Vice President of Public Affairs

The Vice President of Public Affairs is a member of Essential Access Health’s Senior Management Team responsible for providing leadership and mentorship to the Public Affairs department, and oversight of organizational activities related to public policy, advocacy, strategic communications, and community engagement and outreach.

The Vice President of Public Affairs will ensure that the organization’s core values and commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and belonging are integrated and reflected all public affairs programming and reflected in the organization’s branding and messaging. The Vice President of Public Affairs will build and maintain a dynamic and collaborative public affairs team to champion and expand access to equitable, high quality, and patient-centered sexual and reproductive health care for all.

This position is based in our Berkeley office with a hybrid work schedule. The salary for this position is 175k.

Description of Duties

Public Policy + Advocacy

• Develop and advance a pro-active, community-informed policy agenda that supports reproductive equity for all, and lead efforts to oppose policies that seek to place barriers on sexual and reproductive health access
• Conduct and direct lobbying activities (including oversight of contract lobbyists)
• Develop and maintain positive relationships and ongoing communication with key decision makers and staff
• Monitor and respond to federal, state and regional legislation, regulation or budget items that could impact access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care and information
• Provide substantive and strategic positions on public policies and anticipate trends and changes that could affect sexual and reproductive health service delivery and access
• Represent Essential Access Health on coalitions and in meetings with partner organizations
• Lead efforts to increase support for Essential Access Health’s public policy priorities
• Serve as the staff lead on and liaison to Essential Access Health’s Board of Director’s Public Policy Advisory Committee

Strategic Communications

• Lead Essential Access Health’s programs and activities that increase patient and consumer awareness about comprehensive, inclusive, medically accurate sexual and reproductive health information, coverage options, and where to obtain care
• Develop, manage and lead production of Essential Access Health’s marketing collateral, newsletters, report, alerts and public awareness campaigns that reflection the organization’s core values and promote our mission, strategic priorities, and programs and services
• Oversee pro-active strategies to increase awareness about Essential Access Health and position the organization as a leader in sexual and reproductive health in California and beyond through traditional media outlets, social media platforms and speaking engagements
• Enhance and maintain Essential Access Health’s brand identity and ensure adherence to brand guidelines throughout the organization
• Function as the organization’s lead communications strategist developing key messages, drafting speeches and presentations and reviewing all key internal and external communications to ensure quality, accuracy and consistency in messaging and branding
• Oversee the development, maintenance and increased reach of Essential Access Health’s website and digital platforms through the creation of up-to-date, dynamic, community-informed, and engaging content
• Provide strategic guidance to support Title X Information & Education Committee activities.

Community Engagement + Outreach

• Lead activities to engage and uplift community member voices and experiences in the development of public policy priorities and community outreach materials
• Develop and oversee activities that increase community and partner engagement in and support of Essential Access Health’s mission, programs, and policy priorities
• Provide strategic guidance to support TeenSource+ initiatives, programming, and content
• Direct planning and implementation of special events that promote Essential Access Health’s leadership, and enhance and build strategic partnerships

Senior Leadership

• Serve as a senior advisor to the Co-CEOs on all public policy and strategic communications issues
• Participate in the development and advancement of organization’s strategic goals and direction
• Provide quarterly reports to the Co-CEOs and regular reports to the Board of Directors on public affairs activities and progress toward meeting strategic metrics
• Manage public affairs staff and program budgets
• Ensure successful completion of all grant deliverables for foundation and government-  supported public affairs activities and provide information for grant reports.

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required to perform this job.

• Strong commitment to the organization’s mission and core values, and desire to be a part of a work environment and culture committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, justice and belonging.
• A minimum of ten years progressively increased responsibilities in public affairs and strategic communications within a medium to large size organization
• Recent experience in sexual and reproductive health or health care field strongly preferred
• Outstanding written and oral communications skills
• Ability to work effectively and relate well with diverse internal and external audiences required
• A proven track record of innovation and original thinking
• A proven history of leading programmatic growth and impact and effective project management
• Experience in strategic planning and effective team leadership and mentorship
• Ability to develop and implement effective administrative procedures
• Demonstrated ability to exercise mature judgment, initiative and critical thinking
• Ability to work independently with excellent attention to detail
• Ability to multitask and work well under pressure to meet deadlines, with a strong results orientation
• Proficiency with Microsoft computer software (Word, PowerPoint, Excel)
• Ability and willingness to travel for meetings and conferences