Public Affairs Program Director

Phoenix, Arizona – Public Relations (Marketing and Communications)

About the role

This position serves as the primary point of contact for proactive and reactive communications with key influencers—including media, government officials, business community leaders, patient advocacy organizations, and nonprofits—ensuring Banner Health’s voice is consistent, credible, and impactful. The role is a full-time hybrid position requiring some in-person work at the Phoenix Corporate Center; candidates must reside in Arizona.

As a cornerstone of Banner Health’s reputation strategy, this position owns a dynamic body of work spanning media engagement, government relations, issues management, and public relations as integrated pillars of a comprehensive program. From on-call issues management and crisis communications to strategic PR campaigns and government relations support, this role shapes and protects Banner Health’s reputation across critical audiences.

Responsibilities

• Manages assigned relationships through consultation with regional stakeholders.
• Provides counsel and content support to Banner corporate and entity leaders for strategic communications and reputation-enhancing activities.
• Directs development of regional public affairs strategies in Arizona, collaborating with senior leaders to create and implement an annual comprehensive plan tied to community trust, reputation, and organizational strategic initiatives.
• Contributes to local trust, reputation, and earned media goals.
• Supports the Government Relations team through collaboration, strategic input on initiatives, and development of communication materials.
• Works within the organization to tell a complete community benefit story with external audiences.
• Ensures timely development and execution of community engagement plans, chamber sponsorships, and other Arizona-focused campaigns.
• Plans, develops, and defends budget recommendations, work goals, measurements, and training requirements to provide quality and accountable service.
• Executes duties in compliance with corporate guidelines and objectives.
• Maintains open communications about issues with leaders and corporate management.
• May support defining, developing, and executing strategic system-wide communications and campaigns.
• Provides leadership in building the Banner brand externally, focusing on educating key stakeholders about the value of Banner Health.
• Interacts with C-suite individuals, facility leadership teams, the marketing/PR shared services team, and external leaders and community organizations.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Business Administration, Marketing, or a related field.
• Seven to ten years of healthcare PR or Arizona-focused public affairs experience in a large organization.
• Strong knowledge of mass communications and stakeholder engagement, with a distinct understanding of Arizona communities, local organizations, and the state’s political climate.
• Previous experience dealing with media and representing an organization at events, meetings, and speaking opportunities.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Ability to manage relations that balance system needs and entity priorities, including conflict resolution.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience in healthcare public relations.
• Prior experience with community engagement programming in Arizona.