Vice President, Public Affairs - Washington
About the Role
The VP, Public Affairs Markets Outside California serves as the senior-most Public Affairs leader within the Market. This role is responsible for advancing and protecting Kaiser Permanente’s reputation, mission, strategic priorities, and business objectives through integrated communications, media relations, community affairs, stakeholder engagement, local government relations, executive positioning, and issues management.
Reporting directly to the Chief Public Affairs Officer and maintaining a dotted-line relationship to the Regional President, this leader serves as the primary Public Affairs advisor to Market leadership and operates at the intersection of enterprise strategy and market execution. The role ensures enterprise Public Affairs priorities are effectively translated into Market strategies, stakeholder engagement efforts, campaigns, communications programs, and community activities while ensuring local market realities inform enterprise decision-making.
As part of the Chief Public Affairs Leadership Table, this role also carries an enterprise leadership mandate and contributes to shaping Public Affairs priorities, alignment, and decision-making across Kaiser Permanente. The VP serves as the primary Public Affairs point of contact for Market leadership, ensuring all Public Affairs activities within the Market are coordinated, aligned, and executed through a unified One KP approach.
The position leads a market-based Public Affairs team responsible for communications, media relations, community affairs, stakeholder engagement, local government relations, executive positioning, reputation management, and issues management. The role works in close partnership with enterprise centers of excellence across External Communications, State Affairs, Federal Affairs, Internal Communications & Engagement, Community Affairs & Engagement, Advocacy, Marketing, Legal, Policy & Regulatory Affairs, and Community Health.
Responsibilities
- Strategic Leadership & Executive Counsel
- Serve as the senior Public Affairs advisor to Market leadership.
- Represent market priorities, opportunities, stakeholder insights, and reputational considerations within enterprise Public Affairs planning and governance processes.
- Help shape enterprise Public Affairs strategies and priorities by providing market insights, stakeholder perspectives, competitive intelligence, and business context.
- Advise leaders on communications, stakeholder engagement, reputation management, labor dynamics, public policy implications, and emerging issues that may affect market performance.
- Support executive decision-making through strategic counsel, risk assessment, stakeholder insights, and communications planning.
- Public Affairs Leadership & Coordination
- Coordinate Public Affairs activities across Communications, Media Relations, Community Affairs, Stakeholder Engagement, Local Government Relations, State Affairs, Federal Government Relations, Advocacy, and enterprise centers of excellence.
- Ensure Market leadership has a clear, coordinated, and integrated Public Affairs strategy that reflects the full capabilities of the Public Affairs organization.
- Convene and lead regular Market Public Affairs planning, prioritization, and coordination efforts to ensure alignment across functions.
- Ensure market Public Affairs strategies support enterprise priorities while reflecting local business objectives, stakeholder needs, and community realities.
- Market Reputation & Communications Leadership
- Lead Market communications and reputation strategies in alignment with enterprise priorities and business objectives.
- Develop and implement Market communications strategies that strengthen Kaiser Permanente’s reputation and support organizational goals.
- Ensure enterprise narratives are effectively localized and executed within the market while maintaining consistency with One KP priorities.
- Identify, elevate, and amplify market innovations, care delivery successes, community partnerships, thought leadership opportunities, and organizational achievements.
- Media Relations & External Visibility
- Oversee Market media relations and earned media strategies in partnership with enterprise communications teams.
- Serve as a visible executive and spokesperson for Kaiser Permanente within the market, including participation in media interviews, public forums, community events, and stakeholder meetings.
- Support and prepare executives, physicians, and subject matter experts for media interviews, public-facing engagements, and speaking opportunities.
- Develop and maintain strong relationships with local, regional, and industry media.
- Ensure market media activities align with enterprise priorities and support a One KP Voice.
- Community Affairs, Stakeholder Engagement & Local Government Relations
- Lead Market community affairs, stakeholder engagement, and local government relations strategies.
- Build and maintain trusted relationships with community leaders, nonprofit organizations, employers, purchasers, chambers of commerce, labor leaders, civic organizations, local elected officials, business groups, providers, and other influential stakeholders.
- Partner with Community Health leaders to align community engagement, mission delivery, stakeholder engagement, and community investment activities.
- Support implementation of enterprise community engagement strategies, sponsorship activations, volunteerism programs, and mission-focused initiatives.
- Ensure Kaiser Permanente maintains a visible, trusted, and credible presence within the communities it serves.
- Enterprise & Market Integration
- Translate enterprise Public Affairs strategies, campaigns, and priorities into effective Market execution.
- Partner closely with State Affairs and Federal Government Relations leaders to ensure alignment of stakeholder engagement, advocacy priorities, legislative activities, and reputation strategies.
- Establish Market operating rhythms and governance that bring together market Public Affairs teams and enterprise centers of excellence to support a coordinated One KP approach.
- Ensure market teams leverage enterprise capabilities, tools, content, campaigns, reporting, and expertise effectively.
- Issues Management & Market Intelligence
- Lead Market preparedness, response, and coordination related to reputational issues, emerging concerns, and stakeholder challenges.
- Maintain visibility into emerging market issues, stakeholder concerns, community sentiment, labor developments, competitive dynamics, and reputational risks.
- Provide enterprise leaders with regular intelligence regarding stakeholder relationships, community dynamics, media trends, local government developments, and market conditions.
- Partner with enterprise Communications, Government Relations, Legal, and Issues Management leaders to support coordinated responses to complex situations.
- Team Leadership & Organizational Effectiveness
- Lead, develop, and inspire a high-performing Public Affairs team.
- Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, inclusion, innovation, and continuous improvement.
- Align resources, priorities, and capabilities to support both market and enterprise objectives.
- Support development of future Public Affairs leaders and strengthen organizational capabilities across the Market.
Requirements
- Minimum ten (10) years of progressively responsible leadership experience in public affairs, communications, community affairs, media relations, government relations, stakeholder engagement, or related disciplines.
- Bachelor’s degree required.
- Significant experience advising senior leaders and leading through complex reputational, political, regulatory, labor, and business environments.
- Demonstrated success leading integrated Public Affairs, Communications, Community Affairs, Government Relations, or stakeholder engagement functions.
- Demonstrated understanding of healthcare delivery systems, health plans, provider organizations, community health, and the stakeholder environments that influence healthcare organizations.
- Experience operating within matrixed organizations and leading through influence.