Responsibilities

• Lead enterprise public affairs and reputation strategies that strengthen awareness, trust, and engagement among patients, faculty, staff, policymakers, donors, researchers, alumni, media, and the public.
• Develop and execute enterprise earned and owned media and reputation strategies aligned with UCSF's strategic priorities.
• Position UCSF faculty and executive leadership as trusted national voices on health care, biomedical research, public health, innovation, and science policy.
• Lead executive communications strategies supporting keynote opportunities, opinion content, media interviews, and thought leadership.
• Develop integrated earned, owned, shared, and emerging media strategies that maximize institutional visibility across traditional, digital, and social platforms.
• Drive innovative storytelling that showcases UCSF's research, education, patient care, and community impact using multimedia and audience-centered communications.
• Leverage analytics, media intelligence, audience insights, and performance metrics to evaluate communications effectiveness and continuously improve results.
• Evaluate and responsibly incorporate emerging communications technologies, including AI-enabled tools, to enhance efficiency, audience engagement, and communications effectiveness while maintaining editorial excellence.
• Provide strategic communications counsel and media coaching to executive leadership, faculty, and subject matter experts.
• Serve as executive editor for enterprise media content and ensure consistent institutional messaging across platforms.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in communications, public affairs, media relations, executive communications, or related fields.
• Experience leading communications at an enterprise scale in an academic medical center, research university, integrated health system, government agency, or similarly complex organization.
• Experience developing and leading integrated communications strategies aligned with organizational priorities and business objectives.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams and complex communications initiatives with enterprise-wide impact.
• Advanced knowledge of media relations, including traditional, digital, social, and emerging media platforms, media ethics, and the evolving news landscape.
• Demonstrated ability to lead external communications in highly complex, matrixed organizations in the health, science, research, academic, or public-sector environment.
• Understanding of the communications environment surrounding health care, biomedical research, science, and public policy issues, with the ability to translate complex topics for diverse audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and lead enterprise-wide communications, public affairs, and media strategies that advance organizational priorities and protect institutional reputation.
• Demonstrated success advising senior executives and serving as a trusted communications counselor on high-profile, sensitive, and complex issues.

Preferred

• Master’s degree