Vice President, Communications and Marketing at National Kidney Foundation

Vice President, Communications and Marketing

Full Time

Remote, US

Requisition ID: 1049

The Vice President, Marketing and Communications/Public Affairs provides communications, and strategic expertise to help shape and drive NKF’s external affairs, positioning and messaging. This position oversees multiple NKF audience engagement and strategic marketing and communications campaigns while proactively identifying opportunities to advance NKF’s advocacy priorities. In addition, this position manages marketing, communications and public affairs activities that promote, enhance, and protect the NKF brand and actively engages internal and external stakeholders in the NKF mission.

Supporting the Chief Marketing Officer, the Vice President, Marketing and Communications/Public Affairs is responsible for the development, integration, and implementation of a broad range of public affairs activities relative to the strategic direction and positioning of the organization’s brand and its leadership.

This role serves as an ambassador for the organization and builds communications and marketing plans fitting for all audience groups including employees and volunteers, donors, patients and families, healthcare professionals, partners, public officials, media, and the community at large. The goal of this role is to help advance NKF’s legislative priorities and amplify communications and marketing activities that will help drive broader awareness and support for the NKF mission. The Vice President, Marketing and Communications/Public Affairs will guide the communications strategy to consistently articulate NKF’s position on newsworthy issues, as well as work closely with program and field staff within the organization to promote strategic initiatives, public health information and new research.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Proactively identifies, develops, and executes fully integrated public affairs communications campaigns that support NKF’s strategic initiatives and helps advance and amplify NKF’s advocacy priorities.
• Develop integrated strategic- marketing and communications plans to advance the NKF’s brand identity; broaden awareness of its programs and priorities; and increase the visibility of its programs across key stakeholder audiences.
• Identifying creative ways to engage on core issues (e.g., healthcare policies) and new opportunities.
• Manage campaigns that combine research, earned and paid media, public opinion polling, grassroots engagement, outreach to elected officials, internal coordination with NKF Government Relations team.
• Supports NKF’s advocacy activities by developing and maintaining strategic partnerships and relationships with third-party stakeholders and allies. This may include helping to build coalitions, mobilizing industry partners, and serving as NKF’s public affairs representative for outside coalitions and groups.
• Identify and create opportunities for NKF staff and KAC members to showcase our public policy priorities through public events, meetings and communications platforms. The role involves close coordination with NKF Government Relations team. Provide strategic counsel on policy matters and the development of messaging relating to specific policies.
• Ensure brand standards are consistent and powerful in every communication.
• Initiate and support creation of strategies that cultivate and enhance meaningful relationships with targeted audiences, including the media and key influencers.
• Identify challenges and emerging issues faced by the organization. Collaborate with leadership team and staff to recognize internal and external communications opportunities and solutions, and define and execute appropriate strategies to support them.
• Exercise judgment to prioritize media opportunities, and prepare talking points, speeches, presentations, and other supporting material as needed.
• Actively engage, cultivate, and manage press relationships to ensure coverage surrounding the Foundation’s programs, special events, public announcements, and other projects.
• Ensure that reputation management strategies maximize positive exposure and provide the utmost protection for the Foundation.
• Supervise direct reports Director Media Relations, , Editorial Director, Writer, Multi-media producer and indirect report, Senior Manager, Media Relations.
• Track and measure the level of engagement within the network over time.
• Manage all media contacts.
• Performs additional duties, as required.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s Degree with a major in Communications from an accredited college or university.
• Minimum 10 years work related experience in Communications in a leadership role, preferably with a nonprofit healthcare organization.
• Experience covering areas such as media relations, website content, newsletters, and donor communications.
• Ability to take knowledge and transform it into exciting and useful messages and disseminate it to the right audiences through the best distribution channels is critical.
• Highly collaborative style; experience developing and implementing communications strategies.
• Excellent writing/editing and verbal communication skills.
• Bilingual Spanish a plus
• A strong track record as an implementer who thrives on managing a variety of key initiatives concurrently.
• Relationship builder with the flexibility and finesse to “manage by influence”.
• Positive leadership skills with the ability to serve as a unifying force and to position communications discussions at both the strategic and tactical levels.
• Sincere commitment to work collaboratively with all constituent groups, including staff, board members, volunteers, donors, program participants, patients, and professionals.
• Self-starter, able to work independently, and entrepreneurial; enjoys creating and implementing new initiatives.

Equal Employment Opportunity

It is the policy of NKF to provide equality of employment opportunity regardless of race, creed, color, qualified handicap or disability, national origin, religion, marital status, sexual orientation, age, gender, political affiliation or veteran status, or any other factor or reason prohibited by relevant local, state and federal fair employment laws.

The Equal Employment Opportunity policy will apply to all employment practices of NKF including, but not limited to: recruitment, hiring, promotion, training, compensation, benefits, layoffs, transfers and discipline. Implementation of the Equal Employment Opportunity policy is the shared responsibility of the management of NKF.