Assistant Director, Media

Job Description

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) has an outstanding opportunity for an Assistant Director, Media to join their team.

About this Opportunity

Reporting to the Director of Communications, the Assistant Director, Media is responsible for managing the Media team and leading media relations work — developing media materials, pitching IHME’s research to journalists, responding to inquiries, and coordinating researcher interviews. This is a fast-paced environment that requires the ability to manage competing priorities, adapt quickly to evolving news cycles, and lead a team with confidence and clarity under pressure.

The role develops and executes strategies to drive global media coverage of IHME’s work, growing earned media and owned platforms including the Global Health Insights (GHI) podcast and newsletter. This requires strong people and project management skills and the ability to cultivate strategic relationships with journalists, media outlets, and — as needed — external communications firms and consultants, to reach policymakers, donors, and other stakeholders worldwide. The Assistant Director, Media identifies, creates, and disseminates high-quality, policy-relevant stories and uses analytics to measure and refine that outreach.

Office is located in Seattle, Washington. This position is eligible to work fully remote; work schedule required to overlap 50% of IHME Office hours between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Pacific Time.

Key Responsibilities

Media strategy – 30%

• Strategically manage and expand IHME’s network of global media contacts, key opinion leaders, policymakers, and other stakeholders; proactively identify opportunities for new relationships and strengthen relationships with journalists to disseminate IHME’s evidence-based research effectively and seek to impact global health policy.
• Ensure inquiries and requests from journalists for findings and interviews with experts in IHME’s research network are handled in a timely and professional way.
• Oversee and provide media training to faculty and staff to help them prepare for interviews.
• Develop and execute creative strategies to build owned media platforms, including podcast and newsletter.
• Manage relationships with communications firms and external consultants when necessary.
• Serve as a spokesperson for IHME if necessary.
• Maintain confidentiality of sensitive information.

Team management – 25%

• Supervise employees, to include hiring and training, assigning work hours, managing workflow, priority setting, contributing to professional growth and ensuring team members have the clarity and guidance needed to be accountable for producing high-quality, accurate work.
• Create and manage work plans for team members, hold regular check-ins to monitor work progress, answer questions, and troubleshoot as needed.
• Provide direction, coaching, and support, ensuring team members have the clarity and guidance needed to be accountable for their work.
• Ensure the team delivers to the highest standards of the organization in terms of accuracy in its work.
• Assess and map project deliverables to resource needs.

Writing, outreach, and analytics – 25%

• Work with faculty and staff to transform complex research into compelling and policy-relevant messages that are comprehensible to targeted non-scientific audiences.
• Oversee the development of all outreach products including press releases, media advisories, pitches, messaging briefs, fact sheets, podcast, and newsletters.
• Manage compilation and reporting of KPIs (key performance indicators) and creation of reports and slides for IHME’s Senior Management Team, Board, and other stakeholders.

Knowledge command – 20%

• Develop in-depth familiarity with media organizations and journalists around the world, including their political and cultural contexts.
• Regularly review the landscape of international media coverage on a range of population health, global development, and other health-related topics including business, economics, and technology to identify ways for IHME’s work to be woven into the global dialogue.
• Recognize, assess, and address risks and crisis situations that could potentially affect IHME’s reputation and brand.
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

To be considered for this opportunity your application must demonstrate you meet both the minimum qualifications and additional qualifications listed below. Equivalent education and/or experience may substitute for minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license, certification, and/or registration.

Minimum Qualifications

Applicants who do not meet these qualifications WILL NOT be forwarded to the Hiring Department.

• Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, or related field plus 10 to 15 years of experience in a role or roles in media relations, public relations, or a combination of work in journalism and communications with internal and external stakeholders and influential organizations and individuals.
   

