Executive Director, News & Media Relations

The Executive Director, News & Media Relations is a senior leader within UCSF's Office of Communications and serves as the institution's principal strategist for enterprise media relations and public affairs. Reporting to the Vice Chancellor, Communications, this position develops and leads integrated external communications strategies for UCSF. The role works in partnership with communications and institutional leaders across the enterprise to protect and strengthen UCSF's reputation as one of the world's leading academic health systems and biomedical research institutions. It also advances institutional priorities across research, education, patient care, and public service.

The Executive Director provides strategic communications counsel to executive leadership and ensures a coordinated, enterprise-wide approach to external communications.

Primary Responsibilities

The Executive Director is responsible for leading UCSF's external communications strategy through the Public Affairs function by:

• Developing and executing integrated external communications strategies that advance institutional priorities and strengthen UCSF's reputation through media relations, public affairs, and executive visibility.
• Serving as the senior strategic advisor to executive leadership on media relations and public affairs for the UCSF enterprise.
• Directing enterprise-wide media relations, including oversight of earned and owned media strategies, media engagement, and rapid response communications.
• Leading and developing a high-performing Public Affairs team through coaching, mentorship, talent development, and a culture of innovation, accountability, and excellence.
• Driving innovation in storytelling by leveraging emerging communications technologies, evolving media platforms, analytics, and audience insights to increase communications effectiveness and institutional impact.

Secondary Responsibilities

As a member of the Office of Communications leadership team, the Executive Director also:

• Collaborates with leaders across Marketing, Strategic Communications, Internal Communications, Government Relations, Health Marketing, Development, UCSF Health, and the research and academic enterprise to deliver integrated communications strategies.
• Partners with the Executive Director of Strategic & Crisis Communications to support the enterprise Strategic Communications function, including issues management, crisis communications, and coordinated responses to high-profile, sensitive, or rapidly evolving situations.
• Contributes to enterprise-wide communications planning and organizational initiatives that strengthen the effectiveness, innovation, and impact of the Office of Communications.
• Builds strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders to enhance trust, engagement, and UCSF's visibility and influence at the local, national, and global levels.

The successful candidate will be a strategic and collaborative leader with exceptional interpersonal skills, sound judgment, and experience advising senior executives on complex communications issues. They will excel in leading communications professionals in a rapidly evolving media environment while fostering collaboration, innovation, and excellence across the organization.

This is a hybrid role and is expected to be on site three days per week or more as the work requires.

%

of time

Essential Function (Yes/No)

Key Responsibilities

(To be completed by Supervisor)

40

Yes

Lead enterprise public affairs and reputation strategies that strengthen awareness, trust, and engagement among patients, faculty, staff, policymakers, donors, researchers, alumni, media, and the public.

Responsibilities include:

• Develop and execute enterprise earned and owned media and reputation strategies aligned with UCSF's strategic priorities.

• Position UCSF faculty and executive leadership as trusted national voices on health care, biomedical research, public health, innovation, and science policy.

• Lead executive communications strategies supporting keynote opportunities, opinion content, media interviews, and thought leadership.

• Develop integrated earned, owned, shared, and emerging media strategies that maximize institutional visibility across traditional, digital, and social platforms.

• Drive innovative storytelling that showcases UCSF's research, education, patient care, and community impact using multimedia and audience-centered communications.

• Leverage analytics, media intelligence, audience insights, and performance metrics to evaluate communications effectiveness and continuously improve results.

• Evaluate and responsibly incorporate emerging communications technologies, including AI-enabled tools, to enhance efficiency, audience engagement, and communications effectiveness while maintaining editorial excellence.

• Provide strategic communications counsel and media coaching to executive leadership, faculty, and subject matter experts.

• Serve as executive editor for enterprise media content and ensure consistent institutional messaging across platforms.

May serve as front line media relations officer for the location.

20

Yes

Partner with the Executive Director of Strategic & Crisis Communications to support the enterprise Strategic Communications function, including issues management, crisis communications, and coordinated responses to high-profile, sensitive, or rapidly evolving situations.

• Lead the media relations and external communications components of issues management, crisis communications, and reputation risk mitigation strategies.
• Develop proactive communications frameworks, scenario planning, executive messaging, and coordinated response strategies for incidents affecting patient care, research, education, public health, cybersecurity, institutional operations, or organizational reputation.
• Serve as a senior communications advisor during enterprise incidents and emergencies.
• Lead post-incident media communications reviews to strengthen organizational preparedness and resilience.
• Monitor emerging issues and external trends to proactively identify communications risks and opportunities.

20

Yes

Lead, develop, and inspire a high-performing Public Affairs organization committed to collaboration, innovation, operational excellence, and continuous learning.

• Develop leadership capacity within managers and communications professionals.
• Create succession plans and talent development strategies.
• Champion collaborative leadership practices and employee engagement.
• Establish clear performance expectations and measurable outcomes.
• Manage departmental budget, contracts, vendors, and external communications partners.

15

Yes

As a key member of the Office of Communications leadership team, serve as a collaborative leader and strategic advisor, helping shape enterprise communications strategy, organizational priorities, resource planning, and cross-functional initiatives. Partner across Marketing, Strategic Communications, Internal Communications, Digital Communications, Government Relations, UCSF Health, Development, and academic leadership to deliver integrated communications strategies supporting institutional goals.

5

Yes

Serve as the primary liaison with the communications and media offices at the UC Office of the President and other UC campuses, as well as with communications professionals at peer academic institutions and in industry. Serve as a consultant and, as needed, an editor to communications officers in other UCSF departments or affiliated programs (e.g., AIDS Research Institute, San Francisco General Hospital, NCIRE/VA Medical Center, Gladstone Institutes, and UCSF’s Fresno Program).

Cultivate and maintain effective working relationships with faculty, senior administration and other personnel who may be involved in newsworthy location business.

100%

(To update total %, enter the amount of time in whole numbers (without the % symbol - e.g., 15, 20) then highlight the total sum (e.g., 1%) at the bottom of the column and press F9. The total sum should add up to 100%.)

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in communications, public affairs, media relations, executive communications, or related fields.
• Experience leading communications at an enterprise scale in an academic medical center, research university, integrated health system, government agency, or similarly complex organization.
• Experience developing and leading integrated communications strategies aligned with organizational priorities and business objectives.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams and complex communications initiatives with enterprise-wide impact.
• Advanced knowledge of media relations, including traditional, digital, social, and emerging media platforms, media ethics, and the evolving news landscape.
• Demonstrated ability to lead external communications in highly complex, matrixed organizations in the health, science, research, academic, or public-sector environment.
• Understanding of the communications environment surrounding health care, biomedical research, science, and public policy issues, with the ability to translate complex topics for diverse audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and lead enterprise-wide communications, public affairs, and media strategies that advance organizational priorities and protect institutional reputation.
• Demonstrated success advising senior executives and serving as a trusted communications counselor on high-profile, sensitive, and complex issues.
• Advanced experience leading the external communications/media relations dimensions of crisis communications, issues management, and reputation risk strategies in a dynamic environment.
• Proven ability to develop and execute local, regional, and national media strategies that generate measurable results and strengthen organizational visibility.
• Demonstrated experience positioning executives as thought leaders through media relations, external platforms, and strategic speaking opportunities.
• Demonstrated experience leading through managers and developing leadership capacity, such as through coaching, mentorship, culture, collaboration, innovation and accountability
• Demonstrated ability to lead, mentor, and develop high-performing, multidisciplinary communications teams while fostering collaboration, innovation, and inclusion.
• Experience using communications analytics, media intelligence, and performance metrics to evaluate effectiveness and continuously improve outcomes.
• Excellent verbal, written, editing, and presentation skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with diverse internal and external audiences.
• Exceptional interpersonal, political, and organizational influence skills, with the ability to build relationships and collaborate effectively across all levels of a complex organization.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, exercise sound judgment under pressure, and deliver high-quality results in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
• Experience collaborating with external communications agencies, media partners, and strategic stakeholders to advance institutional objectives.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree