Vice President, Strategic Communications & External Affairs

Overview

About the Role

The Vice President, Strategic Communications and External Affairs, provides executive-level strategic leadership and oversight for University Hospital's external-facing functions, including Marketing and Communications, Government Affairs, and Community Affairs. This position is responsible for developing and implementing an integrated external engagement strategy that aligns public policy advocacy, community partnerships, stakeholder engagement, outreach, and institutional messaging with the hospital's mission and strategic priorities.


The Vice President, under the direction of the Chief Legal Officer, ensures a unified vision and coordinated execution across external-facing departments, strengthening public awareness of the hospital's work, advancing legislative and regulatory objectives, deepening community integration, expanding media relations, and enhancing relationships with federal, state, and local government partners. The role serves as a key advisor to executive leadership and plays a critical role in shaping decisions that impact external stakeholders and the broader community.

Responsibilities

What You'll Do

• Develops and executes a comprehensive external affairs strategy integrating Marketing/Communications, Government Affairs, and Community Affairs into a cohesive institutional approach.
• Aligns external engagement priorities with University Hospital's public health priorities, clinical growth initiatives, population health objectives, and academic mission.
• Provides executive-level decision-making support on issues affecting external stakeholders, reputation management, and public positioning.
• Establishes measurable goals and performance indicators to assess effectiveness of external affairs initiatives.
• Serves as a senior advisor on external relations, stakeholder engagement, branding, and public policy matters.
• Ensures leadership visibility and strategic positioning with government officials, community leaders, advocacy organizations, and industry partners.
• Oversees development of executive messaging, public statements, and strategic communications related to institutional priorities.
• Provides briefing materials and strategic guidance for executive participation in public forums, legislative meetings, and community events.
• Provides supervisory and strategic oversight of federal, state, and local government relations activities, ensuring alignment with hospital priorities.
• Guides advocacy strategy, legislative monitoring, and regulatory engagement in coordination with internal subject matter experts.
• Strengthens and maintains high-level relationships with policymakers, government agencies, and healthcare associations.
• Ensures compliance with applicable lobbying disclosure and reporting requirements.
• Provides strategic oversight of institutional branding, public relations, media strategy, and crisis communications planning.
• Ensures consistent messaging across all departments and external platforms.
• Leads reputation management initiatives to enhance the hospital's visibility and standing locally, regionally, and nationally.
• Drives collaboration with clinical and operational leadership to promote key service lines, academic achievements, research initiatives, and population health efforts.
• Directs strategy for community outreach, stakeholder engagement, and partnership development.
• Ensures meaningful integration of University Hospital into the Newark community and surrounding regions.
• Aligns community initiatives with health equity, population health, and social determinants of health strategies.
• Cultivates strategic partnerships with nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, faith-based groups, and civic leaders.
• Provides direct supervision of leaders within Marketing/Communications, Government Affairs, and Community Affairs.
• Fosters collaboration and shared strategic planning across departments to promote functional synergy.
• Oversees departmental budgeting, resource allocation, and operational performance.
• Promotes a culture of professionalism, accountability, innovation, and mission alignment.
• Ensures adherence to University Hospital's Corporate Compliance Policy, Code of Conduct, and Conflict of Interest Policy.

Qualifications

What You'll Bring

Required:

• Perform each essential duty outlined below satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, minimum education, training, licensure, experience, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• Bachelor's Degree in Communications, Government/Political Science, Health Care Administration, or related field required; plus a minimum of eight (8) years of professional experience in Government Relations, Public Policy, Communications, or a related function, preferably in a federal or state government setting.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with key stakeholders, including policymakers, clinical leadership, and community partners.
• Ability to read, write speak, and understand English fluently to perform the duties of the position required.

What We Offer

• Vacation Time Off
• Medical & Prescription Drug Coverage
• Dental & Vision Insurance
• Health Savings Account (HSA) & Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Short- & Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Pension Plan
• Pet Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Professional Development

Compensation (NJ Job Transparency Law)

In compliance with New Jersey's Pay Transparency Act, the Salary for this position is $173,180.00 - $290,391.00.

University Hospital considers multiple factors when determining compensation, including (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate's relevant work experience, education and training, key skills, internal equity, market data, and organizational needs.

About Us

University Hospital is one of the nation's leading academic medical centers. As the principal teaching affiliate of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and the only state-certified Level 1 Trauma Center in Northern New Jersey, University Hospital is training the next generation of physicians and advancing science to discovery while taking exceptional care of patients, regardless of their financial situation.


Apply Today

We encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply. If you want to grow your career in healthcare while serving a vibrant community, we'd love to meet you.