Director, Marketing and Brand Strategy

JOB SUMMARY

• Primary responsibility is to provide strategic leadership, direction, and oversight for MAHEC's marketing, branding, digital engagement, and creative services functions. Responsible for developing and executing comprehensive marketing initiatives that strengthen brand awareness, enhance organizational reputation, increase engagement with patients, learners, faculty, employees, donors, community partners, and stakeholders, and support achievement of MAHEC's strategic priorities. Leads the development and implementation of integrated marketing and communication strategies supporting MAHEC's clinical services, educational programs, graduate medical education initiatives, workforce development activities, philanthropic efforts, and community outreach programs. Oversees brand stewardship, website development and governance, digital communications, creative design and production services, media relations, and marketing analytics to ensure a consistent, mission-driven organizational presence across all channels.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develops and implements a comprehensive organizational marketing and communications strategy aligned with MAHEC's mission, vision, values, and strategic plan.
• Leads enterprise brand management activities, including brand positioning, messaging, visual identity standards, and reputation management.
• Provides strategic consultation to organizational leaders regarding marketing opportunities, communication planning, stakeholder engagement, and promotional initiatives.
• Oversees website strategy, design, content governance, accessibility compliance, user experience, search engine optimization (SEO), generative engine optimization (GEO), analytics, and ongoing digital platform enhancements.
• Directs the development and execution of integrated marketing and advertising campaigns utilizing digital, print, social media, email, video, and emerging communication channels.
• Establishes and maintains organizational graphic design standards and ensures brand consistency across all departments, programs, and service lines.
• Oversees development and production of marketing materials supporting patient care services, residency programs, continuing education activities, workforce recruitment, research initiatives, and community engagement programs.
• Coordinates market research, competitive analysis, audience segmentation, and performance measurement activities to inform strategic decision-making.
• Develops and monitors key performance indicators and dashboards to evaluate marketing effectiveness, return on investment, audience engagement, and brand awareness.
• Leads the organization's social media strategy and oversees management of all official digital channels.
• Supports physician, provider, learner, faculty, and employee recruitment marketing initiatives.
• Develops, administers, and monitors departmental budgets and marketing expenditures.
• Provides leadership, supervision, coaching, and performance management for marketing and communications personnel.
• Develops departmental goals, operational plans, policies, procedures, and performance metrics.
• Evaluates and implements technologies, software platforms, and tools supporting marketing, communications, digital engagement, and design activities.
• Participates in organizational leadership meetings and strategic planning efforts, providing expertise and recommendations regarding marketing, branding, and public relations.  
• Works collaboratively across clinical, educational, operational, and administrative departments to support organizational goals and priorities.
• Ensures compliance with applicable healthcare marketing regulations, privacy requirements, accessibility standards, asset licensing/usage, copyrights, and organizational policies.
• Maintains productive relationships with media organizations, journalists, community partners, healthcare organizations, educational institutions, and key stakeholders throughout Western North Carolina.  
• Promotes organizational visibility, recognition, thought leadership, and reputation through strategic communication initiatives and storytelling efforts.
• Supports community outreach, advocacy, special events, public programs, and stakeholder engagement activities.
• Collaborates with organizational leaders to communicate MAHEC's impact on healthcare, education, workforce development, and community health.
• Crisis Communication – Collaborates with executive leadership on communication strategy, message development, stakeholder engagement, and media response during crisis situations.
• Assists in the promotion of conferences, continuing education programs, fundraising activities, recognition events, and community initiatives.
• Maintains effective communication and working relationships with patients, learners, faculty, preceptors, residents, students, donors, community partners, volunteers, staff, and organizational leadership.

KEY COMPETENCIES:

• Communication Skills

Effectively and respectably communicate with other individuals, whether it be a colleague, patient, or patient’s family member and appropriately enumerate information in a manner easily understood by all parties. We do this to foster a culture of understanding between all parties, especially in complex and difficult situations, to ultimately provide the best care possible to our patients and their families.

• Decision Making

Ability to make the most appropriate decision in a given situation and then taking the next steps to ensure appropriate and timely completion. This requires conflict resolution skills, critical thinking skills, confidence in your ability to make the right decision in most situations. This also includes ability to prioritize your workday appropriately to ensure the most important tasks are completed on time.

