The Medical School Communications Community of Practice Director serves as a senior communications leader for medical school administration, with responsibility for leading the community of practice for embedded and unit communicators, strengthening message flow across leadership and administrative units, and advancing school-specific communications strategy. This role helps translate institutional priorities into practical communication approaches at the unit level and ensures stronger coordination across the Medical School's distributed communications environment.

This role supports the internal communications strategy for the medical school administration, including message planning, cascade mechanisms, and alignment across leadership and administrative units. It also serves as the primary connector between the Communications Community of Practices initiatives and the broader academic communications strategy led through Michigan Medicine's shared services.

Reporting Relationships

• Reports directly to the Chief of Staff for the Medical School.
• Works in lock step with the Communication Director for the Medical School and communication leaders at Michigan Medicine to align embedded communication staff with the Department of Communication.
• Leads the Medical School community of practice for embedded and unit communicators.
• May supervise staff roles, as determined by organizational structure.

Lead Embedded Communications Support Strategy and Community of Practice

• Develop and lead the strategic framework for embedded and unit communicators across departments, centers, institutes, and administrative units.

• Lead all aspects of the communication community of practice, including convening strategy, professional development, peer learning, and leadership reporting.

• Oversee community of practice tools and infrastructure, including SharePoint resources, annual survey processes, and measurement of network needs and outcomes.

• Represent the model externally through conference presentations, white papers, and related thought leadership when appropriate.

Consultation, Workforce Planning, and Unit Partnership

• Serve on the medical school position review committee for communications roles and provide consultation on scopes, staffing models, and organizational design.

• Support recruitment, onboarding, mentoring, and professional growth for embedded communications talent.

• Advise departments, centers, institutes, and medical school administrative leaders on communications structure, staffing plans, expectations, and alignment with institutional standards.

Partnership with Shared Services

• Partner closely with the Director of Academic Communication, Michigan Medicine on annual planning, network alignment, issue escalation, and shared communications priorities.

• Help translate enterprise strategy into school-specific execution and elevate medical school administration needs into shared-services planning.

• Support coordinated storytelling, campaign integration, and amplification of high-impact initiatives across the Medical School.

Medical School Administration Communications

• Support the internal communications strategy for the medical school in alignment with the Dean's Office priorities and broader institutional communications goals.
• Serve as an advisor to medical school administration and communication leaders on message development, stakeholder alignment, and communications planning for high-priority initiatives.
• In partnership with the Medical School Communication team, translate administrative priorities into coordinated communication approaches that can be understood and executed by departments, institutes, and centers across the Medical School.
• In partnership with the Medical School Communication team, support communication planning and cascading for promoting the Dean's Office and large-scale events initiatives within departments, institutes, and centers.

Communities of Practice Communications and Message Cascade

• Support internal communications strategy for departments, centers, and institutes, including message planning, cascade mechanisms, and alignment across leadership and administrative units.
• Establish systems and expectations that improve the flow of information across medical school administration, departments, centers, and institutes, and strengthen consistency in how key priorities are communicated.
• Partner with unit-level administrative leaders and communicators to improve two-way communication, feedback loops, and message clarity across the school and campus.

Preferred Leadership Attributes

• Bachelor's degree and 8 or more years of journalism/public relations experience.
• Strong strategic judgment and organizational awareness
• Ability to work effectively with executive leaders and administrative teams
• Skill in building alignment across decentralized communicators
• Experience leading through influence in a matrixed environment
• Commitment to collaboration, professional development, and shared standards

Michigan Medicine is one of the largest health care complexes in the world and has been the site of many groundbreaking medical and technological advancements since the opening of the U-M Medical School in 1850. Michigan Medicine is comprised of over 30,000 employees and our vision is to attract, inspire, and develop outstanding people in medicine, sciences, and healthcare to become one of the world?s most distinguished academic health systems.  In some way, great or small, every person here helps to advance this world-class institution. Work at Michigan Medicine and become a victor for the greater good.

What Benefits can you Look Forward to?

• Excellent medical, dental and vision coverage effective on your very first day
• 2:1 Match on retirement savings

Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment. Learn more about the work modes.

Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven calendar days. The review and selection process may begin as early as the eighth day after posting. This opening may be removed from posting boards and filled any time after the minimum posting period has ended.

The University of Michigan is an equal employment opportunity employer.