Cigna is seeking a highly-specialized professional for the position of Advisor, External Communications. This position will be responsible for shaping and executing critical media relations strategies, with a primary focus on issues preparedness and response. This individual will work with senior leaders to safeguard and advance the company’s business priorities and reputation in the media, while ensuring a consistent narrative aligned to the company’s mission and values.

The role requires a seasoned, innovative, self-driven communicator who is adept at moving from strategy to execution, works well under pressure, is passionate about communications and has proven strength in building strong relationships with senior leadership/executive management.

Duties and Responsibilities include:

• Develop external communications strategies (proactive and reactive) in collaboration with the Director of External Communications, media relations team members, The Cigna Group newsroom team and other stakeholders across the enterprise. This may include:

• Drafting and disseminating press releases, media pitch notes and opinion pieces;

• Conducting proactive outreach to reporters and editors to secure coverage of enterprise initiatives;

• Developing talking points for key internal and external stakeholders to use in interviews;

• Managing inbound media requests; and

• Coordinating and facilitating spokesperson interviews.

• Work with internal stakeholders within Communications and across the enterprise (Legal, Operations, Clinical, Marketing/Social Media, business segments, etc.) to mitigate potential reputational issues and respond to inbound media inquiries.

• Conduct media research, daily media tracking and issues monitoring to inform communications decision-making and escalate potential issues as needed.

• Establish strong and collaborative working relations with internal stakeholders and external agency partners to anticipate issues before they arise and collaborate to develop plans to manage issues.

• Help business stakeholders appropriately assess risk of decisions and prepare for different scenarios and outcomes.

Our Ideal Candidate Will Offer:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in communications, journalism or related discipline

• At least 6-10 years of experience working in public relations, communications, public affairs or media relations

• Deep understanding of media relations strategies and tactics, ideally in the health care industry

• Experience in crisis, issue and/or reputation management and issue monitoring

• Strong writing and editing skills; ability to write for a variety of audiences across multiple communication channels and vehicles

• Evidence of keen insight into the integration between business and communications’ objectives

• Ability to skillfully manage multiple projects, deadlines and deliverables

• Tact and discretion to work with confidential information and colleagues at all levels

• Experience working in a global, highly-matrixed, deadline-sensitive environment

• Experience working with communication and data & analytics technologies and tools such as Adobe Analytics, Airtable, Canva, Cision, Google Analytics, and NewsWhip, among others.