of public relations, marketing, and communication to support the organization’s Data for Health iInitiative. The Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health iInitiative aims to enhance public health data collection and use to improve and save lives. The goal of the iInitiative is to ensure that a billion more people live in countries where data are used to steer public policy and program decisions.

Vital Strategies, in partnership with other global public health organizations, is implementing a multi-year program to support government data systems and data use in more than 45 countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Pacific. The Data for Health iInitiative comprises four major programs: Civil Registration and Vital Statistics; Data Impact; Cancer Registries; and the Global Grants Program. Reporting to the Vital Strategies’ Director, PR, and Senior Vice President for Public Health Programs, the Senior Communications Manager will work cross-functionally with the Directors of the four programs and program staff across the globe to design and execute publicity strategies and campaigns for the initiative and provide communication support for our partners in priority countries.

Our organization’s values:

• ***Inclusive collaboration* :** We engage others, both inside and outside of the organization, to find the best solutions. We seek to listen to different perspectives and incorporate them into clear decision-making processes.
• Respect: With interest and humility, we seek to understand the context where we work and learn from the expertise and experience of those with whom we work.
• Commitment to learning: We reflect on our progress, build on our knowledge and adjust our approach as needed to achieve the best outcomes.
• Ability to adapt: We are able and willing to adapt to new and evolving circumstances to ensure relevance and effectiveness of our work.

Specific Duties:

Ensure media and communications excellence –

• Drawing from public relations, digital communication and advocacy: research, design and deliver publicity and media strategies to advance Vital Strategies’ programs within the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative.
• Write and edit compelling content, arrange distribution/placement across multiple platforms, including press releases, opinion editorials, press statements, story pitches, case studies, website content, social media posts, newsletters, speeches and other material that communicates the initiative’s goals, activities and impact.
• Proactively establish, cultivate, and maintain relationships with the media to identify and execute pitch opportunities. Develop and maintain media lists.

Champion the voices of our partners –

• Build and maintain strong working relationships with the Data for Health global and regional partners, as well as members of the press and other key stakeholders; stay up-to-date and informed about the Initiative’s activities; proactively identify milestones, support press and communication strategies and track/follow-up on media impact.
• Identify spokespeople and deliver media training support and briefings.
• Research speaking and thought leadership opportunities, draft pitches, and prepare staff for external engagements to increase our reach in front of target audiences.
• Write pitches and secure media placements in target media outlets and respond to media inquiries.

Own launch plans for new publicity campaigns –

• Seek opportunities to raise the visibility of the Data for Health programs and their goals, activities, and impact; plan, develop and deliver publicity campaigns and evaluate their success.
• Plan and manage events, pitch speakers and panels for relevant conferences; manage award and speaker submissions, and other opportunities.
• Monitor news and follow trends in relevant areas to pitch ideas for stories and articles, including interviews and statements from key spokespeople across the program.

Plan, track and deliver communication activities across a wide array of channels –

• Develop and maintain digital communication tools for the initiative; maintain and manage program websites and social media presence.
• Promote the programs’ outputs by disseminating research findings, evaluation data and country case study examples and campaigns.
• Write and update brochures, media kits, key messages, fact sheets and other collateral material. Work with program teams to manage the development of new publications.
• Track communication activities and prepare and submit PR reports .
• Manage outreach and recruitment for Data for Health journalism trainings.

Qualifications:

Education and Degree –

• Master’s degree or equivalent (in communications or health)
• Bachelor’s degree with 8 years of experience in PR, communication and/or marketing experience
• Background in health or biological sciences communications is a plus

Skills and Abilities –

• Superb writer editor and storyteller: You have a knack for connecting with audiences through exceptional written and verbal communication skills . You can bring new, creative ideas to communicating the initiative and its programs’ work.
• Media relations: You have a proven track record of managing media relations (online, broadcast and print) and building relationships with journalists and other key members of the press. You have demonstrated experience writing and preparing press and marketing materials (including press releases, fact sheets, pitches, one-pagers, web, newsletters and social content).
• Strong project management skills: You are a self-starter with excellent interpersonal skills that can work independently and collaboratively in cross-functional teams and across time zones. You have demonstrated ability managing multiple tasks and deadlines and thrive in a fast-paced environment.
• Measurement: You have excellent organizational and innovative and creative problem-solving skills. You apply data to measure the success of publicity campaigns to achieve the overall program’s goals and objectives.

Experience:

Required –

• Minimum 8 years of PR, communication and/or marketing experience

Preferred –

• Agency experience (+ 2 years)
• Experience working in public health and/or nonprofit (+ 3 years)
• Experience working in international settings (+1 year)
• Experience with media intelligence platforms (e.g., Cision; Meltwater); email marketing services (e.g., Mailchimp); social media channels
• Candidate based in NY (not required)