Additional Qualifications

• Strong management and leadership capabilities, demonstrated through supervising and developing the work of staff members, freelancers, and/or external vendors — or through leading projects.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to foster productive relationships with colleagues at all levels of the organization including senior leadership, external partners, and the Institute’s third-party service providers.
• Professional maturity and sound judgment, with the adaptability to navigate change and a solutions-oriented mindset, working both independently and collaboratively to achieve objectives.
• Ability to take technical and highly scientific research and make it relevant, clear, and concise for the public.
• Superb time management skills, with demonstrated experience managing multiple work streams, shifting priorities, and time-sensitive deadlines while keeping the team accountable and on track.
• Committed to a focus on accountability and delivering results while able to meet ongoing deadlines including those that are time sensitive.Comfortable learning and using AI tools as part of daily workflow as appropriate, with an openness to adopting new technologies that improve team efficiency and content quality.
• Creative, strategic thinker with project management experience translating ideas into well-executed plans.
• Excellent communications skills, both written and oral.
• Outstanding organizational skills, attention to detail, commitment to accuracy and high-quality work.
• Aptitude for public speaking before large and small audiences.
• Demonstrated experience with media relations, including developing media materials (press releases, media advisories, pitches, and messaging briefs), conducting proactive media outreach, and responding to media inquiries in a timely and professional manner.
• Experience supervising, leading, or mentoring junior colleagues and actively supporting their professional growth and development — whether as a formal people manager or as a team lead.

Preferred Qualifications

• Substantive knowledge of public health research and policy, data science, and other related research fields.
• Ability to work with academic researchers and comprehend peer-reviewed health research.
• Prior experience transforming statistical information into compelling written and spoken content targeted at a general audience.
• Proficiency in more than one language to lead dissemination of multilingual media materials.

Working Conditions

• This position works with a global network of stakeholders, as such evening and weekend work may be required to fulfill job duties.
• Travel may be required up to 30% of the year, both domestic and international.
• Office is located in Seattle, Washington. This position is eligible to work fully remote; work schedule required to overlap 50% of IHME Office hours between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Pacific Time.
• Valid passport or the ability to obtain one is required.

Additional Application Requirement

This recruitment requires references and a cover letter. Applications that do not include a this will not be forwarded to the hiring department.

Please attach a cover letter to you application:

• Please provide three references in your cover letter with at least one reference being a past or present supervisor.

About the Team

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) is an independent research organization at the University of Washington (UW). Its mission is to deliver to the world timely, relevant, and scientifically valid evidence to improve health policy and practice. IHME carries out its mission through a range of projects within different research areas including the Global Burden of Diseases (GBD), Injuries, and Risk Factors; Future Health Scenarios; Cost Effectiveness and Efficiency; Resource Tracking; and Impact Evaluations.

The Global Impact Group (GIG) serves IHME’s vision of all people living long lives in full health through innovative communication and collaboration. GIG explains, amplifies, and delivers research findings of the most critical health challenges across a range of channels to reach its target audiences, working with scientists and decision-makers to strengthen the evidence base of research, allowing them to take informed action. Within GIG, the Media team promotes IHME’s research, faculty, staff, and its products through media outreach and stakeholder engagement that’s timely, newsworthy, and engaging to a broad range of audiences.

Compensation, Benefits and Position Details

Pay Range Minimum:

Pay Range Maximum:

Other Compensation:

Benefits:

Shift:

Temporary or Regular?

FTE (Full-Time Equivalent):

Union/Bargaining Unit:

About the UW 

Working at the University of Washington provides a unique opportunity to change lives – on our campuses, in our state and around the world.  

UW employees bring their boundless energy, creative problem-solving skills and dedication to building stronger minds and a healthier world. In return, they enjoy outstanding benefits, opportunities for professional growth and the chance to work in an environment known for its diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty. 

Our Commitment 

The University of Washington is committed to fostering an inclusive, respectful and welcoming community for all. As an equal opportunity employer, the University considers applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, citizenship, sex, pregnancy, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, disability, or veteran status consistent with UW Executive Order No. 81.

To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Disability Services Office at 206-543-6450 or dso@uw.edu. 

Applicants considered for this position will be required to disclose if they are the subject of any substantiated findings or current investigations related to sexual misconduct at their current employment and past employment. Disclosure is required under Washington state law.