Senior Health Communications Specialist

Position Highlights

Location: This position is available for a fully remote work agreement for U.S. based candidates. 

Salary Range: $105,000-$125,000, plus benefits

Position Type: Grant funded, limited-term opportunity contingent upon funding

Position End Date: June 30, 2027, with possibility for renewal contingent upon funding

Overview

The CDC Foundation is seeking a candidate for a full-time Senior Health Communications Specialist who will provide strategic support, technical assistance, and communications leadership for a team working to build an evidence base for effective drowning prevention strategies in the United States. This position is key to leading the development and implementation of a strategic communication plan in support of programmatic priorities and goals. This position will also lead the implementation of a wide array of health communication and dissemination activities designed to impact positive health outcomes related to water safety and drowning prevention.

The Senior Health Communications Specialist's primary responsibility will be leading communication and information dissemination for the Understanding and Preventing Drowning program. Specifically, this position will provide support in the areas of communication planning and strategy, message development, storytelling related to program initiatives, program website development and maintenance, coordination on communication strategy and output with partner organizations, and other related activities. As the Senior Health Communications Specialist, this role will lead communications strategy and initiatives for the Understanding and Preventing Drowning team, advising senior program leadership, providing communications guidance and mentorship to other program team members, and executing the program's communications activities.

A key aspect of the Senior Health Communication Specialist role will be aligning and delivering communications and other external facing outputs across a broad program portfolio that includes several partner organizations including groups delivering swim skills training to children and youth, state and local health departments, university-based research groups, and drowning prevention and water safety organizations operating at the local, state, national, and global levels. 

Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead the development and execution of a comprehensive strategic communications plan to advance program goals. Ensure that the program's communication activities are achieved in collaboration with key partner organizations.
• Develop and implement communications strategies that elevate program visibility, amplify key messages, and enhance engagement across earned and social media channels.
• Lead the creation and dissemination of communications products and supporting materials for the program.
• Support the development of a program website including working with senior program leadership, other program team members, and web developers. 
• Work with team members and external parter organizations to identify, draft, publish, and promote new stories and other information that amplify program outputs and communicate program impacts. 
• Provide communications guidance, mentorship and support to other team members, and in some cases partner organizations.
• Advise senior program leadership and program team members on communication strategies, message framing, media engagement and other media topics as needed.
• Ensure that documents and other content conform to organizational policies, branding and style; and align with accepted water safety and drowning prevention terminology and best-practice safety advice.
• Coordinate with others on health media production, publications for professional and public audiences, and electronic health communication activities.
• Manage clearance processes for communication research, evaluation, and publications.
• Maintain robust familiarity with scientific and non-scientific literature for project-related publications.
• Build and maintain working relationships with communications peers internal to the CDC Foundation and with external partner organizations, including donors, government health agencies and other drowning prevention and water safety organizations to enhance collaboration, align communication strategies and increase the reach of media efforts.
• Represents the CDC Foundation at technical and strategic planning meetings with internal and external partners.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications and Necessary Skills

• Bachelor's degree in journalism, communications, English, public health, public policy or related field required. Master's degree preferred.
• Minimum of 7 years of experience in the field of communications, preferably within the public health or drowning prevention-related arena, including experience developing and executing a broad range of communication and media strategies.
• Experience independently representing organizations to media members, or past experience as a news reporter, producer, or editor.
• Demonstrated ability to independently lead the production of communication products, documents and presentation materials that are high quality and error-free.
• Experience working with diverse stakeholders, including senior leadership, subject matter experts, external partners and donor organizations.
• Proven ability to collaborate with a team while also completing specific tasks independently, on task and timeline.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Strong understanding of communication theory and its application to strategy.
• Experience engaging community partners and providing capacity building/skill-based support.
• Experience working on diverse health communications and social marketing campaigns.
• Cross-cultural competence and ability to work with a variety of partners from varying backgrounds.
• Experience translating scientific information into easy-to-understand language for non-scientific audiences.
• Ability to engage with, listen to and learn from a broad range of partners, encouraging meaningful participation and developing productive working relationships with colleagues and partners.
• Strong project management skills and ability to meet deadlines, prioritize and stay organized.
• Experience working in a virtual environment with remote partners and teams.
• Willingness to travel domestically (up to 10% annually).
• Experience developing and managing effective social media content that translates complex public health information into clear, engaging, and audience-appropriate messages.
• Experience managing website content, structure, and enhancement projects, including collaborating with web developers, designers, and subject matter experts to optimize user experience.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, mental or physical disabilities, veteran status, and all other characteristics protected by law. We comply with all applicable laws including E.O. 11246 and the Vietnam Era Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 governing employment practices and do not discriminate on the basis of any unlawful criteria in accordance with 41 C.F.R. §§ 60-300.5(a)(12) and 60-741.5(a)(7). As a federal government contractor, we take affirmative action on behalf of protected veterans.

The CDC Foundation is a smoke-free environment.

Relocation expenses are not included.

About the CDC Foundation

The CDC Foundation is an independent nonprofit authorized by Congress to mobilize philanthropic partners to support the public health system, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in preventing and responding to threats to health. In this role, we are focused on one priority: building catalytic, flexible and impactful partnerships—with corporations, philanthropies, individuals and organizations—to help improve the health and lives of people in all communities, everywhere. Visit www.cdcfoundation.org for more information