Job Title:
Director of Communications, Columbia University Medical Center
Full Time, New York
Job Description:
The Director of Communications is responsible for identifying and leading communication strategies for the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (P&S), and for identifying communications needs as part of the executive team in the office of the Vice Dean of Administration in P&S. The Director of P&S Communications will collaborate with Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) external communications department to align P&S and CUMC communications goals and activities. The Director will be responsible for understanding the communication needs of the diverse internal audiences – faculty, students, and staff – of the medical school, and for determining the most effective ways to deliver timely, trenchant information to them. In so doing the Director will lead a team responsible for creating and disseminating communication materials across multiple platforms in support of the school’s clinical, research and education missions. The Director will assess current communications vehicles, develop a strategy, and identify core messages for specific audiences, and ensure accurate and powerful delivery of those messages.
Duties and Responsibilities:
The Director will establish and maintain relationships with the P&S community in order to understand the full range of communication needs within the school, and create strategically solid communications programming to meet those needs. To do so, the Director should have outstanding interpersonal skills, and enjoy leading a team to develop, set and meet goals. The Director will employ project management skills to properly track deadlines and will be an expert in organizing both processes and people to ensure that the P&S Communications Department operates efficiently and productively while maintaining high standards and being responsive to its audiences.
- Develop communication strategies to meet needs of school audiences including students, faculty and staff
- Lead a team responsible for writing, editing and research materials for online and in-print messaging, including all facets of the P&S website
- Oversee the Web Design Studio
- Develop and implement procedures for handling web content and internal communications for the school including the website for Columbia Doctors
- Ensure that branding guidelines are applied consistently throughout school communications
- Support institutional mission and brand to promote P&S’s reputation globally
- Be responsible for internal communications including announcements about major faculty recruitments and awards; dean’s communications including major presentations, and ongoing electronic updates of relevance to the P&S community; and other similar materials
- Oversee the creation and production of Columbia Medicine and the P&S Annual Report, CUMC Celebrates printed and electronic versions
- Support other members of the P&S leadership in developing communications strategies and materials in support of the school’s administrative goals
- Perform other related duties incidental to the work as described
Minimum Qualifications:
A bachelor’s degree or higher or equivalent professional experience is required. The Director is required to have a minimum of six to 10 years of experience working in a communications role in higher education, biomedical research, health care, or similar field. The successful candidate will excel as a writer, editor, and internal communications professional, and may possess significant experience in public relations, marketing, production, and/or interactive content develop. The Director should be able to demonstrate a high level of professionalism in the following areas: leadership, team building, project management, budgeting, and strategic communication program design. Candidates must demonstrate top-notch communication skills, the capacity to thrive in complex organizations with multiple constituents, and the ability to work with creative teams and diverse audiences. Ideally, candidates should be able to work in both Macintosh and PC environments, and should have intermediate or higher knowledge of the Microsoft Office suite; prior use of online content management systems or website development tools is desirable.
Please apply online at
https://jobs.columbia.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=136214