The Vice President of Marketing and Communications is a senior leadership role responsible for the strategic direction and operational performance of Sandhills Medical Foundation's marketing, communications, and brand functions. This leader reports directly to the CEO and serves as a key member of the executive team, translating organizational priorities into clear, effective communications strategies that drive patient growth, strengthen community trust, and advance Sandhills Medical's mission.
The VP brings together brand strategy, digital marketing, community visibility, reputation management, grant communications, and communications leadership to position Sandhills Medical as the healthcare home of choice across its service area. This role also oversees the marketing team and external vendors, providing direction, accountability, and mentorship.
Core Responsibilities
Marketing Strategy and Patient Growth
- Develop and execute a comprehensive annual marketing strategy aligned with Sandhills Medical's growth goals, service line priorities, and community health objectives.
- Lead patient acquisition and retention efforts through targeted campaigns, community engagement, and strategic outreach to underserved populations.
- Identify and track key marketing performance metrics, using data to evaluate effectiveness and adjust strategy accordingly.
- Partner with clinical and operational leadership to understand program priorities and translate them into community-facing marketing efforts.
Communications Leadership
- Serve as the primary communications advisor to the CEO, providing counsel on messaging, positioning, media relations, and organizational reputation.
- Manage communications for organizational milestones, operational changes, community announcements, and crisis situations.
- Oversee executive communications, including CEO thought leadership, board-facing materials, sponsorship communications, and external stakeholder messaging.
- Maintain consistent, audience-appropriate messaging across all channels, including social media, email, web, print, and earned media.
Digital Strategy and Community Visibility
- Lead the organization's digital marketing strategy, including social media, search, email marketing, and content development.
- Build and maintain Sandhills Medical's presence in the communities it serves through strategic partnerships, event sponsorships, and grassroots outreach.
- Oversee online reputation management.
- Identify community events, partnerships, and earned media opportunities that increase visibility and build trust.
Grants Communications and Funder Relations
The VP plays a communications support role in the organization’s grants and funder relations work. This includes strengthening the language, clarity, and consistency of materials used to secure and steward grant funding and philanthropic relationships.
Write and refine grant narrative sections, including organizational descriptions, community need statements, and program impact summaries, ensuring they are clear, compelling, and consistent with Sandhills Medical’s voice.
- Develop and maintain a current, accurate funder-facing messaging framework that reflects the organization’s mission, reach, and impact across its four-county service area.
- Support the preparation of funder reports, stewardship communications, and donor acknowledgment materials, keeping them consistent with the organization’s brand and plain-language standards.
- Collaborate with the CEO and relevant staff to strengthen communications around grant opportunities, philanthropic partnerships, or funding announcements as they arise.
- Ensure all grant-facing and funder-facing materials reflect the same plain language and patient-centered voice used across all external communications.
Brand Strategy
- Set the strategic direction for the Sandhills Medical brand, ensuring that brand positioning, voice, and visual identity reflect the organization's values and community mission.
- Provide strategic oversight for the Director of Brand and Creative Services and ensure creative output aligns with organizational messaging priorities.
- Champion plain, warm, patient-centered language across all communications and hold vendors and team members accountable to brand standards.
Team and Vendor Oversight
- Directly supervise the Director of Brand and Creative Services and any other marketing or communications staff.
- Manage relationships with external marketing agencies, digital partners, public relations firms, and communications consultants.
- Build a high-performing, collaborative marketing function that supports the organization's growth and mission.
- Oversee the marketing budget, ensuring responsible use of resources and clear ROI accountability.
Executive and Board Partnership
- Attend leadership team meetings and contribute a marketing and communications perspective to organizational planning and decision-making.
- Prepare board-level marketing updates and present strategic recommendations to executive and board audiences.
- Support grant communications, funder reporting narratives, and policy-facing materials as needed.
Education: Bachelor's degree required in marketing, communications, public health, business, or a related field. Master's degree preferred.
Experience: Minimum 8 to 12 years of progressive experience in marketing, communications, or brand strategy, with at least 3 to 5 years in a leadership role. Healthcare experience strongly preferred, particularly in community health, FQHCs, or health systems.
Required Skills and Competencies
- Proven ability to develop and execute integrated marketing and communications strategies that drive measurable results.
- Strong executive communication skills, including the ability to counsel senior leadership and represent the organization externally.
Deep understanding of digital marketing, content strategy, and community engagement tactics.
- Experience managing teams and vendor relationships with clear accountability and performance standards.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to write across channels, including patient-facing plain language, executive thought leadership, and funder communications.
- Comfort with data and performance metrics, including the ability to interpret analytics and make strategy adjustments.
- Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build trust across a diverse, mission-driven organization.
Preferred
- Experience working with or for a Federally Qualified Health Center, community health center, or safety-net provider.
- Familiarity with HRSA reporting, grant communications, or value-based care messaging.
- Demonstrated success building a marketing function in a resource-constrained environment.
- Experience with reputation management platforms and patient engagement tools.
Working Conditions
This is a senior leadership position based at a Sandhills Medical administrative or clinic location. Regular travel across the four-county service area is expected for community events, clinic visits, and stakeholder engagements. Some remote flexibility may be available based on organizational need and individual performance.
