Vice President of Communications

To view the complete leadership brief, please visit
https://bit.ly/DHTVPComms

Headquartered in Asheville, North Carolina, Dogwood Health Trust
(Dogwood) became operational in 2019 and currently has
approximately $1.8 billion in assets. Serving 18 counties
in Western North Carolina (WNC) and the Qualla
Boundary, Dogwood’s creation has opened the door to unforeseen
opportunities in the area. Dogwood works closely with
its partners to create a Western North Carolina where every
generation can live, learn, earn and thrive with dignity
and opportunity for all – no exceptions. Dogwood focuses
on achieving radical and equitable impact for all who reside in WNC
by engaging the public, private, and nonprofit sectors together in
four strategic priority areas: Housing, Education,
Economic Opportunity and Health & Wellness.

Critical to the mission of Dogwood Health Trust is the role
of messaging both the work of Dogwood’s partners and the work of
Dogwood in the region. To advance Dogwood’s
storytelling and positioning, Dogwood Health Trust seeks a Vice
President of Communications to lead impactful internal and external
messaging which will support Dogwood’s work in Western North
Carolina.

Working closely with the President and CEO and other senior
leaders, the Vice President of Communications will ensure that
Dogwood is known as a leader in improving the health and well-being
of all people and communities in Western North Carolina. The Vice
President of Communications will be charged with amplifying the
work of Dogwood’s partners and communicating Dogwood’s purpose,
commitments, and successful community-led initiatives to the region
and beyond.

The Vice President of Communications will demonstrate their
expertise in several areas including Strategic
Communications, Reputational and Brand
Management, and Internal
Communications.

The VP of Communications will

• Design and implement communication strategies in partnership
  with the CEO and senior leaders to support community investments,
  partner capacity, community outreach and engagement, and investment
  evaluation.
• Identify key stakeholder audiences and develop online and
  offline strategies to increase engagement, facilitate
  collaboration, and advance organizational priorities. 
• Demonstrate Dogwood’s impact by leading equity-driven
  storytelling that includes partner success stories, earned media,
  interviews, and content curation. 
• Provide leadership and support to staff and external
  consultants responsible for implementing all Dogwood communications
  strategies.
• Ensure that Dogwood’s commitment to equity and our focus on
  creating opportunity for those who have been under resourced is
  present in all aspects of its work.
• Proactively manage media and public relations to increase
  credibility and positive regard for Dogwood. 
• Provide strategic communications coaching support for Dogwood
  leaders to support message alignment, stakeholder engagement,
  collaboration, and professionalism. ​
• Work closely with the CEO and other senior leaders to
  anticipate, manage and prevent incidents that could result in
  reputational damage. 
• Oversee all external-facing communications to ensure alignment
  with Dogwood’s purpose, brand standards and commitment to cultural
  sensitivity, equity, diversity, inclusion and justice. 
• In partnership with the CEO and the People & Culture team,
  design and oversee internal communications strategies to ensure
  staff are informed, supported, well-resourced, and
  celebrated. 
• Work closely with the People & Culture and the Vice
  President of Community Equity, to develop communications strategies
  that reinforce equity, diversity, inclusion, justice and belonging
  at Dogwood. 

QUALIFICATIONS

The Vice President of Communications will be an excellent writer
and speaker.  Ideally, the Vice President of Communications
will have an undergraduate degree and at least 10 years of
experience leading a communications team for an organization
similar to Dogwood Health Trust. The Vice President will have the
opportunity to build the Communications team and will have
resources to work creatively with consultants. The Vice President
will demonstrate success in expanding an organization’s digital
presence and use of social media.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

The Vice President of Communications reports to the Chief
Executive Officer and is a member of the senior leadership team.
The VP will lead and develop the communications team and will
supervise a number of outsourced consultants. The VP will
collaborate with other senior leaders to develop communications and
presentation strategies.

LOCATION

While Dogwood Health Trust is headquartered in Asheville, NC,
the VP can live in any of the 18 counties or the Qualla Boundary.
The Dogwood team works in a hybrid style, convening in the newly
renovated office several times a week.