Senior Public Relations Specialist

Senior Public Relations Specialist

The National Resident Matching Program® (NRMP®) is a private, not-for-profit organization established in 1952 to provide a uniform date of appointment to positions in graduate medical education (GME) in the United States. The NRMP is not an application processing service; rather, it provides an impartial venue for matching applicants' and programs' preferences for each other consistently. The NRMP conducts the annual Main Residency Match, which encompasses 40,000 applicants for more than 25,000 positions in core residencies, as well as Matches for fellowship positions in 55 subspecialties through its Specialties Matching Service®.

The Senior Public Relations Specialist partners with senior leadership to develop and execute communications strategies that advance understanding of NRMP's mission, strategic priorities, and national impact. In addition to developing, promoting, and maintaining NRMP's online presence and communications channels, this role plays a critical monitoring and advisory function—actively tracking media, social media, and relevant literature to inform leadership and help them understand the external landscape shaping perceptions of NRMP and the Match.

The Senior Public Relations Specialist serves as a strategic resource to the President and CEO by identifying emerging narratives, assessing reputational opportunities and risks, and supporting the development of thoughtful, timely strategies to respond to both positive and negative coverage. This role helps ensure NRMP's communications are proactive, informed, and aligned with organizational priorities in a complex and evolving policy and media environment.

The Senior Public Relations Specialist will be part of a dynamic Communications Department that includes NRMP and its affiliated subsidiaries and will collaborate with the Senior Communications Analyst – Match Operations on various communications projects.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Thought Leadership and Risk Management

• Serve as a strategic thought partner to senior leadership—particularly the President and CEO—by synthesizing various environmental insights into concise briefings and summaries.
• Inform senior leadership's enterprise risk management efforts by analyzing how NRMP and related issues are discussed or framed externally and what reputational benefits or threats they could pose.
• Recommend and develop proactive communication strategies and plans, messaging approaches, or engagement opportunities based on observed trends in media coverage, policy discourse, and stakeholder sentiment.
• In close coordination with the President and CEO, support the development of response strategies to both positive and negative media coverage, including amplification of constructive coverage and thoughtful approaches to criticism or mischaracterization.

Media Monitoring/Engagement, Social Listening, and Issue Awareness

• Monitor media (print and online), trade publications, policy outlets, and social media platforms for mentions of NRMP, the Match, and related issues to identify trends, emerging issues, and high-profile narratives.
• Analyze tone, sentiment, and reach related to NRMP; prepare periodic summaries or alerts for senior leadership and recommend where broad engagement may be appropriate.
• Identify relevant threads/themes and facilitate online conversations and responses to social media postings, stakeholder questions, etc. in a way that is correct, concise, and reinforces NRMP brand identity.

• Manage media engagement.
• Actively cultivate relationships with strategic media outlets to publish approved NRMP content. Maintain and enhance current media kit and related collateral for distribution.
• Assist senior leadership in building relationships with media outlets and stakeholder organizations where appropriate.
• Monitor media account for interview and Match information requests. Determine target questions or requested content and data. Schedule for leadership as directed.
• Prepare written responses and/or prep interview questions; distribute in a timely manner for review and approval by senior leadership.

• Maintain awareness of broader healthcare, workforce, and medical education discourse to provide contextual insight for leadership.

Website and Social Management

• Develop web content for various audiences to advance the NRMP's mission, strategic priorities, and national impact.
• Work closely with leadership to ensure delivery of relevant, meaningful web content to constituents; edit public website content to push content live; support senior leadership in strategic analysis of website design, flow, and function.
• Collaborate with Sr. Communications Analyst – Match Operations to ensure website content and documents remain current with up-to-date information. Collaborate with other departments, as needed and where appropriate, to build new content.
• Collaborate with Sr. Communications Analyst – Match Operations on social platform content. Serve as a primary point for creating posts that highlight initiatives that advance NRMP mission, strategic priorities, and thought leadership.
• Develop graphics, multimedia, FAQs, and other materials to support online posts as needed.

Public Relations/Outreach

• Develop and distribute stakeholder and media outreach materials including factsheets and talking points, listserv messages, presentations, digital/web content, infographics, and other communication materials as it pertains to strategic messaging.
• Support dissemination of podcasts. Work as needed with other departments to develop content, focusing on how episodes advance NRMP brand, successes, initiatives, impact.
• Spearhead special projects as assigned (e.g., state snapshots, constituent engagement surveys, conference planning)

General Communications Projects – Joint with Senior Comms Analyst-Match Operations

• Develop, maintain, and execute a comprehensive departmental communications plan that aligns with organizational priorities. Create detailed project‑level communications plans to ensure clear messaging, coordinated timing, and effective internal department and external stakeholder engagement across initiatives.
• Design and disseminate customized messages and multimedia materials segmented by audiences to ensure relevant information is communicated to audiences at the right time through NRMP communications channels. This includes but is not limited to writing and editing content for various mediums including the organization's websites, newsletters, emails, web content, blog posts, and other talking points.
• Create multimedia materials for a wide range of audiences. Materials may include but not be limited to presentations, speeches, webinars, factsheets, infographics, reports, data visualizations, and/or videos and other collateral material such as electronic or print brochures, annual reports, exhibit booths, etc.
• Draft press releases that effectively showcase and promote NRMP (e.g., data, research, strategic priorities, new initiatives, governance) and interprets Match processes, policies, and data for both medical education and wider audiences.
• Draft and update process documents for the Communications department.

Minimum Qualifications, Knowledge, and Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Communications/ Marketing/ Public Relations/ Journalism or related field.
• 5+ years of communications or marketing experience.
• Deep experience in media monitoring and engagement and media intelligence platforms; expertise with Cision One platform experience strongly preferred.
• Experience with a content management system; WordPress experience strongly preferred.
• Experience with design software; expertise in Canva
• Savvy with social media technology and corporate social media tools such as Hootsuite.
• Proactive, purpose-driven approach to work and ability to act quickly.
• Excellent time management skills and comfortable meeting deadlines under pressure.
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Analytical and problem-solving skills; help interpret data for a non-research audience.
• Ability to form relationships that enable collaboration across the organization.
• Ability to work independently and proactively manage projects and priorities.
• Good judgment and decision-making skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building, editing, and distributing podcasts.
• Experience leveraging AI tools for content development.
• Experience writing "CEO Message" style annual reports showcasing organization growth, success, strategic priorities.
• Experience in a healthcare, association, or nonprofit environment.
• Knowledge of The Match and graduate medical education.

ADA Specifications

This position is primarily remote and sedentary; however, this position will be expected to attend meetings in the Washington, DC headquarters or other locations with sufficient notice and as directed by the CEO. There may be occasional overnight travel, and duties may require some bending and lifting. The above statements describe the general nature and level of work being performed by the individual(s) assigned to this position. They are not an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and skills required.

NRMP is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran