Senior Communications Advisor

Job Description

The Senior Communications Advisor serves as a strategic communications partner to business leaders, bringing a clear point of view and shaping business decisions and communications strategies that advance enterprise priorities and protect organizational reputation.

Operating with a high degree of independence and in close partnership with communications colleagues and business leaders, this individual anticipates communications risks and opportunities, shapes outcomes before issues escalate, and provides recommendations that help the business navigate complex decisions.

The successful candidate will bring deep issues management expertise, strong business acumen, exceptional communications skills, and a thorough understanding of the health care landscape and issues affecting Blue Cross NC.

What You’ll Do

Strategic Communications & Counsel

• Serve as a strategic communications advisor to business leaders, bringing a point of view and recommending approaches that account for stakeholder, business, and reputational considerations.

• Develop and execute communications strategies, messaging frameworks, and engagement plans that advance enterprise priorities, influence outcomes, and position the business to navigate risk.

• Engage leaders and business teams early to identify risks, opportunities, and stakeholder implications; recommend approaches that help shape key initiatives, decisions, and organizational changes.

Issues & Reputation Management

• Anticipate and assess developments across the business, health care industry, legislative and regulatory environment, media landscape, and stakeholder community to identify potential risks and opportunities before they escalate.

• Identify, assess, and triage emerging issues; recommend actions to mitigate risk, shape outcomes, and determine appropriate escalation based on business, stakeholder, and reputational implications.

• Serve as a central communications leader during significant issues, convening appropriate stakeholders, driving alignment, and helping lead a timely, coordinated response.

• Advise leaders on complex or sensitive topics, recommend communications approaches, and prepare them for media interviews, stakeholder discussions, public appearances, and other engagements.

• Develop issues management and response materials, including communications plans, holding statements, key messages, FAQs, and Q&A documents.

• Develop proactive communications, stakeholder-readiness, and narrative strategies that shape the external environment, reduce reputational risk, and help the business prepare for foreseeable high-impact moments.

Communications Execution

• Create and oversee the development of clear, accurate, and strategically aligned communications for internal and external audiences.

• Translate complex business, policy, and health care topics into compelling, audience-appropriate communications.

• Identify proactive storytelling opportunities that strengthen organizational reputation and elevate enterprise priorities.

Operational Excellence

• Lead communications initiatives from early planning through execution, influencing direction and coordinating stakeholders, timelines, approvals, and resources.

• Establish appropriate measures to evaluate communications effectiveness and apply insights to future strategies.

• Collaborate with agencies, consultants, and vendors as needed.

• Help strengthen communications processes, tools, and practices that improve team effectiveness and organizational readiness.

What You Bring

Required

• Bachelor's degree or advanced degree (where required) and more than five years of experience in communications, public relations, journalism, marketing or a related field.

• In lieu of degree, 7+ years of experience in related field.

Preferred

• Experience in health care, health insurance, public policy, government affairs or another highly regulated industry.

• Experience supporting enterprise-wide initiatives involving multiple stakeholders.

• Familiarity with legislative, regulatory, and political issues affecting the health care industry.

• Experience developing communications strategies for high-profile or reputationally significant matters.

Bonus Points

• You thrive in a fast-paced environment where priorities can shift rapidly, and complex issues require thoughtful, timely action.

• You bring order to ambiguity, anticipate potential risks, and exercise sound judgment about how to influence outcomes, mitigate risk, and escalate when necessary.

• You understand how business decisions and communications strategies can affect organizational reputation and stakeholder trust.

• You confidently bring a point of view, advise leaders, and help shape decisions in sensitive, high-profile, or rapidly evolving situations.

• You build credibility and alignment through strong relationships, collaboration, responsiveness, and consistently high-quality work.

• You remain informed about…