Senior Associate - Healthcare Issues

Agency:

Weber Shandwick

Job Function:

Communications and PR

Job Subfunction:

Public Relations

Job Description:

Job DescriptionThe Weber Shandwick New York office is seeking a Senior Associate in New York to join its healthcare specialty of its Global Crisis and Issues Practice. The Global Crisis and Issues team, part of the Weber Advisory group, helps leading organizations across the world both manage breaking negative issues and events affecting reputation and develop the internal culture and infrastructure needed to predict, prepare, and navigate them effectively.

From rapid healthcare policy shifts, executive controversies and high-profile litigation to clinical trial complications, therapy access issues and sweeping product recalls to brand protection amid fake news and celebrity campaign gaffes, we live at the front lines of media, culture, and conversation. Whether it is a program affecting internal stakeholders or an external effort to protect or defend an organization’s reputation, we work together with colleagues from around the country and globe daily, supplying crisis counsel to healthcare clients across sub-sectors, including pharmaceutical, biotech, medical devices and MedTech, health systems, and advocacy and non-profit organizations, making deep curiosity in healthcare a requisite for this position.  

Candidate Qualities  

As a Senior Associate, you will have the unique opportunity to help drive communications around these challenging and exciting projects. You will be a day-to-day leader among the team’s Associate-level staff, working directly with senior leadership to help drive research, develop materials, staff projects, scope work, manage vendors, track budget and balance multiple shifting priorities in real-time. The ideal candidate will have excellent writing skills and the ability to perform in a fast-paced, deadline-oriented environment, preferably across multiple industries, but with a greater focus on pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device, health system and other healthcare clients. You will be intimately familiar with current events and news trends in healthcare and be able to translate that knowledge into actionable insights for clients. This extends to social and digital communications: you must have true analytical fluency in this area. A strong academic record is necessary, and demonstrated experience in issues management in a previous position or academic setting. 

Our Team

Our team is a group of smart, analytical and hardworking people who care deeply about helping lead our clients through a crisis to make a positive impact on society. We are on the front lines of some of the biggest, most complex issues – and the nature of our work requires an ability and eagerness to juggle multiple responsibilities and work on multi-office client teams. You will have the opportunity to play a leading role in driving both ongoing client engagements and discrete projects. 

What You Will Be Doing   

• Serves as key team member to support a range of complex, high-profile corporate issues /crisis communications situations (i.e., pricing and access issues, product safety issues and recalls, natural disaster response, executive leadership changes, policy shifts, etc.)
• Drafts and reviews of press releases, crisis plans, media strategies, reactive media statements, talking points, FAQs, memos, crisis simulations and other deliverables as needed

• Develops and reviews media and other stakeholder materials based on outline or direction developed with supervisors

• Supports the monitoring and triaging of client issues including crisis/issues coverage reports, leveraging industry measurement and listening tools to identify opportunities for growth and strategic evolution

• Liaises with clients and assists in client communications, including developing and coordinating routine account management materials

• Prepares for and takes part in client meetings providing detailed recaps and leading action steps resulting from discussions

• Partners with cross-functional teams to ensure flawless execution of the client business objectives

• Leads small teams to conduct pressing research on a wide range of issues, reviews and prepare executive summaries and/or analyses of information into strategic and actionable recommendations

• Serves as role model to team members, producing high-quality work and continually updating manager on activity progress
• Actively builds own knowledge, contributes to inclusive team culture and consistently displays behaviors that support integration
• Participates in our A-Team's On-Duty rotational schedule, covering evening and weekend hours, to handle critical client reports, ad-hoc research, and support emergent crises 
  

 What We Are Looking For  

• Crisis communications, issues management, and/or public affairs experience 
• Strong understanding of social analytics and fluency in all social/digital platforms, while keeping pace with social media / digital industry trends and developments
• Clear understanding of media relations and media landscape influencing public perception
• Ability to provide strategic and actionable recommendations based on research
• Familiarity with the healthcare sector
• Strong writing skills and meticulous attention to detail
• Sharp curiosity and an analytical mind  
• Resourceful, effective problem solver
• Highly effective oral and written communication skills 
• Ability to prioritize multiple tasks and manage deadlines in a consistent manner
• Comfortable asking for help from and providing direction to team members
• Ability to take ownership, manage and see projects through from start to finish 
• Proactive self-starter and a quick learner
• Strong work ethic 
  

Basic Qualifications 

• 2-3 years of professional experience: in an agency/strategic consulting firm, political campaign or organization, or at a company in the healthcare sector  
• BA or BS, preferably in Political Science, history, journalism, International Relations or similar fields -Knowledge of basic PR skills and client service  
• Fluent in Microsoft Suite (e.g., Word, PowerPoint, Excel) and proficiency in research, media and social monitoring platforms (e.g., Brandwatch, Sysomos, Cision, Muckrack, TV Eyes, Critical Mention, Lexis-Nexis)





$68,000 - $78,000

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