External Communications Specialist

Primary City/State: Phoenix, Arizona Department Name: Public Relations Work Shift: Day Job Category: Marketing and Communications Great options and opportunities. We’re certified as a Great Place To Work® and are looking for professionals to help us make Banner Health the best place to work and receive care. Apply today! Arizona is a year-round destination. Sunny skies and low humidity prevail 300 days a year across the state. From awesome natural wonders to culinary treats, tribal lands, vibrant cities, world-class resorts, renowned golfing and historic Western towns, there are some truly breathtaking moments to be had in the Grand Canyon State. Make an impact as an External Communications Specialist, building community trust through compelling storytelling, media outreach, and strategic communications. You’ll create press materials, executive messaging, and digital content while supporting community events, stakeholder engagement, and media opportunities. This role is ideal for a strong communicator and relationship builder with public relations experience who thrives in a fast-paced, collaborative environment. Schedule : Monday through Friday from 8AM to 5PM. There is a rotating one-week on-call schedule across the team to ensure 24/7 coverage and support for external communications across the health enterprise. This is a hybrid role that includes required on-site responsibilities. Your pay and benefits are important components of your journey at Banner Health. This opportunity includes the option to participate in a variety of health, financial, and security benefits. Within Banner Health Corporate, you will have the opportunity to apply your unique experience and expertise in support of a nationally-recognized healthcare leader. We offer stimulating and rewarding careers in a wide array of disciplines. Whether your background is in Human Resources, Finance, Information Technology, Legal, Managed Care Programs or Public Relations, you'll find many options for contributing to our award-winning patient care. POSITION SUMMARY This position creates and maintains positive relationships with external audiences by collaborating with the Banner team to support stakeholder engagement efforts, community events, media outreach and other opportunities which enhance Banner’s profile, drive relevance and build trust in the community. This role is expected to work semi-independently, with oversight and support from senior members of the team. The candidate/jobholder should have prior experience and understanding of the facets of public relations (earned media, content, social media, community engagement, etc.). CORE FUNCTIONS 1. Serves as a team member on the external communications team and supports senior specialists, managers and directors with storytelling and stakeholder engagement needs. 2. Writing support across media materials and press releases, messaging and talking points, and the development of executive briefs to prep leaders, subject matter experts and physicians for speaking opportunities and media interviews. 3. Leverages best-practice communication methods to actively contribute to the creation and implementation of the external communication strategy. 4. Leads local and state media engagement efforts, actively pitching media to build Banner’s profile in the community. Supports team members with national media and trade media outreach. 5. Coordinates meetings. Supports administrative tasks such as ordering promotional material, aligning with agencies and internal stakeholders. Assists with KPI tracking, internal dashboards and overall measurement of team activities. 6. Leads special projects or initiative teams that need external communications support to ensure success. 7. As needed, emergency communications and issues management efforts with social listening and media monitoring. 8. Incumbents in this position work on projects that are often complex in nature, are primarily digital, and have wide organizational impact. Projects may require evaluation of technology requirements and technical troubleshooting. Incumbents may provide guidance to the Visual Designer and outsourced creative vendors to ensure adherence to brand standards, project objectives and timelines. Works with internal clients and stakeholders to ensure projects meet objectives and expectations. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS Must possess a strong knowledge of public relations as normally obtained through the completion of a Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Business Administration, Marketing or related field. Skill level is typically achieved through two to four years’ experience in public relations, communications, and/or marketing. Effective organizational skills and demonstrated experience in media outreach, creative writing, public relations writing and strong editing. Sensitivity to public perceptions and their implications/interpretation is required. Effective human relations and communications skills required. PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS Working knowledge of major trends in healthcare. Knowledge and experience with nonprofit marketing communications preferred. Additional related education and/or experience preferred. EEO Statement: EEO/Disabled/Veterans Our organization supports a drug-free work environment. Privacy Policy: