EVP Chief External Affairs Officer

Facility: WCO - Wellstar Corporate Office

Overview
The Chief External Affairs Officer (CEAO) will lead all elements of an internally and externally facing strategy, driving organizational impact recognition and stakeholder engagement across the enterprise. The central focus of the role is to protect, advance, and strengthen the brand and reputation of the heath system by the assertive management of strategic initiatives and issues with all key stakeholders.
The CEAO reports directly to the CEO, serves as a member of the Executive Team, and leads a team that includes Marketing/Brand and Communications, Community and Government Relations, and Wellstar Foundation professionals. The CEAO will lead initiatives that build and execute the organization's brand, strengthen marketing and communications, foster strategic partnerships, grow the institutional and individual donor base, and expand relationships with policy makers, industry/business leaders, and other influencers and stakeholders.

The development of a comprehensive strategic positioning vision, followed by effective advancement of marketing and fundraising efforts, relationship building with government and community stakeholders will mark key success factors for the role. The CEAO will create a best-in-class external affairs department that brings together five work areas and blends initiatives and cross functional projects resulting in the desired strategic outcomes, including:

• Marketing/Brand and Communications: develop a solid brand management program that will be the base of all media relations, public communications, and messaging to all constituencies and ensure both the broad-based public and targeted audience receive timely communication about the new entity's impact, successes, and need for support.

• Philanthropy: oversee all contributed revenue streams (individual and institutional) from multi-channel campaigns (traditional, digital, social media) that maximize volunteer and support engagement

• Government and Community Relations: cultivate deep and effective relationships with key governmental, community, and industry stakeholders (city, county, state) in current and possible future service areas. Both independently and with executive and Board leadership, initiate engagement with designated officials on matters related enterprise concerns, including legislative, policy development/change, and key partnerships.

• Particular focus will be in the ability to inspire an external affairs strategy that is contemporary, sophisticated, adaptable, and genuine. Wellstar's team members, care givers, clinicians and providers, an external stakeholders should feel consistency in the Wellstar messaging, continuous high-quality care, and safe working environment across the footprint.

Responsibilities
Core Responsibilites and Essential Functions

• Strategic Leadership
  
  • Partners to create and implement strategies that will create continuity and connect WellStar messaging to drive actions, behaviors, and outcomes within the System and to clinicians and providers.
  • Brings to life the WellStar narrative and increases the visibility and positive messaging of WellStar, the System’s brand, and its visibility as an Employer of Choice and Provider of Choice.
  • Facilitates clarity of System vision, mission and values while ensuring consistency of the narrative across the organization.
  • Builds and manages a cross-functional team of highly engaged professionals in support of all stakeholder engagement.
  • Provides clear, effective management and leadership for communications, to ensure the respective teams are producing high-quality, on-target work in an environment of high collaboration.
  • Educates the System on what organizational engagement means and how each individual is a critical part in the value proposition and consumer satisfaction measures.
  • Partners to create executive leadership updates on the full range of organizational engagement issues that may arise in the operation of the department, including providing general business and strategic advice.
  • Develops and monitors the strategic budget for all areas of responsibility.
  • Creates a financial strategy that optimizes spend in key areas to maximize exposure for organizational offerings and brand while containing expenses to create media and materials.
• Communication Strategy
  
  • Establishes and socializes the WellStar shared strategic message plan.
  • Works closely with the External Affairs team writ large, Executive Leadership Team, and other key stakeholders to create an overarching clinical and provider engagement strategy, ensuring it is closely aligned with business objectives and is integrated and consistently articulated across all platforms.
  • Creates and implements a proactive digital integration strategy, identifying unique opportunities to favorably position information within Wellstar to ease access for clinicians and providers.
  • Develops and manages an effective crisis and issues management program, proactively signaling the organization when unexpected scenarios can potentially be disruptive to the organization.
  • Designs and develops processes and standards to effectively monitor and analyze communications campaigns and efforts.
• Internal Brand Alignment
  
  • Partners to identify and implement strategies that will create an organizational engagement platform.
  • Builds programs to deliver and communicate WellStar’s differentiated value to target audiences (as measured by access to information, information on brand promise delivery, team member engagement responses)
  • Executes strategic plans for brand advancement, including partnering to create both long-term plans and annual goals to improve on the organizational outreach plan’s ability to support Wellstar activities that help to fulfill the System vision and mission.
  • Develops critical organizational insights to drive innovative approaches to serve our team members and caregivers.
  • Cross-functionally partners to fully understand team member, physician and consumer marketplace and needs (influences, shapes market research, can turn consumer insights into action), external environmental influences, and competitive offerings and provides key input to services line strategies.
  • Ensures excellent activation of brand marketing, digital strategy, creative services, events, brand campaigns.
  • Ensures brand-appropriate, high standards of writing, design, and production for all System promotional materials for both internal and external branding.
• Government/Community Relations
  
  • Initiates engagement with government and civic officials; establish and strengthen relationships to further the organization’s mission. Utilize contracted government affairs resources effectively.
  • Develops strategies and oversees implementation to engage thought leaders, researchers, and policy makers in academia, government, and regulatory bodies (national, state, and local).
  • Oversees advocacy efforts for legislation, funding, and administrative changes to advance the mission. Participate in public policy discussions as directed by the CEO.
  • Oversees legislative activities to stay abreast on issues of importance to the organization on state and federal levels
• Foundation
  
  • Cultivates Board, donor, prospect, and key volunteer relationships necessary to provide leadership and support to all fundraising initiatives and programs. Work closely and lead the CEO, Board, staff, and volunteer leadership to expand the organization’s fundraising program, performance, and donor base.
  • Develops, oversees, and evaluates multiple strategies to raise funds from a broad base of individuals, institutions, corporations, foundations, government, and insurance across the service area and beyond.
  • Works in tandem with the CEO to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward a portfolio of major gift donors and sponsors in support of annual operating, capital, and special projects for the organization.

Required for All Jobs

• Performs other duties as assigned
Complies with all Wellstar Health System policies, standards of work, and code of conduct.

Qualifications
Required Minimum Education

• Bachelor's Degree in Communications, Marketing, Branding, Consumer Engagement, Business, or Political Science Required and
• Master's Degree in Business Administration, or related field Preferred

Required Minimum Experience

• Minimum 15 years of experience in external affairs, government relations, branded communications, marketing, or consumer or employee engagement or related field with at least ten (10) years in a senior leadership capacity. Required
• Demonstrated success in both internal and external audience messaging in a way that directly engages the organization team member and caregivers, and builds relationships and understanding with consumer, government, community, and business stakeholders. Required
• The successful candidate will have a record of successful partnerships with a President/ CEO and Board of Directors and have experience working with other senior leaders, effectively deploying them in service of communications, advocacy, and fundraising, as appropriate. Ability to effectively maneuver within a complex/matrixed system/company. Required

Required Minimum Skills

• The successful candidate will be a goal-oriented, dynamic leader with demonstrated and proven abilities in managing teams of highly engaged and effective external affairs professionals.
• The CEAO will serve as an articulate, passionate, and visible spokesperson for the organization and as a prominent face throughout the organization, among stakeholders, and across the Wellstar footprint.
• He/she must possess proven accountability for the ownership of a consumer-centric culture.
• Attributes of the individual: drives innovation, is constructively discontent, inspires change, consumer- driven, reinvents him/herself constantly, compelling storyteller, develops leaders, reaches an audience where they are, thrives where change is constant.

Required Minimum License(s) and Certification(s)

Additional Licenses and Certifications