• HealthCare Knowledge

Having the drive to keep yourself abreast and up to date on the new breakthroughs in your area of expertise and communicating them to the rest of the team, as appropriate.  This also includes keeping up with your licensure and yearly training requirements within your area expertise along with MAHEC’s organizational training. Finally, the ability to apply the depth of knowledge maintained and gained through this process in real life scenarios as appropriate.

• Interpersonal Skills

Showing the ability to meet difficult situations with grace, professionalism, and understanding. Within your area of expertise, showing respect and showing empathy where appropriate with your colleagues, patients, and their family at all times, even when its most difficult to do so. This is done, in part, by effective listening, being your authentic self, showing responsibility and dependability, and being patient with others.

• Organizational Values

Adherence to MAHEC’s founding principles and incorporating them every day. This includes, among others, having integrity and accountability, reverence for other cultures and equitable practices, ability to manage change, and displaying a clear understanding of organizational dynamics. Doing these things creates a culture where people want to do the best for each other and gives personal ownership towards the goal of helping people in their time of need.

• Problem Solving

Having an analytical mind and ability to work autonomously to solve complex problems that may arise. The wherewithal to think logically through a difficult problem and come to an appropriate resolution for a given issue. This helps to drive continuous improvement by thinking through where we can improve in a novel way. Measures success by understanding where we are currently and where we want to go and then applying those new ideas to affect positive change.

SPECIFIED SKILLS

COMPUTER

• Proficiency with Microsoft 365, website content management systems, digital marketing technologies, and analytics platforms required. Proficiency with graphic design tools, and social media management platforms preferred.  

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

• Spanish speaking skills preferred.

OTHER SKILLS:

• Demonstrated excellence in executive communication, presentation development, writing, editing, stakeholder engagement, and public-facing communications.
• Ability to establish productive relationships with high level health system leaders in academic or hospital settings.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to manage multiple programs and competing priorities.
• Strategic thinking and organizational development.
• Strong problem-solving and conflict resolution skills.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Leads a team of marketing, communications, digital, and creative professionals responsible for delivering the programs, services, and initiatives described within this role. Provides strategic direction, prioritization, coaching, and resource management to ensure alignment with organizational objectives and service excellence.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, Business Administration, Healthcare Administration, or a related field required.
• Minimum seven years of progressively responsible marketing, communications, public relations, or brand management experience required.
• Minimum three years of leadership or supervisory experience required.
• Experience in healthcare, academic medicine, higher education, nonprofit organizations, Federally Qualified Health Centers, or health systems preferred.
• Demonstrated experience leading brand strategy, website development, digital marketing initiatives, and integrated communication campaigns required.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master's degree in Marketing, Communications, Business Administration, Public Health, Healthcare Administration, or a related discipline preferred.  

REQUIRED LICENSES:

• Valid North Carolina Driver’s License

SCHEDULE:

• Regular attendance on-site is an essential function of this position. Typical business hours are Monday – Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm (or flexed to best meet the needs of the clients and/or the Division); 40 hours per workweek; weekend, holiday, or evening coverage is occasionally required. Work hours will need to be flexible in order to respond to special work assignments, or evening activities, as requested by the team leader.

At MAHEC, we strive to equip all team members with Total Rewards (pay + benefits) to honor their service, support their health, manage their financial security, build their career, and thrive.

MAHEC is a qualifying employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program. Employees who meet federal requirements may be eligible to have remaining student loan balances forgiven after 10 years of qualifying payments while working full-time at MAHEC.

If you are interested in this role, and you have related experience and qualifications, we encourage you to apply or reach out to [email protected] for support in your job search process. You could be the talent we are seeking for this or other opportunities

All MAHEC employees and learners will be required to receive the Flu vaccine or have an approved exemption.

MAHEC does not provide employment-based US visa sponsorship, now or in the future. All new employees must provide valid, original I-9 documents on their first day of work.

MAHEC Talent Management is located at 121 Hendersonville Road, Asheville, NC 28803. Equal Opportunity Employer.