Associate Director, Global Communications (Biotech)

About Us

Founded in 1908, Merz is a successful, family-owned specialty healthcare company with a rich history. As a leading global aesthetics business, our award-winning portfolio of injectables, devices, and skincare products empowers healthcare professionals to enhance confidence through aesthetic medicine. Our purpose is to fuel confidence by helping people look better, feel better, and live better. We believe you do not have to choose between living life and making a living. Live your best life with Merz Aesthetics.

A Brief Overview

The Associate Director, Global Communications plays a crucial role in aligning the organization's external communications strategies with its short- and long-term goals. This position requires experience in media relations, agency management and innovative public relations strategy and execution. Responsibilities include managing budgets and timelines and establishing effective measurement and reporting systems in addition to setting strategy and executing campaigns. By maintaining strong partnerships with internal and external stakeholders, agencies and vendors, the Associate Director ensures that initiatives are creative, impactful and executed effectively. This role is vital to enhancing the organization's reputation and ensuring that all communications and PR efforts contribute to the broader organizational goals.

What you will do

• External Communications & Media Relations:
  • Develop and execute comprehensive external communications plans that maximize opportunities to increase awareness and further reputation of the Organization
  • Oversee the writing and creation of press releases, press kits, pitches, etc. with experience in AP style and deep understanding of Merz Aesthetics voice, key messages, etc.
  • Build and maintain relationships with media and content outlets and position Merz Aesthetics and a trusted source and subject matter expert
  • Manage media interviews from pitching to publishing including creating story angles, identifying spokespeople, creating briefs and training for spokespeople, managing logistics, fact checking, approvals, monitoring for coverage, socializing published news, etc.
  • Stay up to date on industry and cultural trends to maximize external communications opportunities
  • Maintain high attention to detail to ensure accuracy and consistency among all media relations materials
  • Lead media monitoring through the utilization of dedicated tools
  • Work under tight deadlines to manage multiple projects with a sense of urgency
  • Oversee regular maintenance of corporate key messages and materials
  • Maintain strong knowledge of the business and stay up to date on related milestones
  • Ensure brand compliance throughout all initiatives and support brand governance globally
• Public relations:
  • Drive high-quality, innovative and creative initiatives that enhance brand visibility and engage target audiences
  • Manage events and event participation from start to finish with high attention to detail
  • Partner with internal and executive communications leads and social media team to amplify their content through creative external execution
• Strategic planning:
  • Provide direction and input for the department's annual strategic planning process, and ensure all functional plans and initiatives ladder back to the organization's strategic imperatives
  • Lead plan development for various initiatives throughout the year and manage effective execution that meets or exceeds outlined goals and KPIs
  • Ensure short-term goals are met with a simultaneous focus on long-term goals and how they impact the broader organization
  • Establish KPIs and effective measurement and reporting for all initiatives
• Project management:
  • Collaborate with colleagues to lead projects that involve all functions of the global communications and social media team
  • Set the goals, project scope, timeline, roles and key milestones
  • Develop a system to track progress and ensure goals are met
  • Manage budget with input from colleagues and allocate resources appropriately
  • Set KPIs to track performance, analyze outcomes and optimize for future success
  • Ensure clear and timely communication among the project team
  • Define stakeholders and methods for regular communication with them
• Stakeholder Management:
  • Build, maintain and independently manage strong relationships with internal stakeholders at all levels and in multiple functions throughout the organization
  • Leverage partnerships to help stakeholders meet communications needs and lead timely, relevant communications that raise awareness and further the reputation of Merz Aesthetics
  • Establish a regular communications cadence with stakeholders that keeps the communications team informed of timely news and milestones and keeps stakeholders informed of results
  • Socialize relevant communications and PR work
• Cross-functional collaboration:
  • Partner with legal and regulatory teams to ensure compliance with relevant requirements and smooth working relationships
  • Maintain strong relationships with communications colleagues in different areas of the organization to maximize efforts and ensure consistency
  • Collaborate within the global communications and social media team to ensure work is integrated across functions and channels to make the most of external
  • communications and PR
  • Maintain strong relationships with colleagues in different departments throughout the organization to lead communication around key milestones and priority initiatives and provide strategic counsel as a subject matter expert when needed
• Partner with Executives and Key Opinion Leaders:
  • Support media training for stakeholders and develop media talking points, Q&A, briefing documents, etc.
  • Support implementation of thought leadership platforms through external communications for the C - Suite executives through partnership with communications team colleagues
  • Identify and partner with executives and external thought leaders to serve as subject matter experts and spokespeople for external communications initiatives
• Leadership:
  • Effectively lead as a project manager and in other situations where informal leadership is required
  • Establish a reputation as a subject matter expert and provide strategic direction as needed throughout the global organization
  • Play an active role in identifying and implementing processes, tools and strategies that contribute to a high-functioning team
• Agency & Vendor Management:
  • Maintain strong partnerships with agency counterparts
  • Ensure a productive feedback loop to continuously improve ways of working
  • Effectively manage multiple agency partnerships simultaneously to create the best support team for each project
  • Ensure efficient use of agency resources and engage in regular budget and activity review
• Budget Management:
  • Lead the development of project-based budgets and meticulously track and manage resources for each project
  • Monitor budgets and make informed decisions about budget allocation throughout the year
  • Proactively evaluate spending in collaboration with the global communications team to maximize resources across the department.

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor's Degree in journalism, communications, PR or related field
• 7+ years of relevant work experience
• 3-5 years project management experience
• 3-5 years of media relations experience
• 2+ years managing multiple agencies and vendors

Preferred Requirements

• Master's Degree in a related discipline is highly desirable
• 1-2 years of working in a highly regulated environment
• 2+ years of working in an agency
• 2+ years of working in a global organization

Technical & Functional Skills:

• Executive presence and exceptional presentation skills
• Direct experience in media relations, corporate communication and PR
• Experience developing and managing sizable budgets
• Comfort with a large variety of online meeting tools and AV equipment
• Excellent written, oral and interpersonal communication skills
• Demonstrated history of teamwork and cross-functional collaboration
• Thrive in a team and organization that moves quickly and requires a high level of flexibility
• Operate with a sense of urgency and a high level of accountability
• Communicates openly and honestly and appreciates the same from teammates
• Incredibly high attention to detail
• Proactive approach to problem solving and maximizing work
• Ability to independently set, manage and achieve deadlines

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
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